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.