In Conversation with Enam Ul Haque
Enam Ul Haque, 72, is a traveller, nature photographer, conservator, writer, researcher and teacher. He has visited many regions of the world, including both the South Pole and the North Pole, and the Everest base camp. An avid birdwatcher and trekker, he founded Bangladesh Bird Club (BBC) and Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club (BMTC). Haque recently received Bangabandhu Award for Wildlife Conservation from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The government has been presenting this award since 2010 to recognise and inspire people and organisations in wildlife conservation. This week, in an interview with The Weekend Independent, the bird expert and nature-lover talks about his work and future plans.
By Bipul K Debnath
How do you feel about the award that you got from the Prime Minister?
The most important thing about this award is that the name of Bangabandhu, the Father of the Nation, is mentioned on it. Then, it is given for nature conservation. It is recognition of whatever I have done so far to conserve nature. But I think I have not done that much on conservation. Some of my books are helping to protect our nature indirectly. I am happy to continue doing things to conserve nature.
What are your suggestions on nature conservation?
We have to make the people aware of all wild things, including plants, animals, birds and other life. So, the major focus is now to inform people about the importance of nature conservation. Ours is a small country and a large number of people live here. So, the pressure here is on everything, including water, plants, and forests. We have to take make proper plans on how we can get people to live without destroying nature.
You have been promoting birding, trekking and mountaineering in Bangladesh. How did you become interested in birds and mountains?
It started during my early childhood. I was born on August 25 in 1945 in a remote village called Hijolbat under Khoksha upazila of Kushtia district. There were jungles, gardens, rivers in my village, where I was fortunate to see a lot of wild animals and birds.
I was always interested in nature and birds. When I was in school, I kept a caged bird at home. Then I read books on birds by Salim Ali (Indian ornithologist) and others and became influenced by them. When I came to Dhaka in 1985, I began birdwatching as a hobby, going outside with binoculars and spending the whole day watching birds.
Waterbird census started in the 1980s. But I did not know much about that. In 1995, Wetlands International surveyed birds around the world to find out whether their numbers were going down, stable or rising. I joined as a volunteer bird surveyor. My knowledge about birds improved then. Before surveying, we needed to know some basic things regarding bird species, their habitats, age _ young or old, and so on. So, I started reading more and more books.
Wetland International appointed me as a national coordinator and gave me the responsibility to count our local birds. I, in turn, started selecting people and thus, a sizeable number of people have become birdwatchers now. We started Bangladesh Bird Club in 1997, and now we not only have birdwatching hobbyists, we also have a number of people who have taken it up seriously for research. In our bird club, we do focus on conservation.
In 2010, we started bird ringing. This is part of long-term bird research. We catch a bird, put a ring on its leg and release it, without harming it so we can study it later. This is not an easy job because we need time and guidance to learn. We have sent people abroad to learn about bird ringing. One of our club members is doing a doctorate degree on the subject. So, all these things are expanding over time.
Then there are young people who are not really interested in birds, but love to travel. Thats why I formed a separate group called Trekkers Club. With this group, we started climbing mountains. So we named it Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club. From there, our members have conquered Mount Everest.
How many countries have you visited? Where would you like to go next?
I have visited many countries and also wild places that are not part of any country, like the North Pole and Antarctica. I was very happy to do that. Entire oceans do not belong to any country and they are part of the big wilderness of the world.
I have visited the USA. In South America, I went to Argentina and Chile. In Africa, I have visited South Africa, Madagascar and Kenya. In Asia, I mostly used to visit India and Nepal every year for birding, because they have the same bird species that we have in Bangladesh. I have also visited Bhutan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Iran for birdwatching. These countries still have good wilderness where one can go and watch birds in peace. I want to continue doing that. But my next destination is Australia, which has unique birds. I hope I can do that this year.
What are your other interests?
I love reading books which is also my childhood hobby. I have written some books on birds. My first book was Innocent Bangladesh, which is a photo album on disadvantaged children, published by Cosmos Publications (Dhaka, 2004). My other books are Feathered Splendours: Birds of Bangladesh and Pakhider-o Ache Naki Mon (Birds also have their own minds). I worked on the bird volume of the national encyclopedia (Banglapedia) published by Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. I was an editor of the part on flora and fauna of Bangladesh.
You have done many types of work. Which one is the most important to you?
I want to make my life more liveable with those who come in touch with me. If I any influence any life and make it more pleasant, that is all I need really. Of course, I did many things, like anybody else, but nothing is more important than birds. Birds have been my childhood passion and they remain on top of everything in my life.
What are you mostly involved in now, and what are your future plans?
My future plan is to give an official structure to Banglaesh Bird Club. The next step is to make it a nationwide organisation, with lots of activities in terms of conservation. We want many people to join in and make a contribution towards conservation. We already have a large number of people in our club who call themselves wildlife biologists, birdwatchers and (nature) photographers.
What is your hope for our countrys future, particularly the youths?
I am too small to say what the future of the country will be. We have so many people in a small area, but we are not destroying nature as much as the Western world. Our people are still happy to do hard work which brings progress to the country. So, I think it is our great strength that most of our people ready to do hardwork.
Our young generation is patriotic and innovative. Some people are worried about opportunities. I dont think that is new. Every generation worries about the next generation. The future seems always darker than the past. Bangladesh is going in the right direction. People will do quite well.
How would you like to be remembered?
I do not think about being remembered. Nobody really remembers. What I want to do is live happily and if I can, I want to make more people happy. But if someone has this question, I would like to answer that I want to be remembered by my friends saying: Oh! He lived hapilly. I have been fortune to have a happy life. So if anbody remembers me, I would like to be remembered as a man who lived happily.
Photos: Courtesy, File
