Indian Government Launches Action Plan for Vulture Conservation, 2020–25
The National Board for Wildlife recently approved “The National Action Plan for Vulture Conservation, 2020–25” for the conservation of vultures in the country. The plan advocates the establishment of more vulture conservation centers in different parts of the country and inclusion of Red-headed Vultures and Egyptian Vultures in the breeding programmes.
A few decades ago, it was pretty common to see vultures soaring effortlessly in the sky, perching on trees, and climbing on the thermals. On spotting a dead animal, these large birds of prey would circle the sky in hundreds and within minutes devour the carcass and disappear again. It is very worrisome that the species which was found in millions in India is on the verge of extinction today. Among the nine species of vultures found in India, the most affected ones listed in the IUCN Red Data Book as critically endangered species are the four resident species of the Oriental White-backed Vulture, Long-billed Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture, and Red-headed Vulture.
Highlights of the Action Plan
· Establishment of a system that will automatically remove a drug from veterinary use if found toxic to vultures with the help of Drugs Controller General of India.
· Commercialization of a drug only after it has been tested and proved safe for vultures.
· Proposition to setup additional 5 conservation breeding centers, one each in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Tripura. There are already 8 conservation breeding centers spread across the country.
· Four rescue centers have been proposed for different geographical areas, namely, Pinjore in North India, Bhopal in Central India, Guwahati in Northeast India, and Hyderabad in South India, 5 km from the respective breeding centers. Currently, there are no rescue centers to treat injured or sick vultures.
· For the protection of the vulture population remaining, a vulture safe zone in each state has been recommended.
· Coordinated nation-wide vulture counting to be conducted by Forest Departments, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Research Institutes, NGOs, etc once every four years.
· Gather information about other emerging threats to vulture life, such as collision and/or electrocution from power lines, and unintentional poisoning.
Cause of Decline
· Vibhu Prakash, a principal scientist with BNHS, was the one who noted the catastrophic decline in vulture population while monitoring in Rajasthan’s famous Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur. Later with international efforts, the culprit was found to be diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug found in the carcasses of livestock causing kidney failure in vultures. On realizing the gravity of the situation, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change released the “Action Plan for Vulture Conservation (APVC) 2006, which banned the use of diclofenac.
· Meloxicam, an alternative for the vulture killing drug was found to be safe and thus was recommended for treating inflammation and pain in cattle. However, other toxic drugs like aceclofenac and ketoprofen continue to be sold on the market.
Significance of vultures
The dual attitude towards vultures is quite prevalent. On the one hand, in India, vultures are worshipped as Jatayu, the divine vulture of the epic Ramayana, who lost his life while trying to protect goddess Sita. When Ravana- king of Lanka was flying to his kingdom after abducting Sita, Jatayu bravely tried to stop him but was overpowered by Ravana, his wings cut off in the fight. On the other hand, the presence of vultures is considered ominous and has often been associated with death and morbidity.
Vultures play an invaluable role in the ecosystem. The scavenging lifestyle of vultures, a cause of their bad reputation, is what makes them indispensable soldiers in keeping the environment clean. They quickly and effectively dispose of bodies, which if left rotting in the open could harbor millions of pathogenic bacteria and fungus. In India, because of its humongous cattle population, the role of vulture becomes even more important in keeping the countryside clean.
The daunting decline in the vulture population has left millions of carcasses to accumulate and decompose in open. This would result in serious implications associated with groundwater safety and livestock-borne diseases such as tuberculosis and anthrax. With plenty of food available, which otherwise would have been consumed by vultures, the population of feral dogs has boomed. These dogs serve as carriers of several diseases, as unlike vultures they lack an effective metabolism against pathogens.
Rescuing Vultures
Vultures are among the 17 rare species listed under the recovery programme for saving critically endangered species and habitats, funded by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Also, the APVC plan of 2006 laid a foundation for the establishment of conservation breeding centers. It banned the use of the death causative agent, diclofenac, thereby allowing for the recovery of the vulture population in India. A similar ban on diclofenac usage was imposed by other South-Asian countries as well, following which a stabilization in their vulture population was achieved.
The learnings from the previous APVC plan provided a sound basis for updating APVC 2020–25. The present APVC plan recommends more stringent methods and best practices not only for the sale, distribution, and administration of drugs and but also for carcass disposal. It also highlights the importance and needs for collaborations among different ministries to ensure that the livestock is treated only by qualified veterinarians, administered the recommended dosage, and that their carcasses are disposed of scientifically. Hopefully, with all the initiatives and successful implementation thereof, the mighty beast population will rise to a sufficient figure.
