How Assam’s Community Leaders Are Driving Vulture Conservation Efforts

Vultures may look a little scary, but as the saying goes, we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The birds are an integral component of ecosystems, controlling disease spillover between wildlife, livestock and humans.Since the 1990s however, India has lost over 99 per cent of its vulture population. A major factor has been the widespread use of drugs such as diclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly given to livestock. The residue of this drug remains in an animal’s liver and kidney after they have died, so when vultures feed on them, their kidney suffers permanent damage, and they die a painful death.An Awareness Campaign To Galvanise Assamese VillagersThree years ago, nearly 100 Himalayan griffons died after consuming poisoned pesticide, specifically carbofuran, that was applied on cattle carcasses that were originally meant for killing feral dogs. In fact, the decline of vulture populations has been linked to an increase in stray dogs, which have filled in the gap as scavengers.Recently, the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre (VCBC) in Rani, Assam, joined hands with the biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak to raise awareness among communities about the perils of using “poison bait” to kill dogs, which inadvertently kills vultures, too, creating a vicious cycle of plummeting vulture populations.Sachin Ranade, an ornithologist at the VCBC, said that 60 people participated in the awareness campaign, which took place at the Chhaygaon Revenue Circle office in Kamrup district on August 21. These included locals from nearby villages, college students and village chiefs.“My team reminded the local people of their responsibilities towards vultures and the wider ecosystem,” Ranade said in an interview to Outlook Traveller.“Pesticides should only be reserved for agricultural fields. They should not be misused to kill dogs and reduce their population. There are other means of achieving that, such as via sterilisation operations.”Community Members Respond PositivelyChiranjib Das, the Chhaygaon Circle Officer, said that at least 600 vultures in the last 15 years have died owing to chemical poisoning.“Educating people and increasing their participation in vulture conservation is critical for the future of these birds,” he said.“We are attempting to bring everyone on board through our flagship Sagun Mitra and Nest Guardianship initiatives.” Sagun is the Assamese word for vulture.Ranade says that his team received a positive response from community members.“People are sympathetic to vultures and no one intends to kill a vulture,” he says.“However, there is a lot of ignorance of wider ecosystem effects, so we have to curb the ignorance. The person who poisoned the cattle didn’t know the poison would also kill the vulture. But, since this is happening on such a large scale, this is also their responsibility.“We have to make people aware that they are playing with fire when they use poison bait to kill dogs.”(With inputs from a news report)Defying The Odds: The Man Who Protects One Of India’s Most Threatened Birds