India, April 22 -- The Punjab forest department in its latest report has flagged erratic wildlife enforcement trends and a troubling decline in migratory bird populations across Punjab's key wetlands over the past five years - from nearly 90,000 in 2022 to around 71,000 in 2026 - raising fresh concerns over conservation gaps and ecological stress in these critical habitats.

According to experts, the decline is largely attributed to deteriorating habitats and weak enforcement of environmental safeguards. The rapid shrinkage of wetlands, escalating pollution levels and persistent illegal hunting have emerged as key drivers of this worrying trend. These challenges continue to remain largely unaddressed due to gaps in monitoring systems and ...