Vultures are ecologically important birds that
face a range of threats in Nepal. As a part of conserving critically endangered
vultures through stopping the use of drug diclofenac completely a national
workshop on “Effects of Diclofenac on vultures and its current issues in
Nepal”was organized by Bird Conservation Nepal in collaboration with Department
of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal on 13 March 2013 in Hotel
Malla Lainchour. Participants from Department of Drug Administration,
Veterinary Standard and Drug Administration Office, Nepal Veterinary Council,
Nepal Veterinary Association, National Trust for Nature Conservation, Kathmandu
Quarantine Office, Himalayan Nature and Bird Conservation Nepal used the forum
to discuss on the current issues of diclofenac use in Nepal. The workshop was
quite useful for putting more efforts on stopping the use of the drug
diclofenac in veterinary use.
Sushila C Nepali, CEO presented on “Bird
Conservation Nepal and its Programme”, Khadananda Paudel, Vulture Conservation
Officer presented on “Vulture Conservation Efforts in Nepal” and Dr Amir
Sadaula, Veterinary Officer presented on “Practices of NSAIDs use in Nepal”.
Focuses was on the use of 30 ml Human Diclofenac on the Veterinary practices
and proper legislative measures to control it.
Four of the nine species of vultures found in
Nepal are in danger of disappearing from the face of the earth. ‘BCN initiated
and established the first community managed vulture restaurant in the
world’,claims Dr. Sushila C. Nepali, Chief Executive Officer of Bird
Conservation Nepal, ‘we have supported this work by swapping remaining diclofenac
stocks in the area with meloxicam, intensive awareness raising campaigns and
advocacy resulting in a local increase in vulture and nest numbers at the
site’.All these safe feeding sites will now be linked by the creation of a
‘Vulture Safe Zone’. “Currently we have been able to expand Vulture safe zone
to 30 districts covering 54,472 square kilometers” adds Dr. Sushila. It will be
expanded in the coming years by adding more districts to the north and creation
of a similar area across the border in India. Dr. Narayan Prasad Ghimire,
Senior Veterinary Officer Registrar of Nepal Veterinary Council, Shyam Kumar
Adhikari, Drug Inspector at Depatment of Drug Administration and Dr. Bimal
Kumar Nirmal, President at Nepal Veterinary Association focused on the more
coordination required between the stakeholders of Diclofenac monitoring and the
need of more advocacy work within
vulture safe zone. Discussion was focused on the proper control on the use of
30 ml vial of Human Diclofenac produced in Nepal. Participants also discussed
on the recent trend of Pesticide poisoning in Vultures and way to control them
through participatory and coordination role between different stakeholders
working in the field of Vulture conservation.