THE IMPACTS OF URBANISATION ON AVIAN COMMUNITIES OF LAHORE

This paper aims to study the impact of infrastructure development on the indigenous avian ecology of a geographic location and focuses on critically observing the role of human interventions in influencing biodiversity within a region. Objectively this research is to identify existing biodiversity of bird species and impacts of urbanisation on the diversity of avian communities in the study areas. For this purpose, this study has examined native avian communities along two Canal areas of Lahore, one being the heavily urbanized Lahore branch of the Upper Bari Doab Canal (popularly known as the Lahore Canal) and the other relatively less populated Ichhogil Canal (popularly known as Bambawali- Ravi-Bedian or in short BRB Canal). The primary objectives are to study the ecological biodiversity of avian communities in the selected study areas along BRB Canal and Lahore Canal and to highlight the effect of urbanization on the biodiversity of avian species along the selected study areas. Through the above objectives, the study focuses on establishing grounds that bird species which are more adaptable towards an urbanized environment are thriving at the cost of once indigenous and successful bird species. Further, the research also highlights the fact that an insensitive approach towards infrastructure development can destroy the ecology of a region and reduce the variety of avian species that otherwise may thrive in natural habitat. Keywords: Birds, Lahore Canal, biodiversity, bird communities, urbanisation, Avian communities.