White-rumped vultures are among Myanmar's critically endangered bird species. Pic: Myanmar Bird and Nature Society

CONSERVATIONISTS in Myanmar are preparing the country’s first action plan to help save endangered vultures from extinction, Dr Htin Hla, director of the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA), said last week.

The preservation of two critically endangered species – white-rumped vultures and slender-billed vultures – will be the main topic of discussion at a one-day workshop to be held at MiCasa Hotel Apartments on August 10.

“The workshop will produce short-term and long-term plans for vulture conservation in Myanmar, including provisions for conducing surveys, searching for nests and understanding potential threats,” Dr Htin Hla said.

The workshop is expected to attract about 50 participants, including foreign conservation experts, local environmentalists and potential donors from non-government and government organisations and from embassies.

The event is being organised by BANCA in cooperation with the Birdlife International Indochina Program and the London-based Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Dr Htin Hla said the workshop is important because it will focus on the conservation of two out of five critically endangered bird species recorded in Myanmar.

“Critically endangered means they are at the highest risk of extinction. Once they have vanished, they will be irretrievably lost,” he said.

“Vultures are important because they eat dead animals, which helps rid the environment of potential sources of infection and helps prevent the spread of diseases like foot-and-mouth disease and rabies,” he added.

Dr Htin Hla said environmentalists are concerned about vultures because their numbers have declined in the Indian Subcontinent by about 95 percent in the past decade.

Researchers found that many of the vultures have died within 72 hours of eating the flesh of dead cows and buffaloes in India that had been given veterinary diclofenac, a drug used to reduce inflammation and treat pain. Evidence suggests that even small doses of the drug might cause kidney failure in vultures.

International conservation organisations have responded to the crisis by conducting surveys of vultures in other Asian countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar to unearth the extent of the problem, said Dr Htin Hla.

A vulture survey was conducted in Myanmar by the Ministry of Forestry’s Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division, Birdlife International and BANCA from December 2006 to May 2007.

Although the survey found that vulture populations seemed to be declining in Myanmar, the country was in better condition than its neighbours, said Dr Htin Hla.

“We can say Myanmar is a critical place for preservation because we still have viable vulture populations,” he said.

The surveyors sighted large vulture populations in Shan, Kachin and Chin states, as well as in upper Sagaing Division. In addition to white-rumped and slender-billed vultures, Himalayan griffon and red-headed vultures were also seen.

“We found that the vultures under threat from lack of food, poisoning, hunting and destruction of nests,” Dr Htin Hla said.

He said more surveys were necessary to count birds, understand their distribution around the country and identify threats, information that can be used to develop conservation plans aimed at increasing vulture populations.

Six species of vulture have been identified in Myanmar. White-rumped, slender-billed and red-headed vultures are native to the country, while cinereous and Egyptian vultures, and Himalayan griffons, are migratory or vagrant species.