The RSPB, working with Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) and Renewable World, has launched a new programme in Nepal to help some of the world’s most endangered vultures while also improving local livelihoods by using such comprehensive approaches as ‘cow retirement communities’ and boosting local dairy industries.
With funding from the Darwin Initiative, the programme – which kickstarted this October – will create Nepal’s second official Vulture Safe Zone, helping to restore populations of critically endangered vultures. Vultures have suffered catastrophic declines in South Asia in Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, driven by the historic and ongoing use of the veterinary drug diclofenac. The drug was widely used to treat livestock but is deadly to vultures who feed on contaminated carcasses.
Several species of vulture were on the verge of extinction including the White-rumped Vulture which was once among the most numerous large raptors in the world and is now listed as Critically Endangered. And while diclofenac was banned in 2006 in Nepal, India and Pakistan, and subsequently in Bangladesh in 2010, some illegal sales continue. When combined with the sale of new drugs that are also toxic and deliberate poisoning of carcasses to target feral dogs and jackals, vultures are still in real danger.
The RSPB has been working with partners across South Asia to protect vultures since 2004, and the establishment of the first Vulture Safe Zone in Nepal in 2021 was a major milestone, driven by awareness campaigns and the removal of these toxic drugs. Building on this success, the new project will scale up protection and recovery efforts in western Nepal and hope to create Nepal’s second official Vulture Safe Zone.
A central element is the support of ‘cow retirement communities’ – shelters where unproductive or abandoned cattle are cared for, preventing them from becoming feral as well as providing safe carcasses after they die for vultures such as the White-rumped Vulture to feed on. The project will support five existing cow shelters around Shuklaphanta National Park in the west of Nepal, improving management and sustainability and even exploring income streams such as biogas and compost production.
Alongside this, the project will also:
- Provide solar-powered technologies such as milk chillers to strengthen the dairy sector.
- Establish secure shelter facilities to reduce predation on cattle.
- Run cattle health camps with vets to promote the use of vulture-safe medications and support stray dog neuter campaigns
- Carry out pharmacy surveys, awareness campaigns, and advocacy to enforce bans on vulture-toxic drugs.
By the end of the project, partners aim to have Nepal’s second Vulture Safe Zone formally declared, providing further proof of how this approach can support vulture recovery across South Asia.
Mary Davies, RSPB Senior Species Recovery Officer, said: “This project is a real win–win for people and nature – and for the cows that are such a vital part of the culture and rural economy of Nepal. By supporting farmers and making cow shelters sustainable, and even profit-making, we can help reduce poverty while providing vultures with the safe environments they urgently need. We hope this model will inspire more Vulture Safe Zones across the region and want to say a huge thank you to our supporters and to the Darwin Initiative for helping make it possible.“
Thakur Thapa, Country Director of Renewable World, Nepal said: “I’m thrilled about this new partnership and its potential to increase dairy farmers’ incomes while ensuring vulture conservation. Feral cows around Shuklaphanta National Park in Nepal will be managed sustainably, benefiting both communities and vultures. The project will reach over 6,000 farmers and engage local and national institutions in an integrated effort to reduce poverty and conserve biodiversity. We’re ready to hit the ground running.”
Ishana Thapa, CEO, Bird Conservation Nepal said: “Community-based measures supported by the Darwin project focus on the close links between biodiversity conservation and local peoples’ lives and livelihoods. The project will help in creation of community-based enterprise like ecotourism ventures that transform wildlife, especially threatened vultures, into economic assets capable of benefiting local communities directly. Local communities will successfully demonstrate innovative solutions to redefine our relationship with nature for the future well-being of both people and the environment. Community-based wildlife management initiatives supported by the project will go a long way in not only protecting wildlife and improving the well-being of the local people, but also in preventing future health risks.”
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Sounds like a win win situation, well done RSPB and its partners.