WCC 2016 Res 022 - Activity Report

Promoted CMS Multi-species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures (Vulture MsAP, adopted by CMS parties in 2017) by CMS parties and other stakeholders, as member of Vulture MsAP steering group and adhoc coordination team, and providing interim coordination in Africa and Asia, working most closely with CMS Raptors MOU Coordinating Unit, IUCN SSC Vulture Specialist Group and Vulture Conservation Foundation.
Convened the first Summit for the Flyways in Abu Dhabi, April 2018, bringing together actors and decision-makers from all eight flyways of the world to address the critical declines in many migratory bird populations including vultures. A one-day session covered African-Eurasian Vultures: Delegates reinforced the importance of the Vulture MsAP and highlighted the need for a ‘community of implementers’ bringing together all stakeholders. There is a particular urgency to put in place rapid response mechanisms for communities and governments to jointly tackle the threat of poison baits, and safety testing for veterinary pharmaceuticals to reduce this proven risk. ‘Vulture Safe Zones’ are crucial in South Asia; similar, appropriately adapted landscape approaches show great promise in other regions, particularly Africa. See https://www.birdlife.org/hub/summit-flyways.

All anti-poisoning activities described under 'Field Activities' below include strong components of awareness-raising and education on the importance of vultures and impacts of poisoning. In addition, the outcomes of the Summit for the Flyways have been strongly promoted and advocated.

Additional public awareness and education by BIrdLife Partner NGOs in Africa included production and dissemination of a documentary on vultures in Burkina Faso (by NATURAMA), and awareness programmes on the value, importance and need to conserve vultures in Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana (using International Vulture Awareness Day, through Wildlife Clubs), Sierra Leone (celebrating World Environment Day) and across Africa/worldwide (e.g. with National Geographic ‘Year of the Bird’) coordinated by the BirdLife Secretariat

Actions to save Africa's vultures from poisoning have been implemented in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Zambia by BirdLife Partners – ongoing project from 2017. These include working with communities and national authorities to develop and implement protocols for rapid response to poisoning and management of human-wildlife conflict, including awareness-raising and training. The Rapid Response Protocol has been adopted in Kenya and has led to a growing network of rangers, security personnel, tour guides, scientists, conservationists, conservancy managers, and government officials committed to tackling poisoning events together. This is known to have averted at least one (potentially mass) poisoning incident and reduced the impact of others.
BirdWatch Zambia have continued to consolidate and expand African’s first ‘Vulture Safe Zone’ in and around the Chisamba IBA and Luangwa Valley.

As a Partner in the SAVE (Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction) consortium, BirdLife's activities in support of S and SE Asian Vulture conservation are described in a separate report from Chris Bowden.
In Europe, several BirdLife Partners and other collaborating organisations are taking action for vultures with particular attention to Egyptian Vulture in Eastern Europe, and to advocating for the banning of vulture-toxic veterinary Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, in particular diclofenac in Portugal, Spain and Italy and across the EU. The campaign continues at the time of writing but regrettably has not yet prevented the expanding licensing of veterinary diclofenac.

Implementation of the new EU LIFE-funded project (by 14 global partners) on ‘Urgent Actions to Strengthen the Balkan Population of the Egyptian Vulture and Secure Its Flyway’ project, beginning urgent conservation measures towards eliminating major known threats to the Egyptian Vulture along its flyway, contributing to the newly agreed ‘Flyway Action Plan for the Conservation of the Balkan and Central Asian Populations of the Egyptian Vulture’ as well as the Vulture MsAP. Surveys in African range states covered by the project (Nigeria, Ethiopia, Niger and Chad) are underway

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation continues is efforts to combat Illegal Wildlife Trade involving vultures and their body parts for belief-based use in Nigeria.
A pledge by Birdlife International, Endangered Wildlife Trust, IUCN Vulture Specialist Group and The Peregrine Fund, to appear as an Annex to the London 2018 Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference Declaration committed the four organisations to participate in and support national and international efforts to:
- reduce and eventually halt the trade in vultures and their body parts for belief-based use;
- reduce and eventually halt the practice of sentinel poisoning of vultures by elephant poachers
- reduce human-lion conflict that masks the intentional trade in lion parts whereby both vultures and lions are poisoned.
Policy and advocacy work by BirdLife African partners includes progress in finalising the Zimbabwe Nation Vulture Action Plan (BirdLife Zimbabwe); creation of a Bird Conservation Sub-working group in KAZA composing BirdLife Zimbabwe, BirdLife Botswana, and BirdWatch Zambia; and establishment by the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks of a new Vulture Conservation Coordinator post, working full-time on vulture issues in Botswana (supported by BirdLife Botswana).

In association with the Summit for the Flyways, BirdLife has commissioned a review of Vulture Safe Zones, examining progress in South Asia and Zambia, the application of a similar approach across Africa and elsewhere. Further discussions on the VSZ concept in Africa have now begun, convened by BIrdLife South Africa.

Other recent scientific work by BirdLife Partner NGOs in Africa includes:
• Studies on the factors causing vulture declines in Burkina Faso (NATURAMA)
• Better understanding of the threats to vulture populations in Nigeria and their root causes (Nigerian Conservation Foundation)
• Lead ammunition impact research in South Africa (BirdLife South Africa)
• Survey of vulture numbers in parks in Uganda (Nature Uganda)
• Citizen science programmes leading to increased reports of vulture sightings in Malawi (Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi)
• Assessment of impacts on vultures of a windfarm project in Djibouti (Djibouti Nature)
BirdLife Partners continue to contribute, or facilitate contributions, to poisoning databases including African Wildlife Poison Database, and where necessary supporting national compilations such as the bird mortality database in Zimbabwe