The Hindu : National : Project to conserve three species of vultures

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 05, 2006

National

National

Project to conserve three species of vultures

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI: Select zoological parks in Gujarat, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar and Hyderabad have been chosen for the country's first national level conservation project aimed at netting the sharp decline in the population of three species of vultures in the subcontinent.

Getting ready to put into gear the massive rescue operation, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has invited proposals from these select zoos asking them about their capability to carry out an operation of this nature and scale.

India has one conservation/rescue centre for vultures at Pinjore in Haryana and this latest series of facility across zoos is expected to not just house and breed vultures but also work towards providing an environment that is safe for the birds.

"Ornithologists and environmentalists have pointed to the sharp decline in the number of vultures and this also has an enormous implication for the ecosystem.

The Subcontinent is very rich in bird life and of the 15 species of old world vultures found in different regions, eight species are found in India. This latest proposal to bring in breeding and conservation centres across Indian zoos is a follow-up to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests-initiated study on `The Status and Distribution of Vultures India' in the year 2000 done along with the Bombay Natural History Society,'' said CZA member-secretary B. R. Sharma.

The proposal to have breeding and conservation centres in Indian zoos was announced at the two-day International Conference on Vulture Conservation this past week.

"While work is on at coming up with a regional action plan, India needs a plan where in it can takes adequate steps to protect the few vultures that it has left. While we are not sure about how exactly the plan is going to work, we are doing our ground work by inviting information from various zoos about enclosure designs and their capability of starting and maintaining a world standard rescue and conservation centre,'' said Dr. Sharma, adding that while the CZA would finance the project hundred per cent it was still collecting the blueprint required to carry out a project on this scale.

CZA is also working closely with the Government to completely phase out diclofenac — the veterinary drug known to kill vultures — and bring in cheaper and safer alternatives.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail