Kathmandu (18 November, 2015): The fifth annual Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) meeting was held at the Norling Resort, Kathmandu where 40 experts from six countries gathered. The opening session was chaired by Prof. David Houston, Chairman of SAVE. Mr. Fanindra Kharel, Director General of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation was the chief guest at the meeting who focused the need of collaborative efforts for the conservation of vultures. Dr. Narendra Man Babu Pradhan, Chief Executive Officer of Bird Conservation Nepal and Mr. Govinda Gajurel, Member Secretary of National Trust for Nature Conservation welcomed all the participants at the meeting.

Representatives participated from all four South Asian countries Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan as well as Cambodia and several experts from UK. Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), National Trust of Nature Conservation (NTNC) and Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) were the organisations that participated in the meeting from Nepal.

The updated SAVE blueprint that prioritizes the action points for the conservation of vultures in South Asia was developed in 2014. This was reviewed through this 5th SAVE meeting reporting major progress including the ban of multi-dose vials of human diclofenac in India which has been also reaching Nepal market as illegal use by some vet practitioners. The meeting prioritized the vulture release program to be started in India and Nepal in 2016. Similarly, the meeting worked out on the spectre of other untested veterinary drugs being allowed to take their place.

Professor Houston commented efforts that have been put so far for the conservation of vultures are highly successful and the planning on release programme in Nepal and India are appreciative however testing unknown NSAIDs is still major challenge.

Populations of four Asian vulture species (White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis, Long-billed Vulture Gypsindicus, Slender-billed Vulture Gypstenuirostris and Red-headed Vulture Sacrogypscalvus) have declined catastrophically in India, Pakistan, and Nepal since the early 1990s due to use of veterinary drug diclofenac, prompting IUCN to classify their status as critically endangered.

The SAVE Consortium was launched in 2011 as a group of multi-national vulture experts in order to coordinate the work of the second phase of vulture conservation and to meet the myriad of challenges. SAVE was set up to coordinate among national and international experts for the advocacy, research, and implementation of the actions needed to prevent these birds from disappearing forever.

Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Nepal has approved the five year Vulture Conservation Action Plan for Nepal in July 2015.