Representatives of the government, media and academia, as well as local and regional species and vulture experts from India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Nepal attended the Symposium.

The purpose of the Symposium was to bring together regional vulture experts to learn from their experiences and knowledge of conservation of these essential birds in the Asia Region.

Senator Saleem Zia, who was the chief guest at the inaugural session, appreciated the efforts of Baanhn Beli and IUCN, and strongly endorsed stringent actions against the use of diclofenac; a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used as a painkiller for domestic animals and a major contributor to the steep decline in vulture population in Pakistan.

He further said that concerted efforts on local, provincial, national and regional levels will be required to prepare and implement an effective strategy for the protection and conservation of vultures.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji, IUCN Regional Director Asia, said that IUCN as an international organisation with a mix of state, government agencies and NGO members,“brings together a wide range of stakeholders on issues of mutual interest on neutral ground. In this capacity, IUCN will continue promoting dialogues on natural resource issues between people from various fields, sectors and government tiers.”

She appreciated the efforts of the Governments that have recognised the need to scale-up conservation, breeding and reintroduction programmes, and highlighted the urgent need for trans-boundary Vulture Safe Zones to conserve vulture populations in the wild.

In his opening remarks, Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change, mentioned the research conducted in Pakistan on the disappearance of vultures and its verification by regional countries, and revealed that diclofenac sodium administered to livestock was the main cause of this sudden decline in the population of vultures in South Asia. “The Government of Pakistan, realising the importance of species, responded quickly and banned diclofenac production and its use in the country.”

Later in the closing ceremony, Mr. Arif Ahmed Khan, former Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change, and now Secretary, Ministry of Interior, also shared his views on the vulture issue, saying that governments need policy-level decisions across South Asia, and that drugs such as diclofenac needed to be discontinued and that relevant government officials, such as in health, also needed to be sensitised to understand the gravity of the issue.

He added that while efforts were underway, the existing situation required stronger measures and steps to ensure that vulture numbers increase.

Mr. Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, Country Representative IUCN Pakistan, gave an overview of IUCN’s efforts towards species conservation, especially with respect to vulture conservation, and highlighted the role the organisation had been playing in sustainable development, through its membership, commission members and collaborations with governments.

Syed Mahmood Nasir, Inspector General Forests, Government of Pakistan reiterated the many threats vultures were facing which included shortage of carrion on which they feed, and encroachment by humans in their habitats.

Technical sessions included presentations by regional experts who shared their experience in vulture conservation and suggested measures that could be adopted in Pakistan to further speed up efforts towards arresting the decline.

Dr. Syed Ali Ghalib and Dr. Fehmida Firdous, who had conducted a baseline on vultures in Nagarparkar in Sindh, reported their findings during the event and pinpointed areas where specific vulture populations were still to be found.

For more information, please contact:

GeorgeSadiq Programme Officer Education Communication and Outreach Cell: 0301-2931184 E-mail: george.sadiq@iucn.org