The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) has assured the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that it is adopting integrated and collaborative measures to ensure skies remain safe for both birds and aircraft.
Environmental Compliance and WHMP
In its Environmental Compliance reports, NMIA outlined its Wildlife Hazard Management Programme (WHMP), aligned with ICAO aerodrome safety standards. The plan includes bird hazard monitoring, seasonal surveys, and active as well as passive management methods carried out by Birdgard India within a 13-km radius.
BNHS Findings on Bird Flight Patterns
Research by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) revealed that most local and migratory birds fly below 50 metres—well under typical aircraft landing and take-off paths. Migratory species fly higher only during long journeys, before descending into wetlands and mudflats near Thane Creek.
Classification of Bird Groups
NMIA identified bird species into five groups: surface feeders, dive feeders, aerial hunters, ground hunters, and shore feeders. Seasonal visitors include flamingos, ducks, sandpipers, plovers, eagles, and kites in winter, while terns, bee-eaters, shrikes, swifts, and shorebirds migrate during summer.
Environmentalists Stress Wetland Protection
While welcoming NMIA’s assurances, environmentalists underscored the importance of conserving wetlands. NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar urged the government to declare DPS Flamingo Lake a conservation reserve and safeguard NRI and TS Chanakya wetlands, backed by the Wildlife Institute of India.
Balancing Development with Ecology
Experts said protecting wetlands remains key to preventing bird strikes and preserving habitats of flamingos and other water birds, even as the airport pushes ahead with aviation safety measures.
