March 7, 2016
ASIA / PACIFIC
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5
Indian Kashmir takes bird
census at Himalayan wetlands
POP STAR POPS IN. A Filipino fan checks out a shirt with a Ma-
donna print at the venue of her concert in suburban Pasay, south of
Manila, the Philippines. Pop star Madonna made a surprise visit to two
Manila shelters for orphans and street children, taking selfies with kids a
day before the start of her two-night concert stint in the Philippine capital.
(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Madonna makes surprise visits
to Manila children’s shelters
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Madonna made
surprise visits to two Manila shelters for orphans and
street children, taking selfies with kids a day before the
pop star began her two-night concert stint in the
Philippine capital.
Pictures on her Instagram account showed her carrying
a baby in one arm while holding hands with a girl guiding
her on a tour of the Hospicio de San Jose orphanage. At the
Bahay Tuluyan shelter for street kids, she sat on a
tarpaulin mat with children.
“Chillin’ with my Homies at the Bahay Tuluyan
Foundation Inc. giving shelter to orphans street children
trafficking/abuse victims in Manila!!” Madonna captioned
a selfie taken with three kids as they lay on the mat.
Officials at the shelter were told that Madonna’s
dancers were going to visit, but they did not find out that
Madonna herself was also coming until an hour before her
arrival, said Catherine Scerri, the deputy executive
director of Bahay Tuluyan.
She said the children did a couple of dances before being
joined by Madonna’s dancers. Madonna asked the officials
about the center’s program and whether the children
attended school, but she spent most of her 45-minute visit
with the kids, Scerri added.
HOKERSAR, India (AP) — A
meticulous counting of waterbirds
has taken place in the wetlands and
marshes of India’s portion of the
Himalayan region of Kashmir, which
attracts species migrating from as far
as northern Europe and Japan.
More than 100 wildlife officials and
volunteers performed the region’s
second formal census, after scientists
for years criticized less formal counts
as unreliable.
Since
last
year,
however,
Kashmir’s wildlife officials have been
working as part of the global effort led
by environment groups in accounting
for the world’s waterbirds.
“In earlier years, let’s admit, it was
always an estimation, a guesswork,”
wildlife warden Imtiyaz Lone said.
“Now we’re counting birds in a proper
scientific way according to the
internationally accepted guidelines.”
Last year’s census counted more
than half a million waterbirds
visiting 13 wetlands in Kashmir. This
year’s two-day count includes up to 21
wetlands. The results will be released
SCIENTIFIC COUNT. Migratory birds fly above wetlands in Hokersar, 10 miles north of
Srinagar, in Indian controlled Kashmir. Waterbirds cover tens of thousands of miles every year
during their annual migratory cycle. Every year an International Waterbird Census (IWC) is con-
ducted to monitor the population of the birds around the world. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
sometime this month.
Experts say they expect the total
number of birds visiting is declining
because of habitat degradation and
climate changes including more
erratic rainfall.
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“We’re already witnessing substan-
tial decline in the numbers. Unfavor-
able climate coupled with lesser pre-
cipitation this year are the major
factors to this declining trend,” Lone
said.
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