Bangladesh has become an example among South Asian countries for its efforts to save vultures, a wildlife expert has said.
Published : 22 Nov 2014, 05:43 PM
Chris Bowden, programme manager for Saving Asian Vultures from Extinction (SAVE), made the comment at the fourth meeting of the association at Hotel Sonargaon on Saturday.
SAVE is actively working in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Cambodia to conserve the raptors whose numbers have been declining rapidly.
In Bangladesh, SAVE works with the forest department.
The vulture population has come down to just 6,000 globally, with about 500 white-rumped vultures in Bangladesh.
The government has reserved 27,000 square kilometers of land in Khulna and 19,000 in Sylhet and declared them ‘vulture safe zones’, the environment and forest secretary Md Nazibur Rahman told the meeting.
It has also banned the use of veterinary drug diclofenac, which heavily contributed to the decline in the bird’s population.