Stakeholders in the Aviation sector have converged at Ilorin, Kwara state capital to update their knowledge about how to mitigate or even reduce to the barest minimum the impacts of bird and wildlife hazards and ensure safer air transportation in Nigeria.Stakeholders in the Aviation sector have converged at Ilorin, Kwara state capital to update their knowledge about how to mitigate or even reduce to the barest minimum the impacts of bird and wildlife hazards and ensure safer air transportation in Nigeria.

The Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Captain Musa Shuaibu Nuhu who declared the workshop open said,” It's meant to increase the knowledge horizon of our inspectors in their oversight duties.”

He also said that the authority,” will continue to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, enforce regulations and guidelines, and provide adequate training to our inspectors in the conduct of its responsibilities to ensure that our airports remain safe from the risks of birds and wildlife. “

The workshop titled,”Bird and Wildlife Management for Safer Air Transportation in Nigeria” was funded by the NCAA with Technical support and Consultancy provided by OAK Environmental Consulting and Services and African Wild Nature Conservancy among others.

The Resource personnel in the workshop that will last five days include Engr Tayib Adetunji Odunowo,a director at NCAA,Mr Edozie Azike Assistant General manager and Head of Bird/Wildlife at NCAA, Mr Oladipo Adebayo an Aviation management expert with 18 years experience and Professor Mark Morgan,a Professor of Wildlife Management at the University of Missouri among others.

Speaking on the importance of the workshop, Professor Oladapo Olukoya Oduntan of OAKS Environmental Consulting and Services told journalists in an interview at the event that the conference which he described as very critical to the stability of Nigeria airports was preceded by a survey carried out by a group of Professors in the consulting firm two years ago.

According to him,”There was a survey we did about two years ago that we submitted to NCAA.

“The reports show that some species of birds are critical real species and how they're controlled.

“That's why the leadership of NCAA felt that it's important for their officials to know more about those species and their natural history, behaviour, feeding, reproduction, and status. What they are likely to do and how they're likely to behave so that they can know how to manage and control them for safer air transportation in Nigeria.”

Professor Oduntan from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in Ogun State also noted that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) showed commitment to the workshop to ensure that their officials regulate operations in the airports and ensure that it's in line with international standards.

In his remarks, Professor Mark Morgan a Professor of Wildlife Management in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri in the USA said that its crucial to know the various types of birds, their foods, and their habitat in order to be able to control them.

“I'll be talking to them about mitigation strategies that can be done to reduce bird strikes because some birds cause greater risks than other birds.

” So, we are more concerned about reducing the risks and also the habitat management. You cannot manage one bird in particular what we have to do is to look at the collection of birds and how to reduce their movement, their food sources, their shades and rest.

“We also have to concern ourselves on what happens on the outside of the airports because they also determine what happens on the inside of the airports.

” So, it's all about their foods, water habitat and space and what we can do to manage them in such a way that they would not constitute risks to the airports,”he said.

The General Manager Aerodom Standard, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Mr Adebayo Oladipo in his remark said the essence of the workshop is to empower the stakeholders in the aviation sector to do well.

He said,”The essence of the workshop is to further empower us to do our jobs very well.So when this kind of training empowers us we will pass that on to the operators who will also do the day-to-day preventive measures to forestall bird strikes and wildlife hazards at the airport vicinity.”