Vulture Action Plan 2020- 25:

The new VULTURE ACTION PLAN 2020-25 extend the project to 2025 to not just halt the decline but to actively increase the vulture numbers.

Key Highlights of the Vulture Action Plan:

• Establishment of four rescue centres in Pinjore, Bhopal, Guwahati and Hyderabad and at least one Vulture Safe Zone in every State.
• Additional vulture conservation and breeding centres each at UP, Tripura, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. And Enhancement of Conservation Breeding Programme so that Conservation Breeding Centres play a major role in the conservation of all the vulture species for many years to come.
• Conservation breeding programme for Red Headed vulture and Egyptian vulture.
• Regulate the sale of veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that lead to the death of vultures.
• Database on emerging threats to vulture conservation.
• Nationwide Vulture Survey once in 4 years.

 

Timelines for Vulture Action Plans

• Action Timeline for Advocacy and Implementation at the National level
• Timeline Actions for the Conservation Breeding Programme
• Action Timeline for Vulture Safe Zone Implementation
• Activity Timeline for Research and Monitoring
• Action Timeline for Vulture Safe Zone Monitoring
• Timeline for Advocacy and Implementation on National Level – Regulate the sale of Agriculture pesticides/insecticides/herbicide in coordination with various agencies/stakeholders like MoEF&CC, Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizer, Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Indian Toxicological Research Institute, BNHS.

 

Various Threats to Vultures:

• Threats to Vulture include collision and electrocution, unintentional poisoning, etc.
• Between the 1990s and 2007, numbers of three critically endangered species Oriental white-backed, long-billed and slender-billed vultures declined by 99%.