ISSN: 2639-216X
Authors: Deng GT* and Yimam IA
Ecosystem service refers to any service which is provided by the ecosystem to sustain the livelihood of mankind. These services may be offered directly or indirect through several complex ways. The utilization of these services implies dependency of humans on ecological resources. The MEA identified four broad categories of ecosystem services, namely; provisioning, regulation, supporting and cultural services. Among several services in the ecosystem, birds provide an interesting wide range of ecosystem services that sustain human life. For instance they have incredible value in pest control, seed dispersal, pollination, nutrient cycling, soil formation, ecotourism and many other services. These services provided by birds are further categorized as marketable and nonmarketable values depending on their monetization process. However, the decline of birds’ population worldwide means these birds’ ecosystem services are also declining. The services birds’ provide are of great significant ecologically and economically, but remain unaccounted because of insufficient information. Therefore, this review article is aimed to clearly affirm the ecosystem roles of birds and their benefits to human to foster their conservation. Research driven policies fostering lasting conservation of avifauna; conservation, restoration and management of their habitats and control of illegal birds’ trade are highly needed. The attempts of conserving and maintaining healthy birds population and their habitats would preserve diverse ecosystem services by benefiting many different living species and finally human wellbeing.
Keywords: Birds; Birds’ Conservation; Ecosystem Roles; Ecosystem Services; Pest Control
