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	Home Background Vulture species Population declines Threatened vultures Consequences Conservation progress Diagnosing the problem Banning diclofenac Safe alternatives What we are doing Advocacy programme Breeding centres Research programme Vulture Safe Zones Who we are Partners Funding People Resources Latest news Contact


	Advocacy and awareness in Nepal In Nepal conservation advocacy and awareness programmes on the vulture declines and issue of diclofenac are being led by Bird Conservation Nepal. Some of the achievements of this work are listed below: 2006 - The Department of Drug Administration (DDA) issued a directive to withdraw all licences to manufacture veterinary diclofenac within Nepal and to ban the import of diclofenac in to the country. 2006 Worked with the DDA to approve the use of the vulture safe drug meloxicam and launched this drug in Nepal at a ceremony in Kathmandu in collaboration with Medivet. 2008 - Secured support from the government for the creation of a vulture conservation breeding centre within Chitwan National Park in Nepal, working in collaboration with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and the National Trust for Nature Conservation. As in India, a wide range of awareness activities have been undertaken by BCN in Nepal in order to raise the profile of vulture conservation across the country. These range from local workshops with farmers and community groups, surveys and information awareness at pharmaceutical shops across lowland Nepal, to meetings with Department of Livestock Services and veterinary practitioners. A large number of articles on vulture conservation have been produced for local television, radio and print media including a full page spread on the vulture conservation issue in Nepal's largest nepali language newspaper. BCN, the RSPB and Frontiers Paragliding (Pokhara, Nepal) were also instrumental in running an international paragliding competition in aid of vulture conservation ("Save Our Soarers") that attracted over 80 pilots from 24 countries and featured in both international and the Nepali news.


	International advocacy and awareness The vulture programme and BirdLife International has helped to significantly raise awareness of the global implications of the veterinary use of diclofenac for vultures. At the International Veterinary Medicine (OIE) Conference held in Dakar, Senegal 25-27 March 2008 Dr Nita Shah (BNHS, BirdLife India) and Chris Bowden (RSPB, BirdLife UK) presented the 15-minute film 'Vanishing Vultures' and provided literature and materials to all 250 delegates at the OIE Conference. Delegates included a large number of representatives of the pharmaceutical industry. The reaction from delegates was very positive, and there was a resulting determination to prevent the licensing or importation of diclofenac for veterinary use, formalised as a resolution from the meeting. The resolution calls on OIE member countries: "Considering their national situation, to seek measures to find solutions to the problems caused by the administration of diclofenac in livestock." OIE is the world organisation for Animal Health, has 172 member countries, and is recognised authority of the World Trade Organisation and the meeting identified the need for standardising and developing a network of veterinary pharmaceutical standards across Africa. The resolution on diclofenac will also help get the message highlighted further in South Asia. Over 99% of Gyps vultures have already disappeared across South Asia due to the toxicity of diclofenac to vultures feeding on treated cattle carcasses, and if not addressed, this new problem could further contribute to already declining African vulture populations. There have been recent reports of drug companies such as Ourofino (Brazilian) which have been marketing diclofenac for veterinary use to 15 African countries, despite the fact that there are vulture-safe alternatives such as meloxicam potentially available.