Nepal's Birds 2010

Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) Established in 1982, Bird Conservation BCN is a membership-based organisation Nepal (BCN) is the leading organisation in with a founding President, patrons, life Nepal, focusing on the conservation of birds, members, friends of BCN and active supporters. their habitats and sites. It seeks to promote Our membership provides strength to the interest in birds among the general public, society and is drawn from people of all walks OF THE STATE encourage research on birds, and identify of life from students, professionals, and major threats to birds’ continued survival. As a conservationists. Our members act collectively result, BCN is the foremost scientific authority to set the organisation’s strategic agenda. providing accurate information on birds and their habitats throughout Nepal. We provide We are committed to showing the value of birds scientific data and expertise on birds for the and their special relationship with people. As Government of Nepal through the Department such, we strongly advocate the need for peoples’ of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation participation as future stewards to attain long- Birds Nepal’s (DNPWC) and work closely in birds and term conservation goals. biodiversity conservation throughout the country. As the Nepalese Partner of BirdLife International, a network of more than 110 organisations around the world, BCN also works on a worldwide agenda to conserve the world’s birds and their habitats. 2010 Indicators for our changing world Indicators THE STATE OF Nepal’s Birds 2010 Indicators for our changing world Bird Bird Conservation Conservation Nepal (BCN) Nepal (BCN) P.O. Box 12465 Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 00977 1 4417805, 4420213 Fax: 00977 1 4413884 Email: [email protected] Web: www.birdlifenepal.org Department of National Parks BirdLife International and Wildlife Conservation BirdLife International is a partnership of Nepal embarked upon modern era of protected area 117 national conservation organisations management with the enactment of the National Parks and and the world leader in bird conservation. Wildlife Conservation Act in 1973. Today the conservation BirdLife’s unique local to global approach paradigm has shifted from an island approach to landscape enables it to deliver high impact and level conservation with community participation for long term conservation for the benefit biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. The of nature and people. Over 10 million Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, people support the BirdLife Partnership of under the aegis of the Ministry of Forest and Soil national non-governmental conservation Conservation, works with a network of protected areas in organisations and local networks. Nepal including ten national parks, three wildlife reserves, one hunting reserve, six conservation areas and eleven For more information: buffer zones, covering an area of 34,186.62 sq. km that is BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court over 23 % of the total area of the country. It was established Girton Road, Cambridge CB3 0NA, UK to conserve, restore and manage Nepal’s rich and varied Tel: +44 1223 277318 fauna and flora, across the landscape and in all the different Fax: +44 1223 277200 ecological zones from the plain Terai to the high Himalayas. Email: [email protected] URL: www.birdlife.org For further information: P.O. Box: 860, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 4220912 / 4220850 Fax: 00977-1-4227675 Email: [email protected] URL: www.dnpwc.gov.np Annapurna Conservation Area, largest IBA in Nepal by Hum Gurung THE STATE OF Nepal’s Birds 2010 Indicators for our changing world Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) PUBLISHED BY Bird Conservation Nepal PO Box 12465, Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation PO Box 860, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Nepal BirdLife International Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge CB3 0NA, UK Copyright © Bird Conservation Nepal, 2011 The views expressed in this document do not necessarily refl ect those of the funders. Extracts may be freely reproduced with acknowledgement. The Suggested Citation: BCN and DNPWC, 2011. The State of Nepal’s Birds 2010. Bird Conservation Nepal and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Kathmandu. ISBN: 978-9937-2-3359-0 Research and Compilation Team Carol Inskipp Hem Sagar Baral Tim Inskipp This project was managed by Hum Gurung with international coordination by Alison Stattersfi eld. Additional contributions were provided by Ishana Thapa, Jyotendra Jyu Thakuri, Menuka Basnyat, Sushma Shrestha, Anand Chaudhary, Mitra Pandey, Jenny Birch, Mike Crosby and Tris Allinson. Dedicated to Jack Cox Jr who died prematurely in 2010. Jack will be remembered for his love of Nepal, its people and birds, his passion for bird conservation and trekking more widely in search of Nepal birds than anyone else to date. Front Cover photo: Sarus Crane by Jyotendra Jyu Thakuri Back Cover photo: Lesser Shortwing by Nelson Khor Designed and Processed by: PrintCommunication, 4782746 Printed in Jagadamba Press The State of Nepal’s Birds 2010 CONTENTS FOREWORDS iv–vi PREFACE vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii SUMMARY x KEY RESPONSES FROM BIRD CONSERVATION NEPAL 1 INTRODUCTION 2–5 Nepal is renowned for its rich diversity of birds 2–3 It is important to conserve birds for many reasons 4–5 STATE 6–11 Bird species are becoming more threatened 6–7 Birds that rely on wetlands are particularly at risk 8–9 Birds found in the lowlands are also highly threatened 10–11 PRESSURE 12–23 Agriculture destroys and degrades more habitat than any other factor 12–13 Forests are being destroyed and degraded 14–15 Wetlands face a wide range of threats 16–17 Grasslands are being reduced and fragmented 18–19 Overexploitation aff ects many bird species 20–21 Invasive species are spreading and climate change is starting to have an eff ect 22–23 RESPONSE 24–34 Conserving and protecting sites 24–25 Looking after habitats – forests, wetlands, grasslands 26–27 Saving species from extinction 28–29 Raising awareness of local communities 30–31 Improving awareness more generally 32–34 CASE STUDIES 35–40 Promoting sustainable livelihoods 35–35 Saving Asia’s vultures 36–36 Involving local communities in biodiversity monitoring 37–37 Creating civil society networks for conservation 38–38 Ecosystem services demonstrate the value of Important Bird Areas 39–39 Bird species are predicted to be aff ected by climate change 40–40 APPENDICES 41–80 Assessment of threat status 41–41 Appendix 1: Species assessed and criteria used 42–43 Appendix 2: Review of Critically Endangered and Endangered species 44–68 Appendix 3: Summary data for all nationally threatened species 69–80 REFERENCES CONSULTED 81–94 SPECIES INDEX 95–96 The State of Nepal’s Birds 2010 4220667 4224892 Government of Nepal Tel: 4262428 4224864 Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation 4223862 Fax: 4223868 Ref. No. P.O. Box No. 3978 Singha Durbar, Kathmandu Date:- FOREWORD Birds are found nearly everywhere and so serve as valuable indicators for global environmental change. Over the past 20 years the status of the world’s 10,000 bird species has deteriorated signifi cantly with more species slipping closer to extinction. Today, one in eight bird species is threatened with global extinction, including Asian birds which are vanishing rapidly largely because of our activities. For example, expanding and intensifying agriculture and forestry are destroying and degrading habitats. Inadequately managed fi sheries, ever-spreading infrastructure, invasive alien species, pollution and overexploitation all pose serious problems. The impacts of climate change on birds are already visible which could be the most serious threat of all. Global environmental commitments are in place but now must be linked more clearly to people’s livelihoods and well-being through the benefi ts provided by ecosystem services, to build constituencies that will look after both key sites and the wider landscape. Most of the world lies outside protected areas—as do most of the world’s birds. The fate of this wider environment is crucial for conservation: to link buff er sites, to meet the requirements of wide-ranging species, and to maintain the familiar species that we know and value. Conservation at this scale requires policies that promote genuinely sustainable development, and that take nature into account alongside the needs of people. Nepal’s birds are better known and better monitored than in most countries in Asia. Since the early 1980s, a growing cadre of ornithologists and conservationists have surveyed and recorded the nation’s birds. Based on this, The State of Nepal’s Birds 2010 by Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) has painted an alarming picture of many species in decline, and on the verge of extinction, in the country. This deterioration in our bird life is certain to be matched by other fauna and fl ora. The Government of Nepal has placed high priority on the conservation of birds including through the eff ective implementation of the Nepal Biodiversity Strategy Plan prepared in 2002. Ensuring the conservation of the 27 Important Bird Areas identifi ed in Nepal would make an enormous contribution towards maintaining not just birds but much other biodiversity. The timely publication of The State of Nepal’s Birds 2010 is a major step forward for bird conservation in Nepal. But the key thing now is to implement its recommendations for action. I am confi dent that it will guide conservationists and practitioners eff ectively as they seek to target their eff orts and resources towards safeguarding biodiversity. I would like to commend BCN and BirdLife International for this important publication and acknowledge everyone involved in this work for their valuable contributions. Yuba Raj Bhusal Secretary Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation iv The State of Nepal’s Birds 2010 Government of Nepal Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation FOREWORD Nepal is blessed with remarkably rich biodiversity. The amazingly diverse climatic and topographic variations within the country have provided a variety of forest and ecosystem types with unique wildlife and birdlife habitats.

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