31 Aug 2017
Conservationists from India and
Nepal have come together to plan a transboundary, sustainable answer to the
question: how can you improve the outlook of a bird family that has already
suffered a population crash of 99%?
By Khima Nand Balodi
Asian vultures have undergone a
catastrophic decline in recent decades, with populations crashing by as much as
99%. In India and Nepal, four of nine vulture species are Critically
Endangered, largely as a result of poisoning by a drug commonly used to treat
livestock, diclofenac. Since 2006, diclofenac has been banned in
these countries for veterinary use, but it is still being purchased
on the black market, and vultures are still struggling to rebound in the wake
of their population crash. The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) -
an inititive co-created by BirdLife in 1985 - has funded projects in both
Nepal, in 2010 and 2013, and
India, in 2016, to
improve the outlook for these overlooked species. In March this year, a CLP
Learning Exchange brought a project team member from both countries together to
share their knowledge.
Khima Nand Balodi, who led a
project to assess the population status and threats facing vultures in
Uttarakhand, India in 2016, visited Bhupal Nepali, who has worked to strengthen
Vulture Safe Zones in Nawalparasi, and to enhance community-based conservation
in western Nepal. Here, Khima shares his Learning Exchange experiences.
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