The fair, into its 13th year, will have two British experts on river restoration as its special guests.

The annual birding fair at Man Sagar Lake here will have "rivers' restoration" as its theme. The fair, into its 13th year, will have two British experts on river restoration as its special guests. The fair is scheduled for two days from February 2.

"This year's theme, rivers' restoration, would enable the decision makers to realize the role of rivers in sustaining human civilization, especially in the wake of increasing water problems," said Harsh Vardhan, noted conservationist and organizer of the birding fair.

The birding fair is a citizens' initiative started in 1997 through the cooperation of the British Bird Watching Fair, held in August every year at Anglian Water in Rutland (Oakham). "The fair is also the continuation of the initiative taken a few years back to conserve Man Sagar Lake and develop it on the lines of the world famous Keoladeo National Park near Bharatpur," Mr.Vardhan said.

One of the British experts, Robert Oates, is the director of The Thames River Restoration Trust. Mr. Oates, who had been at Man Sagar a few years back, is expected to "test" its waters for water quality after the recent attempts by various agencies to restore it. The other Briton is Jim Lyons, technical specialist for Fish Science at UK's The Environment Agency.

Mr. Oates is scheduled to deliver a public lecture here on the steps taken for the restoration of the Thames. Mr. Lyons will check the fish species at this lake and suggest how to manage their population. Two bird watchers from Britain -- Stephen Dean and John Wilson -- will join them on this visit. All four are slated to visit the Thar desert later to observe, in particular, Great Indian Bustard.

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