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"SAVING ASIA'S VULTURES FROM EXTINCTION (SAVE)" CONSORTIUM LAUNCHED 10-YEAR STRATEGY CHALKED OUT BY DNPWC, BCN, NTNC, RSPB AND ZSL TO CONSERVE VULTURES
22 Feb 2011

Kathmandu: (22nd February) : As a part of the second phase of the ongoing vulture conservation efforts in Nepal, the ambitious "Saving Asia's vultures from extinction (SAVE)" consortium was launched here today by Subash Nemwang, Rt. Honorable Chairperson of Constituent Assembly, Government of Nepal. Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN), National Trust of Nature Conservation (NTNC) and UK-based Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Zoological Society of London (ZSL) will carry forward the strategy chalked out to conserve vultures, having successfully initiated world’s first Vulture Safe Zone (VSZ) across the Terai belt of Nepal. The major task going forward is to ensure required number critically endangered vultures in captivity and their breeding.

Subash Chandra Nembang, Right Honourable Chairperson of Constituent Assembly, Government of Nepal launched the SAVE Consortium and a 16-minute film on vulture conservation. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Ian Newton, Chairman, SAVE Consortium, said, "In terms of urgency this is probably the greatest bird conservation problem in the world. Thee vulture species have reduced by over 97% within just 15 years and are still declining. It is the first time that a veterinary drug has been implicated in a major conservation problem and we need to take it seriously. It involves not just the loss of three species, but also a huge environmental hygiene problem."  “Dead cattle with drug residue are left for vultures which cause kidney failures and lead to their death within a few days”, said Dr Hum Gurung, Chief Executive Officer of Bird Conservation Nepal.

Juddha Gurung, Member Secretary of NTNC stressed the need to control the use of human formation of diclofenac in the veterinary sector and expand captive breeding programme to protect vulture species. Shree Ram Subedi, President, BCN added that the declaration of Diclofenac Free Zones in ten districts of Nepal has set the stage for a large trans-boundary vulture safe zone across Nepal and India. 

Why SAVE Consortium?
The SAVE Consortium has been launched as a group of multi-national vulture experts to coordinate the work of the second phase of vulture conservation and to meet the myriad challenges. SAVE will be instrumental in advocacy, campaigning and fund-raising. SAVE has been set up with the following objectives.

To agree and implement an overall work programme

To provide a forum for coordination, guidance and reporting

To raise the profile of the recovery programme

To provide a coordinated focus for fundraising efforts

Organizations and individuals can join SAVE as core members, project members or government members. SAVE will be run by an invited Board and will meet annually to review progress and suggest improvements. Further information is available on the newly launched website www.save-vultures.org, where there is also scope for online donations to support this important work.

SAVE is thankful to the Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation – Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation for the initiative in formulating Vulture Conservation Action Plan, 2009-2013, for the support in taking forward the vulture conservation programme.

Background of vulture conservation
By the late-1990s, it had become apparent that there were catastrophic declines occurring in several species of vulture in Nepal. Nationwide road transect surveys confirmed declines approaching 44% per year. The species most affected belong to the genus Gyps: Oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), and Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris). In the 1980s, Oriental white-backed vulture was thought to be the most common large bird of prey in the world with a population of tens of millions. Between 1992 and 2010 its population crashed by 90%, bringing it to the brink of extinction. Subsequent work has shown that similar declines have occurred in other countries in Asia, including India and Pakistan.

In 2003 the Peregrine Fund identified poisoning by the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac as the cause of these population crashes. Diclofenac, one of the cheapest and most widely used NSAIDs since its patent lapsed, has proved to be highly toxic to (Gyps vultures). After death, cattle carcasses are left to be consumed by vultures, which ingest drug residues causing kidney failure. The birds become sick and die within a few days. The NSAID ketoprofen has also been found to be toxic to Gyps vultures. So far, the only veterinary NSAID known to be ‘vulture safe’ is meloxicam.

Once the cause of decline in vulture numbers was identified, BCN with financial support from RSPB and ZSL, set out on its conservation work, which includes a high-level advocacy programme to ban the manufacture and use of veterinary diclofenac, establishment of vulture safe zones, setting up of captive breeding centre to establish a source of birds for reintroduction into the wild in the future, monitoring level of diclofenac in cattle carcasses and pharmacy shops selling these drugs.

Success achieved so far
The result so far has been that DNPWC, BCN, NTNC, BNHS, RSPB and ZSL have been successful in obtaining a complete ban on manufacture, import and sale of veterinary diclofenac in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Vulture Safe Zones have been successfully initiated in Nepal ensuring diclofenac free habitat for vultures. Three Vulture Conservation Breeding Centres (VCBCs) are being successfully run in India and one in Chitwan National Park of Nepal.

Future challenges
Captive Breeding on Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre
Achieving the targeted population of two Gyps species in Vulture conservation breeding centre, Kasara, Chitwan is being major challenges in Nepal.

Setting up of “Vulture Safe Zones” big enough near the Nepal border:
Nepal has achieved success in vulture conservation through Vulture Safe Zone Work. Although there have been some efforts to set up VSZs in various parts of India, they also need to be set up near the Nepal border.

Size of task: Despite its veterinary use being illegal, diclofenac is still being detected in cattle carcasses in Nepal. The main source now is diclofenac labelled for human use. Preventing illegal use of this for veterinary purposes is now a major challenge.