The second annual meeting of Saving Asia's
Vultures from Extinction (SAVE)" consortium was held in Kathmandu, 5-6
November and reports major progress from the ten national and international
partners. Opened by guest of honour Director General of Department of National
Parks and Wildlife Conservation Mr. Megh Bahadur Pandey chaired by UK’s world
renowned raptor expert, Professor Ian Newton, who described the meeting as
highly successful and despite the progress, bringing the partners closer than
ever in focusing on how to remove the killer drug diclofenac from the
environment.
Representatives came from all four South Asian
countries Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan and several from UK.Department
of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), National Trust of Nature
Conservation (NTNC) and Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) were the organisations
participated the meeting from Nepal.
An advocacy strategy and action points were
developed through the meeting that all ten partners can implement to combat the
ongoing use of diclofenac. Similarly the meeting worked out on the spectre of
other untested veterinary drugs being allowed to take their place and undo the
progress to date in getting the veterinary diclofenac formulations banned.
Professor Newton commented that the gradual
declines in diclofenac levels and the development of ‘vulture safe zones’ free
from the drug, together with captive breeding in India are major signs of progress, but unless
safety testing of other cattle painkillers leads to their removal from
veterinary use, then we risk losing the battle to save these birds.