TN plan to conserve vultures

The Tamil Nadu Government announced on Wednesday, the formation of State Level Committee for the effective conservation of vultures, known as birds of prey. The duration of the committee is two years.

The announcement was made by Additional Chief Secretary Environment, Climate Change and Forests Supriya Sahu.

The initiative has been taken up after the Central Government issued two nation-wide action plans to preserve vultures, which are endangered in the country, with a 96 per cent drop in their population between 1993 and 2003.

The first action plan was announced in 2006 and the second in 2020, to be implemented till 2025. This mainly aimed at the formation of State level committees that would protect the critically endangered vulture population.

The Tamil Nadu committee comprises senior officials of the Forest Department and experts like K Ramesh from the Wildlife Institute of India, S Muralidharan of SACON, and Vibhu Prakash of the Bombay Natural History Society. There are two locals who are also involved in this conservation committee- B Ramakrishnan of the Government Arts College, Uthagamandalam and S Bharathidasan, Secretary of Arulagam.

There are four species of vultures found in Tamil Nadu— the Oriental white-backed vulture, the long-billed vulture, the red-headed vulture, and the Egyptian vulture.

Bharathidasan, who is also working for vulture conservation said, “The first three originate in the landscapes of the Nilgiris and Sathyamangalam while the Egyptian vulture can be found  breeding only at one site  in Dharmapuri.”

Sahu said, “Vultures keep the environment clean by playing a key role as nature’s scavengers hence, their social and ecological significance cannot be underestimated, adding “They are the last level scavenger.”