지구온난화 때문에 50년안에 북미대륙의 조류(Bird) 30억마리가 없어진다. Java섬에서는 애완용 포획이 또다른 멸종의 원인.

우리가 살고있는 지구촌에 무서운 형벌이 내려질것이라는 과학자들의 걱정이 크다.

지구의 Climate Change로 인한 지구온난화의 영향으로 1970년부터 2019년, 즉 오늘까지 사이에 약 30억마리의 Bird 인구가 줄어들었다는 충격적인 보도가 나왔는데, 이숫자는 북미대륙에 서식하고 있는 조류의 약 29%라고 한다.  이추세로 이어지면, 앞으로 50년안에 약 30억마리의 조류인구가 줄어들것이라고 한다.

또하나의 충격적인 Research 보고서에 따르면, 인도네시아의 Java섬에서는 자연속에서 서식하는 조류인구보다 새장(Cage)에 갇혀 살아가고있는 조류의 숫자가 더 많다는 것이다.
새장에 갇혀서 살아가는 조류들은 주로 아름다운 소리를 내는 종류로, 생계수단으로 주민들은  이러한 조류들을 포획하여 새장에 가두어 훈련시킨다음, 고객들에게 판매 한다는 것이다.
(The second outlines a tipping point in "the Asian songbird crisis)

내가 어렸을적인, 초등학교 다닐때, 여름철이면 동네 친구들과 같이 얕은 강물이 흐르는 모래사장의 갈대밭( Field of Reeds)에서 둥지를 틀고 살아가면서, 때로는 아름다운 소리를 내면서 하늘높이 솟아 오르는 종달새(Lark)를 포획하기위해, 모래밭에 있는 둥지속에 있는 알(Egg)위에 Trap을 씌워 어렵게 포획할려고했었던 기억이 이기사를 읽으면서, 되살아난다. 약 65년전 일이다.  지금 생각해 보면, 철없었던 나는  Fun으로 포획할려 했었지만, 종달새는 사활을 건 싸움이었다는것을, 마음 아프게 느낀다.

조류의 숫자가 적어지는  또다른 이유는, 새들이 먹고사는 곤충류들이 우리 인간들의 입장에서 보면 전부 해충으로 취급되여 이를 없애고져, 무자비하게 사용되는 살충제의 영향으로 곤충류들이 매년 줄어들어, 결론적으로 얘기하면, 마치 이북의 백성들이 기근으로 굶어죽는 이치와 같다고 하겠다. 

문제는 이를 연구하는 과학자들 및 전문가들의 경종이, 일반 사람들에게는 심각하게 받아들여지지 않는다는데 문제점이 있는 것이다.  또한 미디아에서도 심도있게 취급하지 않는다.

인도네시아의 Java섬에서는 "노래하는새들"을 사고파는 상행위가 극성인데, 대부분의 노래하는 새들은 야생에서 포획한 새들이라고 한다.  2017년도로 잠깐 시계를 돌려서 생각해 보자.
우리는 이러한 상행위로 인해 12종류가 넘는 새들이 지금 멸종위기에 처해 있음을 확인 했다.
(how the trade pushed more than a dozen species to the brink of extinction.)

지금 Java섬에서는 약 7천5백만 마리의 새들이 애완용으로 포획되여 사육되고 있는데, 이러한 새들은 "새들의 노래경연대회"로 일컬어지는, 일명 Kicau-Mania로도 불린다.  새장에 갇혀있는 이러한 새들의 노래 경연대회는  구수한 노랫소리와 오래지속되는 음량에 따라 우열의 판단을 받게된다.  가장 큰 노래 경연대회에서 가장 노래를 잘한 새의 주인에게는 약 4만 파운드의 상금이 주어진다.

이러한 독특한 문화를 사랑하는 사람들의 욕구를 충족시키기위해 많은 사람들이 야생에서 새들을 포획하도록 자극하고 있다. 이를 연구하는 전문가들의 설명에 따르면, 수많은 종류의 새들이 멸종당할수 있는 위협에 노출되여 있다는 걱정이다.

더 자세한 내용은 아래의 기사를 보자.

Bird populations in Asia and the US are "in crisis", according to two major studies.

The first concludes there are three billion fewer birds in the US and Canada today compared to 1970 - a loss of 29% of North America's birds.
The second outlines a tipping point in "the Asian songbird crisis": on the island of Java, Indonesia, more birds may now live in cages than in the wild.
Scientists hope the findings will serve as a wake-up call.
The two studies are published in the journals Science and Biological Conservation.

 Image caption The caged bird trade could be worth tens of millions of dollars to the Indonesian economy

• How a national obsession with songbirds became an extinction crisis
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• Clever crows reveal a window into the mind

How have three billion birds disappeared?

Image copyright Brian Sullivan, Macaulay Library at Cornell Lab o

Image caption Birds are declining in every type of habitat, from grasslands to deserts

The North America study revealed how many birds were being lost across every type of habitat - from grasslands to coasts to deserts. While it did not directly assess what was driving this, the scientists concluded that, among multiple causes, the major factor was habitat loss driven by human activity.
This study, explained lead researcher Dr Ken Rosenberg from the Cornell lab of Ornithology and the American Bird Conservancy, was the first to "run the numbers" on bird populations.
"We knew some species were declining," he told BBC News, "but we thought that, while rare birds were disappearing, the more generalist birds - and those better adapted to human landscapes - would be filling in the gaps."The team's calculations were based on bringing together all the bird monitoring in North America for the past 50 years - every major survey carried out across the continent since 1970.
"What we saw was this pervasive net loss," Dr Rosenberg said. "And we were pretty startled to see that the more common birds, the everyday backyard birds and generalist species, are suffering some of the biggest losses."
That same pattern, he added, is likely to be mirrored in other parts of the world. And the situation in Asia, as the other study has shown, is a particularly striking case of a human-driven extinction crisis.

What is the songbird trade?

 Image caption Bird singing competitions are hugely popular in Indonesia

The buying and selling of songbirds - many of which are caught from the wild - is huge business in parts of Asia, particularly on the island of Java in Indonesia.
Back in 2017, we investigated how the trade pushed more than a dozen species to the brink of extinction.
Around 75 million birds are kept as pets on Java. Many are sought after for bird singing competitions - often referred to as "Kicau-mania". At these events, caged birds' songs are judged on melody, duration and volume. Top prizes for the best singers can earn owners as much as £40,000 in the biggest contests.
This culture, however, drives the capture of birds from the wild to satisfy demand. And that, researchers say, threatens the survival of numerous species.
Harry Marshall, lead researcher on this study, explained: "The trade is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars to the Indonesian economy, so it is no surprise that it is a key regional source of both supply and demand for songbirds, with hundreds of markets running across the archipelago, selling more than 200 different species."

Image copyright Gabby Salazar

Image caption Lovebirds are popular in the Asian songbird trade

Mr Marshall, who is a PhD student at Manchester Metropolitan University and Chester Zoo, led a survey of 3,000 households across Java, which is Indonesia's most densely populated island. From this, he and his colleagues were able to estimate that there were as many as 75 million caged birds living in Javanese households.
There may now be more songbirds living in cages on the island than there are now living in the wild.

What can be done to reverse these declines?

 

Image caption Conservationists hope these results will be a wake-up call for those who want to protect birds

Both teams of scientists were keen to highlight the optimism among the obvious "doom and gloom" in these new findings.
Prof Stuart Marsden, from Manchester Metropolitan University - an authority on the Asian songbird trade - pointed out that the national obsession with keeping caged birds in Indonesia was driven by a love of birds.
"I think that passion can be channelled into conservation," he said.
Dr Rosenberg pointed to a striking example of bird conservation success as a reason for what he called his "weirdly optimistic" view about the dramatic decline in North America's bird population.
"In US and Canada, it was the duck hunters who noticed a decline in waterfowl and did some thing about it. Millions of dollars have been put into wetland protection and restoration - in order to have healthy populations for duck hunters.
"That's a model - if we can replicate it for birds that are not hunted and birds that people love in other habitats, we know that bird populations can be resilient and will come back."


https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49744435