The Babbler 19

The Babbler September 2006 Number 19 Welcome Jonathan C. Eames

Feature and comment Kouprey – a species that never was?

Regional news - Tragic loss of conservationists in Nepal helicopter crash - Bugun Liocichla: a sensational discovery in north-east India - Nepal drug boost for vultures - Amphibian diversity in South-East Asia - Investigating a possible sighting of White-eyed River-Martin - Teak imports from Myanmar angers conservationists

Important Bird Area News - Chindwin River dam threatens Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary (MY14)

Rarest of the rare Vietnamese Pheasant

Project updates - Cambodia activities - Vietnam activities - Myanmar activities

Spotlight Organization PanNature

Publications Book reviews

Staff news From the Archive BirdLife International in Indochina #4/209, Doi Can, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: + 84 4 722 3864 Fax: + 84 4 722 3835 Email: birdlife@birdlife.netnam.vn www.birdlifeindochina.org The Babbler is compiled and edited by Dang Nguyen Hong Hanh. If you have any contribution or suggestion for the next issue, please contact Hanh@birdlife.netnam.vn by 1st December.

BirdLife International in Indochina The feature article in this issue centres on the origin of one of the world’s rarest and enigmatic large mammals, the Kouprey. The recently published paper by Galbreath et al. once again raises the possibility that the Kouprey has a hybrid origin. Doubts over what exactly a Kouprey is have been raised since the time of its formal description. The lengths to which collectors went to in order to secure specimens for museum collections ensures that scientists today have material upon which to draw to advance our knowledge using technologies not available at the time of its original description.

Likewise, the research that has lead to new research doubting the validity of Sus bucculentus, also reported in this issue, would again not have been possible without the designation of skeletal material as the Holotype.

In this issue we report on the description of the Bugun Liocichla Liocichla bugunorum (see also Babbler 18). This exciting discovery is overshadowed by the fact that only a photograph and a few feathers are all that was designated and the holotype is at liberty in evergreen forest undergrowth in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. Whatever the authors motives for not collecting a specimen it is certain that future researchers will never again have the opportunity to refer to the Holotype which will compromise future research on this species. A no better case for collection is made in this issue where we report on a paper recognizing 44 new species of babbler which were previously not recognized. This exciting paper which has far reaching consequences for setting bird conservation priorities in our region could not have been written had the author not had extensive series of specimens with which to refer.

We were all deeply saddened recently to learn of the recent helicopter crash in Nepal and the tragic loss of life suffered. This is the kind of tragedy that all who work in conservation dread for many reasons, but not least because there are all too few conservationists in the world and it hurts our cause so much, at such as critical time to loose a single individual. With accelerating biodiversity loss and climate change upon us the chances of success are already heavily stacked against us all in our work. Let us hope that the commitment and dedication to conservation shown by these individuals helps inspire others to continue the struggle and build upon their successes in Nepal and worldwide.

Jonathan C. Eames Programme Manager BirdLife International in Indochina

2 BirdLife International in Indochina

Feature Kouprey – a species that never was?

The discovery of the Kouprey Bos sauveli was one of the most surprising zoological finds of the 20th Century. Few had imagined that a large species of wild cattle could have escaped discovery for so long. However, a new analysis of Kouprey and Banteng Bos javanicus DNA suggests to some scientists that Kouprey may never have been a valid species.

Kouprey were first brought to the attention of scientists in 19181, and described in 19372. They were mainly found in the dry deciduous forests of eastern and northeastern Cambodia. As reported in issue 17 of The Babbler, pioneering efforts by Charles Wharton in the 1950s and 1960s led to most of our current knowledge of Kouprey but subsequent conflict in the region, and the species’ increasing rarity, have meant that there have been no scientific sightings since the 1960s3. The last credible sightings were in the 1980s, despite intensive search efforts since that time.

A multitude of threats, but primarily hunting, are believed to have pushed Kouprey towards extinction.

However, almost since its description, there has been doubt over the true status of the Kouprey. Theories that it may be simply a vicariant of Banteng or a hybrid between Banteng and Water Buffalo Bubalus bubalis are not supported by available evidence, but other possibilities are harder to rule out4. It has been suggested that Kouprey are a hybrid between Banteng and domestic cattle, a feral form of a historically-domesticated breed of the ‘ancestral cattle’ Bos taurus, or descendants of the ancestors of current domestic zebu cattle5.

Two years ago, scientists attempted to tease further clues to the Kouprey’s identity from the few available genetic data – comparing mitochondrial DNA from a Kouprey specimen to that of various other cattle species. They concluded that Kouprey could not be hybrids, due to the major differences in mitochondrial DNA between the Kouprey specimen and other cattle samples6.

However, other scientists have pointed out that there is high genetic variation within Banteng populations across that species’ range, and argued that this previous study may only show differences between Kouprey and some more remote Banteng An adult female kouprey was populations, rather than between Kouprey and Banteng populations within its range. photographed in the Phnom They thus compared mitochondrial DNA of one Kouprey to that of two Banteng from Prich area of eastern Cambodia in order to test the hypothesis that Kouprey are the result of hybridisation Cambodia. It is probably the between Banteng and other cattle, in a study published this year1. Their analysis first and only such picture lends some weight to this hypothesis by showing a high similarity between DNA of ever taken. Photo: Pierre the Kouprey and the Banteng from Cambodia, but not between DNA of the Kouprey Pfeffer and Banteng from insular South-East Asia. The authors suggest that the most likely reason for this is that Kouprey is a self-perpetuating feral hybrid with Banteng and zebu ancestry. They also suggest another, more slim, possibility that Kouprey is a distinct species, but began to interbreed with Banteng recently when its populations became increasingly rare and fragmented. To test this latter possibility, they suggest comparing Banteng DNA known to come from southwest Cambodia, outside of the recent known range of the Kouprey. However, comparisons are likely to have to be sought further afield given the theory that the original range of Kouprey may have been eastern Thailand, possibly centered around the Korat plateau, later spreading eastwards across Cambodia with the expansion of fire-created wooded grasslands following the decline of the Khmer civilization in the 14th and 15th Centuries7.

Of course, this study – like all tests of the various theories about its true identity – is hampered by the lack of recent information on, or in this case genetic samples of, Kouprey. This year’s study certainly seems to show that hybridisation has taken place in the Kouprey’s history, and this would be no surprise – most closely related species hybridise at a limited level, and hybridisation of domesticated cattle species (of which the Kouprey may have been one8) must certainly have taken place in the region. However, it is less clear whether the single Kouprey from which a DNA sample was used was a normal representative of its type, or a rare, exceptional individual that had hybrid ancestors.

The Babbler 19 – September 2006

3 BirdLife International in Indochina With only patchy and historical information on Kouprey, it is hard to conclusively test any of these theories and so most conservationists have erred on the side of caution by continuing to treat it as a valid species. For the time being, with the faint hope that Kouprey still exist, continuing to treat it as a species is likely to remain the best strategy, in order that it is not forgotten in future conservation efforts.

Whatever the true identity of the Kouprey, it is important to remember that the severe hunting and habitat loss that caused its declines, or extinction, are still very much in force in the dry forests of South-East Asia. It thus remains a conservation priority to reduce these threats in order that we do not also lose other species like Banteng in the future.

John Pilgrim, Conservation Advisor, BirdLife International in Indochina 1

Dufossé, M. (1918) Monographie de la Circonscription Residentielle de Kompong-Thom. Union Nguyen-Van-Cua, Saigon.

2

Urbain, A. (1937) Le Kou Prey ou beouf gris cambodgien. Bull. Soc. Zool. France 62: 305–307.

3

Source: Charles McDermid and Cheang Sokha, Phnom Penh Post, Volume 15, Number 8, April 21- May 4, 2006.

4

Hedges, S. (in prep.) Asian Wild Cattle and Buffaloes: Status Report and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland.

5

Hassanin, A. and Ropiquet, A. (2004) Molecular phylogeny of the tribe Bovini (Bovidae, Bovinae) and the taxonomic status of the Kouprey, Bos sauveli Urbain 1937. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33: 896-907.

6 Galbreath, G. J., Mordacq, J. C. and Weiler, F. H. (2006) Genetically solving a zoological mystery: was the kouprey (Bos sauveli) a feral hybrid?

Journal of Zoology online early content (Sep. 2006).

7

Simon Hedges (IUCN/SSC Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group and Wildlife Conservation Society) in litt. 2006.

8

Hassanin, A., Ropiquet, A., Cornette, R., Tranier, M., Pfeffer, P., Candegabe, P., and Lemaire, M. (2006) Has the kouprey (Bos sauveli Urbain, 1937) been domesticated in Cambodia? C. R. Biol. 329 (2):124-35.

A “Sunday hunter” from Phnom Penh posing with an adult bull Kouprey: he is said to have shot several over the years. Three characteristics of Kouprey the frayed horn-tips, notched nostril and dewlap are all clearly visible in this photograph. Photo: James Mellon.

The Babbler 19 – September 2006

4 BirdLife International in Indochina Following the recent publication suggesting a hybrid origin for the Kouprey we here reproduce with permission, an open email from the senior author Dr Gary Galbreath which he circulated together with a pdf file of his paper. This email provides some further context and background to his case, and a response from Dr Simon Hedges, Large Bovini Coordinator, IUCN/SSC Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group.

July 24, 2006 Dear friends and colleagues, I am writing to make you aware of a paper that I believe you will all find interesting. It is authored by myself, John C. Mordacq, and F. Hunter Weiler, and has been published in the Journal of Zoology (London). A pdf file of the paper is attached. If you have any problem opening this, the paper can also be accessed on-line at: http://dx.doi.org/ The needed DOI number at that site is: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00188.x Access should be free if you or your library or your organization has a JZ subscription. Volume and page numbers will be added later to the electronic file (when the printed volume appears), but the paper is officially published.

Some of you will be aware of the controversial hypothesis formulated by H. Bohlken in the 1960s: that the famous (and now extinct) Kouprey (= "Forest Ox" in Khmer) of Cambodia was actually a domestic Banteng/Zebu hybrid strain that had become feral. Bohlken's morphological and circumstantial evidence was impressive (to me, anyway), and two years ago I set out to test his hypothesis genetically. It has been shown (by Alexandre Hassanin and Anne Ropiquet) that the mtDNA of the Kouprey is not similar to that of Zebu or Javan Banteng, but no one had tested Cambodian (or, as far as I know, any mainland-dwelling) wild Banteng. A clear prediction of Bohlken's hypothesis, then, was that the mtDNA (which is of course maternally inherited as a unit) of some or all mainland Banteng (Bos javanicus birmanicus) would group with that of the Kouprey. I acquired mtDNA from two Banteng (individuals which came into a wildlife rescue center independently of each other) and we sequenced it. It is very similar to that of the Kouprey, and even evinces the unusual pair of consecutive transversions found in Kouprey Cytochrome-b DNA. The scientific method was closely followed here: An hypothesis (Bohlken's) made a specific genetic prediction that was otherwise unlikely to be true. And the prediction has now been shown to be correct. The Kouprey probably was not a species, but rather was a feral hybrid form dwelling in the human-modified open forest of northern and eastern Cambodia. In retrospect, this should not be terribly surprising, as there have long been problematic aspects of the Kouprey's biology. And there are plenty of domestic hybrid cattle strains, partly Banteng, in SE Asia. Some domestic cattle of northern Vietnam even look a great deal like Kouprey. This conclusion also explains the way that the Kouprey meanders among potential relationships in morphological phylogenies; that is what is expected of hybrid organisms when cladistic techniques are applied, since the assumption of bifurcating lineages is violated.

There is a slight chance (noted in our paper) that this result is instead due to mtDNA from kouprey somehow getting into Cambodian banteng. Given independent samples, slightly differing haplotypes, the completely normal appearance of our Banteng, and several other considerations, this possibility is surely quite small. But we are in the process of making an additional test by obtaining Banteng mtDNA from western Cambodia, where the kouprey never occurred and thus where inter-species transmission could not have occurred.

It is pleasant to realize that humans have probably not, after all, caused the extinction of a species in this case. But the real wild oxen of mainland SE Asia - Banteng, Gaur, wild Water Buffalo – could soon become extinct if more is not done to protect them from poachers. There is liable to be media interest concerning the Kouprey situation, and one way to make use of that publicity, for the greater conservation good, is to use it to focus attention on the plight of the Kouprey's wild "parent", the Banteng ("Ansong" in Khmer), which is under serious assault by poachers. So that will be a focus in any dealings with the press, together with spreading information about the work of NGOs and government agencies trying to protect Banteng and other species in SE Asia.

Best Regards, Gary Galbreath

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August 04, 2006 Dear Gary, Hunter told me a bit about your "was the Kouprey a feral hybrid?" paper when I last met with him in Cambodia, and from that summary I suspected that may have an error of reasoning along the lines "if one sampled 'Kouprey' proves to be a feral hybrid all other Kouprey must be feral hybrids too". I have now had a chance to read the published paper, and while you do acknowledge two alternative explanations for your results (identified by me as nos 2 and 3 below), I think you downplay the likelihood that no. 3 (modest introgression of Kouprey mtDNA into Banteng populations) is the explanation for what you find, and furthermore do indeed ignore the possibility that while your Kouprey sample may have come from a hybrid animal not all Kouprey were hybrids (my no. 4).

Thus its seems to me that there are at least 4 hypotheses for what Kouprey are/were: (1) "the Kouprey was not a natural species, but rather a self-perpetuating feral form with banteng and zebu (and conceivably B. taurus) ancestry" (from p3 of your paper); (2) "the Kouprey could have originated hundreds of thousands of years ago via massive genetic introgression involving a banteng population and a zebu-like wild ox population" (again from p3 of your paper); (3) Kouprey are/were a true species but "[as they] became progressively rarer in recent years, there could have been modest introgression of Kouprey mtDNA into Banteng population(s). If so, [your two] Banteng specimens could conceivably possess mtDNA that originated with Kouprey females" (again from p3 of your paper); (4) Kouprey are/were a true species and there was some level of interbreeding between Kouprey and Banteng in the past and so remnant banteng mtDNA is present in some Kouprey (including the holotype studied by Hassanin & Ropiquet and by you and your colleagues) as a result of incomplete lineage sorting.

Personally I think number 3 is the most likely explanation, then number 4. In regard to nos 3 and 4, it is important to remember that Wharton and others noted that, back when both species were more numerous, Kouprey often associated with Banteng. Wharton saw them feeding, drinking, and travelling together in search of food or cover, and lone Kouprey bulls were also reported to associate frequently with Banteng herds.

The term "feral hybrid" only applies if no.1 is true; if 2, 3, or 4 reflect the true origin of Kouprey then use of the term "feral" would be incorrect.

Clearly further testing of additional Banteng and Kouprey samples is needed to decide between these alternative hypotheses. It is too early to decide that Kouprey were all hybrids, feral or otherwise.

Finally, I believe that one of the key messages to come out of this debate about the origin of the Kouprey should be recognition that the forces that caused the likely extinction of the Kouprey are still extant in much of SE Asia and the challenge is therefore to stop other species such as the Banteng suffering the same fate as the Kouprey (whatever it is/was).

I will be meeting with James (Burton) the new Chair of the Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group on Monday and Kouprey will certainly be on the agenda. I think there would be value in asking the Editor of J Zoology if we can write a commentary piece to accompany your paper.

I look forward to your comments.

Best wishes, Simon Simon Hedges Large Bovini Coordinator, IUCN/SSC Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group, & Associate Conservation Biologist, Wildlife Conservation Society - Asia Program

The Babbler 19 – September 2006

6 BirdLife International in Indochina

Regional news Tragic loss of conservationists in Nepal helicopter crash Gland, Switzerland: WWF, the global conservation organization, said today it was deeply saddened at the loss of life in Saturday’s helicopter crash in the mountainous far-east of Nepal.

“The helicopter has been found, and it appears that there are no survivors, but we are waiting for final confirmation,” Director General James Leape said this morning.

The wreckage of the Shree Air helicopter was found today 1.8 kilometres (1.15 miles) from Ghunsa village. Rescuers had been looking for the crash site since the helicopter disappeared shortly after noon Nepal time (6.00 GMT) on Saturday. It was found by a search team who had hiked in on foot.

"We send our condolences to the families of all those who were involved in this tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the families, and we are doing everything we can to support them," WWF Director General James Leape said.

Seven WWF staff from its offices in Nepal, the UK and the US, were on board, as well as high-ranking government officials, representatives of other agencies, journalists and Russian crew members. If confirmed, the deaths will amount to the biggest single loss of life in WWF’s 45-year history.

"The colleagues we have lost had dedicated their lives to conserving the extraordinary natural resources of Nepal and of the Earth. Their deaths are a huge blow to conservation efforts in Nepal, and worldwide. They will be greatly missed," Mr Leape said.

“WWF appreciates the efforts of the authorities and all the help of local communities in the search to find our colleagues and partners.”

The helicopter was on its way back from a trip to a conservation site at Ghunsa, in Kangchenjunga, in eastern Nepal near the border with India. It was due to land in Taplejung 20 minutes later but failed to arrive. An air and land search was quickly begun, but was hampered by poor weather conditions, which reduced visibility, and the remote location.

The helicopter was returning from an inauguration ceremony which saw the Nepalese government turn over the conservation of the wildlife and habitats surrounding Kangchenjunga — the world's third-highest mountain — to a coalition of local communities.

The Kangchenjunga Conservation Area is known for its rich biodiversity, spectacular scenery and vibrant cultural heritage. Launched in 1998, it is designed to conserve globally threatened wildlife species such as the snow leopard and red panda while supporting the local communities through health services, informal education and income-generating activities.

Source: WWF International Press Release, September 25, 2006

Bugun Liocichla: a sensational discovery in north‐east India A professional astronomer has made the most sensational ornithological discovery in India for more than half a century.

Birdwatching at Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, in January 1995, Ramana Athreya glimpsed two liocichlas (a kind of Asian babbler) which did not fit any field guide descriptions. Ten years passed before he saw the birds again. A colleague identified them—from Athreya’s field sketch—as Emei Shan Liocichla Liocichla omeiensis. But Emei Shan Liocichla is endemic to mountains in south-west China. The nearest record was over 1,000 km from Eaglenest.

The Babbler 19 – September 2006

7 BirdLife International in Indochina With Forest Department permits, Athreya mist-netted one bird in May 2006. After detailed notes and photographs—and feathers which had worked loose in the net—he released it.

Similarities suggested it was closely related to Emei Shan Liocichla, but many differences in plumage and calls, especially song, indicated a new species. Bugun is about 10% larger in all measurements except the beak, which is smaller.

Since such a spectacularly colourful bird (with equally distinctive calls) had been overlooked during several years of surveys at Eaglenest, Athreya felt the population might be too small to withstand the loss of an adult bird. Instead, feathers from the mist-net have been designated the holotype.

Presumed male Bugun Liocichla Liocichla bugunorum. Photographs, tail feathers, and sound recordings were used to describe the newly discovered species. Photo: Ramana Athreya

“A busy highway could well push this spectacular bird into local extirpation, which could also be extinction.” —Ramana Athreya, discoverer of Bugun Liocichla

Most sightings have taken place in community forest belonging to the Bugun tribe, so Athreya has proposed the name Bugun Liocichla Liocichla bugunorum. The formal description appears in Indian Birds, where a PDF of the paper can be downloaded. Athreya’s observations account for a total of 14 individuals, but he thinks the species may eventually be discovered in adjacent Bhutan and elsewhere in Arunachal Pradesh.

All sightings except one have been on hillsides over 2,000 metres, among dense scrub and small trees remaining after logging. “Clearly the species can exist in disturbed areas and utilise different vegetation,” Athreya says. “This is more or less identical to the habitat preference of Emei Shan Liocichla.” This versatility is at odds with the small, highly local populations.

There are plans to build a highway through Eaglenest, passing through Lama Camp where most sightings have taken place. “The birds survive but clearly they don’t thrive. A busy highway could well push this spectacular bird into local extirpation, which could also be extinction.”

Dr Asad Rahmani , Director of BNHS (the BirdLife Partner in India), commented: “This discovery again proves the importance and need for extensive research and exploration in north-eastern India. We must also see that the species's habitat is adequately protected.”

There are plans to build a highway through the Bugun Liocichla's core habitat at Eaglenest, Arunachal Pradesh. Photo: Ramana Athreya

The prospect of income from ecotourism provides a major incentive to protect Eaglenest. Athreya, in partnership with Indi Glow of the Bugun tribe, is developing an ecotourism project to benefit the local community.

A copy of the Indian Birds paper (PDF, 1,934 KB) is available at http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2006/09/indian_birds_liocichla.pdf Source: News Release of BirdLife International on September 19, 2006

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Nepal drug boost for vultures Hopes of saving Asia's globally threatened vultures have been given a second boost by a drug company in Nepal.

In May, the Indian Government said the livestock treatment diclofenac, which is responsible for the 97 per cent declines of three vulture species in most of Asia, would be banned as a veterinary drug within three months. The vultures die as a result of kidney failure.

Now Nepal’s largest veterinary pharmaceutical firm is selling a replacement drug at the same price, prompting the Nepalese authorities to halt the domestic manufacture and import of diclofenac with immediate effect. Until now, diclofenac has been significantly cheaper than the new, safe treatment, meloxicam.

"It is not too late for Nepal’s vultures. The prompt removal of diclofenac and the introduction of meloxicam, along with local conservation initiatives, can bring these essential birds back from the brink of extinction." —Dr Hem Sagar Baral, Chief Executive Officer, BCN Numbers of the White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis and the Slender-billed Vulture G. tenuirostris have plunged by 90 per cent in Nepal in ten years, and by 97 per cent in India and Pakistan. Indian Vulture G. indicus has also suffered a similar decline and half of all the remaining vultures are dying every year.

The production of meloxicam by Medivet in Nepal, and the Nepalese import and production ban, is a major breakthrough for conservationists hoping to stop veterinary diclofenac use throughout Asia.

Mr Bhupendra Bahadur Thapa, Nepal’s Chief Drug Administrator, commented: "The Department of Drug Administration has now withdrawn the registration of diclofenac for veterinary use, and has informed all of Nepal's veterinary importers and domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers not to import and produce any more diclofenac, with immediate effect."

BirdLife International and its Partners including Bird Conservation Nepal, the Bombay Natural History Society (BirdLife in India) and the RSPB have been working for a number of years to bring an end to Asia's vulture crisis.

Vultures were once the commonest large birds of prey in the world Photo: Goutam Narayan/BNHS

Source: News Release of BirdLife International on August 2, 2006

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Amphibian diversity in South‐East Asia A flurry of publications this year by researchers from the United States have significantly increased knowledge of amphibians in Indochina. However, they have also served to illustrate just how very little we currently do know about amphibians, despite the fact that they are one of the most threatened groups of animals globally1.

A key paper reports on the molecular genetics of two species of forest frogs from localities across South-East Asia and concludes that morphologically similar ‘cryptic’ species occur together across much of the region2. These findings suggest that the number of amphibian species in the region is likely to be much higher than previously realised and, in conjunction with other analyses, suggest that “there may not be any geographically widespread, forest-dwelling frog species in the region.” This has huge implications for efforts to prevent extinctions in Indochina; indicating that diversity and turnover of amphibians in the region are so high that many remaining areas of forest will prove to be of importance for the conservation of a species of amphibian, even if that species has not yet been identified.

A number of other publications reported new species, or new distributional records, as summarised below: A survey of hilly eastern Cambodia resulted in discovery and description of two new species, Leptobrachium mouhoti and Ophryophryne synoria, plus records of 11 other amphibian species (and seven snakes) from Cambodia for the first time3. The herpetofauna of these eastern Cambodian hills was shown to be strongly similar to the central Vietnamese highlands, with only weak similarities to the Cardamom Mountains of south-west Cambodia.

Three new species of cascade frog were described from Vietnam and Laos4. Rana cucae is known only from Lao Cai Province, in Vietnam’s Hoang Lien Mountains. Rana vitrea is known only from Phou Dendin National Biodiversity Conservation Area, Phongsaly Province, northern Laos. Rana compotrix is only known from the Northern Truong Son (Annamites) of Laos and the Kon Tum Plateau of Vietnam.

Yet another new species of cascade frog, Rana indeprensa, was described from Nakhon Ratchasima (in Khao Yai National Park) and Nakhon Nayok Provinces, in eastern Thailand5. The same publication reported finding Rana morafkai in Ha Thinh and Quang Nam Provinces in Vietnam and Xe Kong Province in Laos. This species was only previously known from Gia Lai Province in Vietnam and Champasak Province in Laos.

The Junlian Odorous Frog Odorrana junlianensis was recorded from Vietnam, Laos, and China’s Yunnan Province for the first time, on the basis of re-identified specimens6. This species was previously only known from China’s Sichuan, Guizhou, and Xizang Provinces.

Rana nigrotympanica was recorded from Laos for the first time, on the basis of re-identified specimens from Phongsaly Province near the border with China7. This species was previously only known from Yunnan Province, China.

John Pilgrim, Conservation Advisor, BirdLife International in Indochina

1

http://www.globalamphibians.org/

2 Stuart, B. L., Inger, R. F. and Voris, H. K. (2006) High level of cryptic species diversity revealed by sympatric lineages of Southeast Asian forest frogs. Biology Letters 2 (3): 470-474.

3 Stuart, B. L., Ko Sok and Thy Neang (2006) A collection of amphibians and reptiles from hilly eastern Cambodia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 54 (1): 129-155.

4 Bain, R. H., Stuart, B. L. and Orlov, N. L. (2006) Three New Indochinese Species of Cascade Frogs (Amphibia: Ranidae) Allied to Rana archotaphus. Copeia 2006 (1): 43-59.

5

Bain, R. H. and Stuart, B. L. (2006) A new species of cascade frog (Amphibia: Ranidae) from Thailand, with new data on Rana banaorum and Rana morafkai. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 53 (1): 3-16.

6

Bain, R. H. and Stuart, B. L. (2006) Significant new records of the Junlian Odorous Frog, Odorrana junlianensis Huang, Fei, and Ye, 2001. Hamadryad 30 (1&2): 151-156.

7

Stuart, B. L., Heatwole, H. F. and Tan Fui Lian (2006) Record of the little-known Rana nigrotympanica Dubois, 1992 (Amphibia: Ranidae) from northern Laos. Hamadryad 30 (1&2): 108-113.

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Possible sighting of White‐eyed River‐Martin from Cambodia In March of 2004 Wayne Mcullum thought he saw a group of White-eyed River-Martin, Eurochelidon sirintarae, while birdwatching in Cambodia. He tentatively identified it using Craig Robson's book "Birds of Southeast Asia", but it wasn't until afterwards when he read the accompanying text that he realized that it would be a very rare sighting indeed; subsequently he contacted Wildlife Conservation Society [WCS] in Phnom Penh and suggested that they send someone to investigate his sighting. At the time I was living in Cambodia teaching English as a volunteer to some of the WCS staff so it was suggested that as an experienced birdwatcher I accompany Wayne on a second trip to the area of his sighting.

In mid 2004 I met Wayne and we took a boat for an hour or so up a river and walked around a sparsely populated area where Wayne worked; there were Barn Swallows White-eyed River Martin Hirundo rustica, Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo daurica, Treeswifts Hemiprocne spp, BeePhoto: H. E. McClure eaters Merops spp and many more species that could conceivably be confused with Whiteeyed River-Martin. There were, however, no signs of our target. Wayne told me that the location of his previous sighting was another hour further along the river and that we did not have time to make it that day. He had work and I had other plans and it was decided that as all previous sightings of White-eyed River-Martin in South-East Asia had occurred in the winter months and that it was widely considered to be a migrant to the region during these months (Tobias, 2000) it would make more sense to try again later in the year. Shortly after that I came down with Falciparum malaria and was forced to leave Cambodia for the next year and a half.

On my return to Cambodia in March 2006 I met with another NGO worker who Wayne had suggested I contact and we rented a boat for an overnight trip to the exact place where Wayne's possible sighting occurred. We reached this location at approximately 4 pm, with an interpreter, and met the farmer on whose land the sighting had taken place.

The farmer remembered Wayne and claimed to be familiar with the species that Wayne had seen, stating that he saw it every year in March and April just after he cut his one hectare reed bed. He reported that up to 20 of them flew around the stream at dusk catching insects and that we had only 20 minutes to wait to, hopefully, confirm Wayne's sighting.

We managed to discover that he had never noticed the birds at any other time of the year and that he was unaware of any nests: he could also describe the noises it makes. The farmer seemed convinced that they were nothing out of the ordinary, a fact of which he was doubly convinced when he saw that it was pictured on the back of A guide to the Birds of Thailand by Lekagul and Round (1991).

I later asked him if he had ever noticed the white rump and he took that as further proof that I was familiar with the bird because he said he could almost never see it as they flew too fast when they were catching insects and when perched on poles in the stream (set as supports for fishing nets) the white rump was not visable. My Khmer language skills are between poor and non-existent but even I could understand when he told the interpreter that we should look in "the big reed bed' close to town. The farmer seemed a practical man and a credible source of information; his observations of the bird in the winter months tie in with previous observations; his comment that the birds are associated with reedbeds fits in with previous assumptions (BirdLife International, 2001; Tobias, 2000); the observation that they are active shortly before dusk is in keeping with those who speculate that White-eyed River-Martin may be crepuscular or nocturnal (Rasmussen, 2000).

Having forged a bond with this farmer the NGO worker and his interpreter accompanying me announced that we had to leave dispite being told that the birds would likely appear within 20 minutes (the time was 20 to 5). Over my strong objections I was forced to leave and was taken out of the region. When we returned to town the next morning I called WCS and told them the strange story of my investigation and being forced to leave 20 minutes before I could see what Wayne saw. They subsequently received a call from the NGO worker asking for grant money to "study the possible sighting".

Despite numerous attempts on my part I have not been able to return and I am currently researching White-eyed RiverMartin from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Every time I have attempted to return to the farmer's reedbed it seems that I have been prevented from making the trip by falling victim to attempted scams, unhelpful interference by the police and a general lack of assistance to reach my goal. Whether these are coincidences, or someone is intent on preventing me from returning is difficult to tell, however, it is possible that my presence in the region of the original sighting is "inconvenient" to developers.

I will continue my ongoing investigation into Wayne's sighting over the next few months by creating a printed sheet of White-eyed River-Martin and possible confusion species before returning to the location to further question the farmer to see if he is able to differentiate between these and, most importantly, to enquire if there is a Khmer name for the species, which would add weight to the concept of it having been present in the region over a long period. In 2007 I intend to be present at this site when the reedbed is cut to see what exactly it is that arrives just before dusk to catch insects.

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11 BirdLife International in Indochina References BirdLife International (2001). White-eyed River-martin Eurochelidon sirintarae, Red Data Book; Threatened Birds of Asia. Online at http://www.rdb.or.id/detailbird.php?id=257 [Accessed 21/02/06].

Rasmussen, P. M. (2000) in litt. Cited in Tobias, J. (2000). Little-known Oriental bird, White-eyed River-martin Eurochelidon sirintarae, Oriental Bird Club Bulletin 31; June 2000.

Tobias, J. (2000). Little-known Oriental bird, White-eyed River-martin Eurochelidon sirintarae, Oriental Bird Club Bulletin 31; June 2000.

Source: Doug Judell, 31st July 2006 Thaibirding.com

Thailand looks to Myanmar for increased bio‐fuel production Thai investors in coordination with government authorities have proposed that the Myanmar’s Government set aside more land in contract farming projects for bio-diesel crops in Myanmar’s border regions.

Niyom Waiyaratpanit, chairman of the Thailand-Myanmar Border Trading Committee of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the committee recently released a plan for contract farming in three locations in Myanmar: tapioca and sugar cane crops in Shan and Karen states, and palm oil plantations in Mon State.

“We are waiting for a response from the Myanmar’s Government to approve and cooperate with us on this project, which is expected to cover about 160,000 hectares of land,” Niyom said. He added that some investors are also interested in establishing ethanol factories on border land.

According to an official from Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, the land and climate of lower Myanmar are well-suited to growing bio-diesel products such as palm oil. Crops in other locations would be determined after a study of what would best suit each environment. The official said that the main problem with Thailand’s bio-fuel production is that there are not enough factories to process fresh palm oil, thereby flooding the markets with excess oil and driving down the price. “In the near future, the demand for bio-fuel factories will be much higher in Thailand,” said the official. “The government plans to support the establishment of more factories across the country and in Myanmar by private companies.”

The production of gasohol in Thailand grew out of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Royal Project in 1985. Currently there are 24 ethanol factories in Thailand that produce more than 4 million liters a day, mainly from tapioca and sugar cane crops. In contrast, Thailand produces only 500,000 liters a day of bio-diesel derived from palm oil crops in southern Thailand and recycled palm oil from household and commercial consumption. Bio-fuel, however, is not yet widely used commercially in Thailand, according to an official at the Ministry of Energy.

The Thai Government has been promoting the study of bio-diesel as a potential replacement for imported fuel from regional neighbors. Meanwhile, Myanmar’s military Government has imposed a national plan for the cultivation of physic nut crops to be used for bio-fuel.

Source: Sai Silp, The Irrawaddy, August 09, 2006

Rights Groups Urge Thais to Pull Out of Salween Dam Project Ethnic conservationists and rights activists called on the Thai Government and investors on Friday to withdraw their support for the construction of a dam on the Salween River in Shan State, claiming the work will disrupt the lives of people living in the area.

A co-coordinated campaign of protests outside Thai embassies in several countries is to be organized on September 21, it was announced at the launch in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, of a report on the controversial project.

“We want the Thai Government and Thai investors to stop supporting a project which will permanently displace thousands of our people,” said Sai Sai of the Shan Sapawa Environmental Organization at the launch.

The report, entitled “Warning Signs: An Update on Plans to Dam the Salween in Myanmar’s Shan State,” was based on research and interviews in the area. The group warned that the completed dam would flood an estimated 870 square kilometers, displacing thousands of people.

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12 BirdLife International in Indochina “This is a very worrying situation,” said Charm Tong, of the Shan Women’s Action Network. She said that forced labor was being used and the area was being deforested.

The report also said that Myanmar Army activity had increased in the area in recent years. More military activity meant more human rights abuses, said Charm Tong.

The project was first studied by a Japanese company, Nippon Koei in 1981, and Thailand’s GMS Power Company and Myanmar Economic Cooperation agreed to survey it in 1998. The dam is expected to cost US $6 billion and to generate 7,110 megawatts of electricity when completed in 15 years’ time.

Following an agreement on the project in April between the Thai construction company MDX and the Hydroelectric Power Department of Thailand’s Ministry of Electric Power, Myanmar’s officials claimed that that “a certain amount of electricity” will be provided to the local population free of charge and the rest will be sold to Thailand.

Activists claim the planned project will bring more harm than good as has no apparent social and environmental assessments have been made. In order to meet the needs of the local population, proper measures and consultation with concern parties including local residents should be made before proceeding with the project, they say.

Source: Aung Lwin Oo, The Irrawaddy, September 15, 2006

Teak imports from Myanmar angers conservationists THAILAND - The decision to allow the import of teak logs from Myanmar through Chiang Rai has brought cries of alarm from conservationists. They warn that allowing the resumption of Myanmar’s teak imports will only lead to an increase in illegal logging in Thai forests.

The Mae Sai customs office in Chiang Rai has allowed the import of 270 teak logs worth about 40 million baht via the second Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge. The 270 cubic metres of high-grade timber belongs to Siva Co, a firm run by Thai businessmen. It is the first time the import of Myanmar’s teak has been allowed through Chiang Rai province. The Mae Sai customs office said the Bangkok-bound logs, 60-100cm wide, are being temporarily kept at a warehouse in tambon Mae Sai. Sasin Chalermlab, secretary-general of the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation, expressed concern that Thai teak trees in the northern provinces would be felled as well and illegally included in the convoy of imported timber. ''This has happened before whenever the government has approved the import of Myanmar’s timber. What the poachers do is fell the trees in Thai forests along the border and then smuggle them into Myanmar in order to import them back as Myanmar’s logs,'' said Mr Sasin.

He called on the government to impose a permanent ban on Myanmar’s timber imports because ''deforestation in the neighbouring country was bound to cause negative environmental impacts in Thailand, whose forest cover is interconnected with Myanmar's''.

Timber imports from Myanmar were halted after the 1997 Salween logging scandal when it was found that the trees felled in the Salween National Park were smuggled into Myanmar before being imported back into Thailand. Mae Sai customs chief Chuchai Udompote revealed that another shipment of 20,000 teak logs, amounting to about 20,000 cubic metres, was waiting across the Myanmar’s border and would be imported into Chiang Rai via the second friendship bridge soon. The bridge, crossing the Mae Sai river, was opened in January. It links the Mae Sai district with the Myanmar’s town of Tachilek.

Mr Chuchai said his agency had taxed Siva Co 3.2 million baht for the log imports. The firm had sought permission to import 620 Myanmar’s teak logs, worth about 100 million baht, from the Thai-Myanmar Township Border Committee (TBC) in Mae Sai district in December last year. Anond Makmasil, of Siva Co, told the committee that teak imports from Myanmar were needed to ease a teak shortage in Thailand. Myanmar exported about 500,000 cubic metres of timber to 167 countries last year, he said.

Source: The Bangkok Post, July 26, 2006

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13 BirdLife International in Indochina

Vietnamese logging in Virachey National Park PHNOM PENH - A Cambodian court sentenced 11 men, including army and police officers, to between five and seven years in jail on Thursday for taking bribes to allow a Vietnamese company to log in a remote national park.Handing down a rare conviction relating to illegal logging, judge Ke Sakhan described the destruction by a Vietnamese company called Chong Dong of more than 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of Virachey National Park as a "great loss to Cambodia".

The hilly jungle region which was criss-crossed during the Vietnam War by the paths of the Ho Chi Minh Trail is home to a host of exotic species, including tigers, leopards and elephants. Four of the defendants were jailed immediately, but the other seven remain at large, court officials said. Although Cambodian forests are protected by law, illegal logging often conducted with the complicity of the military and police - has seen overall cover drop to below 50 percent, compared to around 75 percent 30 years ago, green groups say. The World Bank and international donors, whose annual aid package of around US$600 million accounts for 60 percent of government revenue, have put pressure on Phnom Penh to preserve the forests. Their efforts have met with limited success. Environmentalist Meas Sophal, who helped conduct a World Bank survey of the logged area in 2004, estimated the damage at more than US$15 million.

Source: Reuters News Service, July 28, 2006

Song Da Corporation to build hydropower project on Sekong River The Song Da Corporation, Vietnam plans to begin building the Sekaman 3 Hydro-power Project with a capacity of 250 MW on the Sekong River in Laos in the second quarter of this year, said Duong Khanh Toan, General Director of the corporation. The build-operate-transfer project with a total investment of 273 million USD is expected to be put into operation in 2008, generating more than 980 million Kwh a year. The Viet-Lao Electricity Development and Investment Joint Stock Company is the investor, and the Song Da corporation holds a 60 percent stake of the project.

The Viet-Lao Electricity Development and Investment Joint Stock Company said that after the Sekaman 3 project starts, the company will study, design and complete procedures to submit to the Vietnamese and Lao Governments for permit to build the 460 MW Sekaman 1 project. Over the past 40 years since it completed the construction of Hoa Binh Hydropower Project, the Song Da corporation has built many hydro-power projects. It has taken part in construction of a series of major projects nationwide, including Thac Ba, Song Hinh, Vinh Son, Son La, and Huoi Quang. The corporation now is able to design, build and invest in construction of national and international-scaled electricity projects.

Source: Vietnam News Agency, April 3, 2006

BirdLife affirms continued support to an ASEAN Heritage Park in Vietnam Recently Mr. Tran Van Thieu, Director of Kon Ka Kinh National Park (KKK NP), Gia Lai Province, paid a visit to the BirdLife office in Hanoi. At the meeting with Mr. Jonathan C. Eames, the Programme Manager of BirdLife International in Indochina, on behalf of the NP, he expressed his sincere thanks to BirdLife’s continuous support over the past years and looked forward to cooperating with BirdLife in conserving biodiversity values of the NP. BirdLife affirmed its continued support to the NP in future.

Back in 1999, as part of the European-Union-funded project entitled Expanding the Protected Areas Network in Vietnam for the 21st Century, BirdLife worked in collaboration with the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute to formulate an investment plan for Kon Ka Kinh Nature Reserve (KKK NR) that was later approved by Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the same year. Subsequently, KKK was upgraded to national park status in 2002. KKK NP was one of the four ASEAN Heritage Parks in Vietnam added to the ASEAN Declaration on Heritage Parks by environment ministers of the ASEAN nations when the Declaration was amended in December 2003.

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14 BirdLife International in Indochina Situated on the Kon Tum plateau in the central Annamite mountains, KKK NP contains 33,565 ha of natural forest, equivalent to 80 percent of the total area of the NP. The NP supports a range of montane habitat types. Of particular importance are 2,000 ha of mixed coniferous and broadleaf forest containing Fokienia hodginsii (Near Threatened).

The NP also supports some of the most intact faunal and floral communities in the central Annamites, notably a number of globally threatened mammal species, including Grey-shanked Douc Pygathrix cinerea (Endangered), Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon Hylobates gabriellae (Vunerable) and Tiger Panthera tigris (Endangered). Six restrictedrange bird species have been recorded at the NP, among which the Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush Garrulax konkakinhensis (Vulnerable) is endemic to the Kon Tum plateau and was discovered at Kon Ka Kinh in 1999 by Mr. Jonathan C. Eames. For these reasons, KKK qualifies as an Important Bird Area (IBA).

In spite of the continuing efforts of the NP’s staff, illegal timber extraction by outsiders remains a major threat to biodiversity at KKK. A recent incident of illegal logging activity that took place four months ago drew a lot of attention from the public. In search of high profits, hundreds of people rushed into KKK and surrounding forests to look for Dysoxylum loureiri, a valuable tree species, in high demand in China, where it is used as a key ingredient in traditional medicine. Thanks to strong action from the NP and local authorities, these activities were halted, and many illegal loggers were arrested.

Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush Garrulax konkakinhensis was discovered at Kon Ka Kinh in 1999. Painting: Charles Eames

In 2003, with the assistance of BirdLife, Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee developed a project entitled Making the link: the connection and sustainable management of Kon Ka Kinh National Park and Kon Cha Rang Nature Reserve (KCR NR) that was approved by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in the following year. In early 2006, this project was endorsed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and is planned for implementation in the last quarter of the year. The goal of this mediumsized project is the long-term conservation of the unique biological attributes of the Central Annamites Priority Landscape in Vietnam, in which KKK NP and KCR NR are two global priority sites. The project aims to establish a foundation of support and management to maintain the biological integrity and connectivity of KKK NP and KCR NR, thus catalyzing sustainability of protected areas, provide a possible route for long term financing of protected areas and mainstream biodiversity in production landscapes.

BirdLife wishes great success to this newly-funded UNDP/GEF project, which gives to other protected areas in the country a good example of protected area management in an increasingly decentralized system.

Source: News release of BirdLife International in Indochina on August 7, 2006

Community‐Based Ecotourism in Xe Pian National Protected Area Xe Pian National Protected Area (NPA) is located in the far south of Laos in Champasak and Attapeu provinces. Its geography is hilly lowland with extensive areas of flat lands. The NPA includes a variety of habitat types making for a mosaic of semi-evergreen forest, mixed deciduous forests and wetlands.

Xe Pian NPA, with an area of 240,000 ha, has been identified as one of the top 3 most important NPAs in Laos for both biodiversity value and management priority. At least 13 globally and 12 regionally threatened mammals have been found in Xe Pian NPA and it has been identified as regionally significant for bird conservation. Despite a series of projects working in Xe Pian NPA in the past, there is currently no international support for protected area management or integration of conservation with development priorities.

Tourism is currently on the rise in southern Laos and will require a strategy that incorporates stakeholder needs with development and environmental priorities. Poorly planned tourism development in Xe Pain NPA is likely to have negative impacts on both conservation values and local communities.

Given the high biological priority of the Xe Pian National Protected Area (NPA), a WWF’s project entitled CommunityBased Ecotourism in Xe Pian National Protected Area will work towards integrating conservation priorities with development needs and develop a strategy for ecotourism in Xe Pian NPA that will support improved protected area management and livelihood needs.

The project aims to set up ecotourism products based on the discovery of the NPA's natural resources; support and plan a sustainable tourism development strategy on a provincial scale, integrating the NPA as one of the essential components; create a village fund financed from revenue generated by tourism activities; and encourage village inhabitants to conserve the NPA for sustainable natural resources used to attract tourism revenue. It started on February 1, 2005 and will end on December 31, 2007.

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15 BirdLife International in Indochina True ecotourism initiatives will greatly assist the Government of Lao PDR in balancing economic development with biodiversity conservation.

Source: WWF Greater Mekong Programme, June 2006

Taxonomic validity of Heude’s Pig Sus bucculentus questioned It was as recently as 1997 that Heude’s Pig Sus bucculentus was reported as rediscovered in Laos1, after having gone unrecorded since French Jesuit missionary Pierre Jean Heude’s 1892 description. However, a recent study by Judith Robins, Howard Ross, Melinda Allen and Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith now casts doubt on the validity of the taxon as a species2. In April this year, the results of an analysis and comparison of the D Loop, 12S and cytochrome b regions of mitochondrial DNA from Sus bucculentus and Sus scrofa were announced in the journal Nature. These show that the Sus bucculentus 12S-rRNA gene sequence was within the range shown by Sus scrofa. According to the authors the results may undermine the species status of Sus bucculentus. The authors give three possible explanations for their findings: that hybridization may have introduced a locally occurring mitochondrial haplotype from Sus scrofa into Sus bucculentus. Second, that speciation and morphological differentiation of Sus bucculentus may have occurred relatively recently and so subsequent mitochondrial lineage sorting remains incomplete. A third possibility is that the morphology previously designated to Sus bucculentus may lie within the natural range of Sus scrofa.

1 2

Groves, C. P., Schaller, G. B., Amato, G. & Khounboline, K. (1997) Nature 386: 335.

Robins, J. H., Ross, H. A., Allen, M. S. and Matisoo-Smith, E. (2006) Nature 440: E7 Jonathan C. Eames, Programme Manager, BirdLife International in Indochina

Forty‐four new babbler species for Asia A recent recently published paper by Dr N J Collar1 elevates 44 taxa of Asian babbler (Timaliidae) to species rank. This will have consequences for setting bird conservation priorities in our region and emphasizes further the global conservation importance of Endemic Bird Areas like the Da Lat Plateau EBA. The author applied a scoring system that grades morphological and vocal differences between allopatric taxa of Asian babbler. Taxa scored three points for a major, two for a medium, and one for a minor character. Those taxa scoring seven points and above were accorded species rank. This resulted in 44 taxa previously, usually or still occasionally allocated sub-specific rank being elevated to species level. Two taxa recently proposed as species, including the Mount Victoria Babax Babax (lanceolatus) woodi, fell short in this analysis, and Deignan’s Babbler Stachyris rodolphei was provisionally placed in the synonomy of S. rufifrons.

Vietnam gains six new endemic species (Garrulax annamensis, G. ngoclinhensis, Rimator pasquieri, Spelaeornis kinneari, Cutia legalleni and Alcippe klossi). One of these species, G. ngoclinhensis, was reinstated after having been provisionally placed in the synonomy of G. erythrocephalus by some authors2. Cambodia gains one endemic species, Garrulax ferrarius, and Myanmar gains one species but loses Mount Victoria Babax. Thailand loses one endemic species (Deignan’s Babbler).

The conservation status of all of these species will now need to be evaluated. Many of them will be shown to be restricted-range species confined to Endemic Bird Areas (EBA). This certainly includes, for example, Cutia legalleni, which is confined to the Da Lat Plateau EBA, and G. ngoclinhensis, which is confined to the Kon Tum Plateau EBA. The elevation to specific status of Garrulax ferrarius confers full EBA status on the Thailand – Cambodia Mountains (previously a Secondary EBA). The Eastern Himalayas EBA gains Spelaeornis chocolatinus and S. oatsi from the threeway split of S. chocolatinus sensu lato, and Sphenocichla humei becomes endemic to this EBA. The author suggests that, whilst the majority of these species are of low conservation concern, Garrulax annamensis, Cutia legalleni and Alcippe klossi are likely to be at elevated risk, together with Paradoxornis margaritae and Garrulax ferrarius.

1

Collar, N. J. (2006) A partial revision of the Asian babblers (Timaliidae) Forktail 22: 85-112 Dickinson, E. C. (editor) 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd Edition.

Christopher Helm, London.

2

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Plate 1. (above) Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush Garrulax castanotis photographed in Vu Quang National Park. In Vietnam this species can also be found at Ba Ve National Park. The mountains of Tam Dao National Park, visable in the distance across the Red River support Grey Laughingthrush G. maesi. Photo: J R MacKinnon Plate 2. (right) Vietnamese Cutia Cutia legalleni photographed on Mount Langbian on the Da Lat Plateau in 1989. Photo: J C Eames

Plate 3. (left) Indochinese Fulvetta Alcippe danisi bidoupensis photographed at the type locality during collection of the Holotype and paratypes. This species also ranges into Laos. Photo: J C Eames

Plate 4. (right) Orange-breasted Laughingthrush Garrulax annamensis photographed near Long Lanh village in the vicinity of Mount Bi Doup, Da Lat Plateau in 1989. Photo: J C Eames

Jonathan C. Eames, Programme Manager, BirdLife International in Indochina

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Important Bird Areas News Chindwin River dam threatens Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary (MY14) In a visit to the project site, the Myanmar’s prime minister Lt-Gen Soe Win said Htamanthi hydel-power project is a significant project for the development of the State. Out of the hydel projects being implemented in the State, Htamanthi project has the largest power generation capacity. It will produce 1,200 Megawatt. The project will use Chindwin river water. Therefore, the project will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and Ministry of Electric Power.

Htamanthi Hydel power project will be implemented on the Chindwin River near Tazone Village 70 miles north of Homalin Township in Sagaing Division. The main embankment of the project will be 7,700 ft in length and 348 ft in height and 10 generators will be installed.

Under the Chindwin River valley development project, there are Htamanthi project, Mawlaik Project and Shwesarye Project which will use Chindwin River water. On completion all projects, the projects will produce electricity and they will supply irrigation water. Moreover, water transport in Chindwin River and Ayeyawady River will be improved.

The impact of this hydro-power project on the endemic Burmese Roofed Turtle Kachuga trivitatta could be catastrophic and push it to global extinction. Photo: Douglas Hendrie

The prime minister said Htamanthi Hydel-power project is aimed to supply electricity and to contribute to the development of the region.

Mawlaik Dam Multipurpose Project will be also implemented at the confluence of Chindwin River and Uru River. The estimated power generation of the project is about 500 megawatts.

Source: The New Light of Myanmar

This hydro-power project will have negative impacts on Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary (MY14) which is important for globally threatened species like White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata. The impact of the dam could be felt as far upstream as Hukauwng Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. The impact of this hydro-power project on the endemic Burmese Roofed Turtle Kachuga trivitatta could be catastrophic and push it to global extinction. BirdLife Affiliate in Myanmar the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association is contributing to the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Jonathan C. Eames, Programme Manager, BirdLife International in Indochina

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Rarest of the rare

EN - Vietnamese Pheasant Lophura hatinhensis 2006 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Endangered Justification This pheasant has a very small and severely fragmented range and population, which are continuing to decline owing to destruction of its specialised lowland forest habitat and high levels of hunting. These factors currently combine to qualify it as Endangered. If habitat loss and hunting continue to operate, it may require uplisting to Critically Endangered in the very near future.

Family/Sub-family Phasianidae Species name author Vo Quy and Do Ngoc Quang, 1965 Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993) Identification 58-65 cm. Blue-black pheasant (male) with short, shaggy white crest, red facial skin and white central tail feathers. Female uniform cold greyish-brown with warmer tinged wings and blackish tail with brown central tail feathers. Similar spp. Like Edwards's Pheasant L. edwardsi, but males have variable number of white central tail feathers. Female not obviously distinguishable from L. edwardsi. Voice Alarm call is subdued, hard puk puk puk puk puk (probably same as L. edwardsi).

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

1,000-2,499

decreasing

2,900 km2

Yes

Range & population Lophura hatinhensis is endemic to central Vietnam, where it was discovered in 1964. There are recent records from localities in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces, most of which are within the Ke Go Nature Reserve. The continued existence of a population in the Net river watershed, where several birds were seen in 1994, may be in doubt because of extensive logging and other degradation of suitable habitat there.

Its global population has been estimated at <2,500 individuals.

Important Bird Areas Click http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=254&m=0# to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded, including sites where the species does not meet any IBA criteria.

Ecology It inhabits primary and secondary (including logged) evergreen forest in lowlands and hills from sea-level (at least historically) to c.300 m. It may tolerate habitat degradation, but is apparently far more common in closed-canopy forest, and has been trapped in dense streamside vegetation.

Threats Most of the coastal lowlands of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces have been completely deforested by expanding human populations clearing land for wet-rice cultivation. Pressure from hunting may still be significant within Ke Go Nature Reserve, particularly from illegal loggers and various forest-product collectors. Shortfalls in household rice production render certain local communities seasonally dependent on forest products to generate income.

The Babbler 19 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; September 2006

19 BirdLife International in Indochina Conservation measures underway Recent surveys for the species between 1988 and 1994, in part, led to the drafting a management plan for the Ke Go Nature Reserve, which was gazetted in 1996. A larger project planned for 2000 was cancelled2. The captive population, established at Hanoi Zoo, has now provided individuals to several European collections. A Site Support Group has been established at Khe Net IBA (Quang Binh province) and another is planned for Truong Son IBA (Quang Binh province)2. In December 2003, the known captive population numbered 177 individuals1.

Conservation measures proposed Conduct further surveys to clarify its status and habitat requirements. Support full establishment of a protected area and Site Support Group at Khe Net and enhance the existing Site Support Group at Ke Go Promote food security projects in the communes within Ke Go Nature Reserve that are most dependent on natural resources. Promote the careful separate management of captive Vietnamese Lophura pheasants through the ISB system, and regularly review ex-situ measures until their taxonomic relationships are clarified.

References BirdLife International (2001). Keane et al. (in press a). 1. A. Hennache in litt. (2004). 2. J. Eames in litt.

(2004).

Project updates Western Siem Pang Protected Area takes shape BirdLife and Forestry Administration (FA) staff have now produced the first draft map of the proposed protected area in western Siem Pang District, Stung Treng Province. This area is being proposed for protected area status because it supports a suite of globally threatened species including the world’s largest known congregation of the Critically Endangered White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni. The working title for the area in Khmer is “Establishing a management and conservation area for rare and critically endangered species in Siem Pang” to reflect this and to draw attention to the fact that an ibis is the national bird. The proposed protected area covers 74,260 ha and is marked by the purple hatched area on the map. The polygon includes existing rice fields (orange), communes (red dots), Siem Pang Town and major trapeangs (green triangles). The map does not show all trapeangs as we do not yet have all their GPS points.

The northern boundary of the proposed protected area is currently marked by the O Kampha stream, which is included within the proposed protected area. The eastern boundary is the Sekong River. The southern and part of the western boundary follow gridlines as suitable landscape features have not yet been identified. The southern portion of the western boundary follows the district boundary. Shown in purple on the map are the two concessions (which have been applied for but not approved) proposed by Green Sea Industries and the Sekong Development Corporation.

BirdLife believes that the northern boundary of the proposed protected area should be the international frontier with Laos and plans to conduct a biodiversity assessment of the area this autumn. This area comprises evergreen and semievergreen forest rather than dry dipterocarp forest and its conservation values will therefore differ and be complimentary. Its inclusion is further desirable from a landscape planning perspective as it provides a link with Xe Pian National Protected Area in Laos. BirdLife would also like to see the Sekong River placed within either the Siem Pang proposed protected area or within Virachey National Park.

The boundaries in the attached map are provisional and a first draft only. BirdLife and FA staff will now continue further field-based research and prepare the necessary documentation to advocate the establishment of a protected forest.

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First draft map of the proposed protected area in western Siem Pang District, Stung Treng Province

by BirdLife and FA

One of many trapeangs in Western Siem Pang. This photograph taken during the rainy season in July 2005 shows high water levels, surrounding lush vegetation and the dry dipterocarp forest in full leaf.

At the height of the dry season the scene would be much different (left).

Photos: J C Eames

There are extensive areas of paddyfields in the southern part of the proposed protected area. Their value for wildlife is unknown (right). Photo: J C Eames

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21 BirdLife International in Indochina

Northern parts of western Siem Pang District are hilly and support a mosaic of evergreen, semievergreen and dry diptrocarp forest. The water table appears lower as there is less sign of trapeangs and no habitation in this area. BirdLife believes this area should be included in any proposed protected area (left) Photo: J C Eames

BirdLife would like to see the Sekong River included either within Virachey National Park or the Siem Pang protected area (right).

Photo: J C Eames

Road building represents a major threat to biodiversity in western Siem Pang. Along this new road to the Laos boarder we photographed saw mills, logging, land conversion and tree plantations.

Photo: J C Eames

J C Eames, Programme Manager, BirdLife International in Indochina

The Babbler 19 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; September 2006

22 BirdLife International in Indochina

Building grassroots support for sustainable natural resource management in Western Siem Pang Important Bird Area From the 18th-22nd July 2006, village meetings were organised by Site Support Group (SSG) members in western Siem Pang Important Bird Area (IBA), Stung Treng Province.

The meetings were held in five villages; namely Pong Kreal, Phabang, Kek Krom, Kek Svay, and Lakay. This activity was facilitated by Mr. Prach Pich Phirun BirdLife Project Officer, and is part of the Netherlands Government funded project titled Strengthened Community Natural Resource Management in Western Siem Pang Important Bird Area, Cambodia.

Participants expressed their concern about negative impacts of human activities on natural resources and the environment in their community.

Photo: Prach Pich Phirun

The meetings aimed to introduce a new concept of sustainable natural resource management and to allow villagers to express their concerns and opinions about management of their community forests, especially of Trapaengs (seasonal wetlands in deciduous forest) in order to establish trapaeng management protocols. Among the 224 villagers present, most were fishermen, hunters, and other forest product collectors.

Western Siem Pang IBA, a mosaic of open deciduous forest and small seasonal wetlands (Trapaengs), is among the most important sites in Cambodia for the conservation of globally threatened bird species. It supports the only known viable population of the Critically Endangered White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni, as well as populations of three other Critically Endangered birds: Slender-billed vulture Gyps tenuirostris, White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis and Giant Ibis Pseudibis gigantea. The site also supports the recently described endemic Mekong Wagtail Motacilla samvesnae and a number of threatened mammals, including Eld’s Deer Cervus eldii and Tiger Panthera tigris. Poverty and development pressures are currently the overriding factors affecting this IBA. In cooperation with the Forest Administration, BirdLife has been working in Western Siem Pang IBA since 2003 to protect its biodiversity and assist local communities to reduce poverty.

At the meetings, participants all agreed that natural resources are being reduced by human activities such as land clearance for agriculture, new settlements, mine exploration, over-exploitation of timber and urban expansion. These factors are affecting their livelihoods, which are based almost exclusively on the natural resources of the IBA. Villagers also expressed their concern about their poverty and lack of knowledge which have forced them to engage in illegal activities such as poisoning fish, hunting, trapping, destroying forest to catch monkeys, logging, etc to earn their livings.

Negative effects on the local environment have included irregular rainfall, flooding, shortage of fish etc. The root cause of these changes is unsustainable natural resource management in Trapaengs.

The good news is that the new concept of sustainable natural resource management introduced by BirdLife was highly appreciated by all the villagers at the meetings. They themselves also wished to receive support from BirdLife to sustainably manage natural resources at trapaengs. Trapaeng management protocols were drafted by the villagers so that local needs are reflected.

Village leaders signed the meeting minutes to ensure that the villagers would follow these protocols.

“This project will help address the limited natural resource management skills that exist at the local level in western Siem Pang IBA. There is a clear need for a mechanism whereby local communities can learn about development proposals, voice their concerns and incorporate local priorities. The contribution of this project to poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation will be demonstrated by establishing improved local management of natural resources and key biodiversity, and monitoring changes over the course of the project”, said Mr. Jonathan C. Eames, Progamme Manager BirdLife International in Indochina.

Source: News Release of BirdLife International in Indochina, August 21, 2006

The Babbler 19 – September 2006

A village leader signs the meeting minutes to comfirm the villagers’ commitment to implementing the Trapaeng management protocol in Phabang village.

Photo: Prach Pich Phirun

23 BirdLife International in Indochina

Protected area plans for Sarus Crane reserve at Kampong Trach (KH040) take shape This IBA is located in Kampong Trach district, Kampot province along international border with Vietnam. BirdLife has been implementing its bird conservation activities in the area since 2004. The site supports the annual non-breeding population of Sarus Crane Grus antigone during the dry season and covered by seasonally inundated grassland and interspersed with Melaleuca scrub. Since the first survey conducted in 2002, the natural habitat was estimated to be reduced to around 1,000 ha in extent due to conversion to agricultural cultivation and aquaculture ponds (shrimp farming). In early 2006, many cases of land grabbing occurred in this IBA. Therefore, on 18 January 2006 a committee including BirdLife Project officers and SSG members (commune, village chiefs and armed forces) in collaboration with Kampong Trach district office and the district office of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction conducted the demarcation of Sarus Crane Conservation Reserve in Kampong Trach IBA to prevent further land grabbing activities occurring in this site although it is not yet proposed for Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ministerial decree.

The draft map for the future Kampong Trach Proposed Sarus Crane Conservation Reserve with an area of 238.374ha covers two feeding locations of Sarus Cranes including Veal Daem Snay and Koh Treak.

A committee working on the demarcation of Sarus Crane Conservation Reserve at Kampong Trach IBA 2006. Photo: Tan Thara Patrols have been conducted every month between January and July by SSG members in three locations within Kampong Trach IBA where Sarus Cranes were feeding and roosting such as Koh Treak, Veal Daem Snay and Koh Anse.

Bird hunting and poisoning, and use of illegal fishing gear were not found during the first six months of this year. Some cases of land grabbing activities occurred in this IBA but were prevented and stopped.

After the SSG was established and in place, the non-breeding population of Sarus Crane has been strongly protected and they have become very tame. This reflects that local people stop disturbing them and take part in conservation after receiving education and awareness programmes conducted by SSG members in their communities and by BirdLife in schools. To further involve local people in bird conservation activities, BirdLife International Cambodia Programme Office had restored one old artificial pond (12m x 12m) which was abandoned since 1970 to stock water for use and drinking for both people and domestic livestock during the dry season. In addition 8,000 trees of Acacia mangium were planted on both sides of road entering Kampong Trach IBA.

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24 BirdLife International in Indochina

Seng Kim Hout and Tan Thara, BirdLife International Cambodia Programme

Strengthening capacity of SSGs in Western Siem Pang IBA As part of the project entitled Strengthened Community Natural Resource Management in Western Siem Pang IBA, Cambodia, two training courses were organized in two villages during June 2006 to strengthen capacity of Site Support Groups (SSGs), and to equip SSGs with knowledge of Participatory Learning Action (PLA) and wetland biodiversity.

These courses focused on how to communicate and perform as a facilitator while working with people and how to use important tools such as: village profile, village map, seasonal calendar, wealth ranking and problem ranking in order to identify information needs, and build community ownership. The training was provided by Mr. Bou Vorsak, Acting Programme Manager of BirdLife Cambodia Programme, seven SSG members and western Siem Pang Project Officer Mr. Prach Pich Phirun.

Based on Wetland Management Book, published in Khmer by BirdLife, Mr. Prach Pich Phirun has developed a training course on wetland biodiversity and conservation. The main objective of this training was to improve SSG knowledge about trapaeng biodiversity, especially focusing on plants and globally threatened species, and the human role in the degradation of trapaeng biodiversity. Equipped with this basic knowledge SSG members can introduce the new concept about Natural Resource Management at trapaengs to other villagers.

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25 BirdLife International in Indochina

Mr. Prach Pich Phirun and SSG members discuss degradation of trapaeng biodiversity (left). Photo: Lee Bunpaeng

SSG member Mr. Lee Bunpaeng, facilitates a discussion at Pong Kreal village in PLA (right). Photo: Bou Vorsak

Bou Vorsak and Prach Pich Phirun, BirdLife International Cambodia Programme

Gurney’s Pitta Research and Conservation in Thailand and Myanmar History of the project This is the first year of the Darwin project, but it follows several years of work on this species by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST) and the BirdLife Indochina Programme. In 2002, RSPB, BCST and the Thai Government signed an MoU to agree to take steps to try to avert the extinction of the species. Later that year, RSPB and BCST funded and organised a Species Recovery Plan workshop, hosted by the Department of National Parks, which brought together all key stakeholders in Thailand, including NGOs, Government and local community representatives. From this meeting came a Gurney’s Pitta Recovery Plan, agreed by all stakeholders, which sets out a vision for the species’ future in Thailand and key actions to ensure it. The current project aims to support this Recovery Plan by undertaking or facilitating a number of outputs from it. These fall largely into the technical areas of research, reforestation and technical capacity building. In 2003, an expedition by the BirdLife Indochina Programme and Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) led to the rediscovery of the species in southern Myanmar after an absence of nearly a century. There are now plans to extend the boundaries of the proposed Lenya National Park to include lowland forests of key importance to this species. The current project aims to identify these key areas for this species in southern Myanmar, to assess its habitat requirements and population, and so to guide the process of establishing Lenya NP. Progress and achievements Since the project started, considerable progress has been made towards the outcomes of the project. In southern Thailand, a full survey has revealed a population of at least 20 pairs, indicating that although the population is still small, it has at least been stabilised, since a full survey in 1999 suggested a similar number. This successful halting of decades of decline is likely to be largely due to improvements in forest protection since the 2002 workshop, and because of the better information being provided to forest protection staff by researchers associated with this project.

This means that more targeted patrolling of core Gurney’s Pitta areas has led to better prevention of illegal plantings, and the area of forest being lost to illegal encroachment has fallen to virtually nothing. Indeed, the amount of new

The Babbler 19 – September 2006

26 BirdLife International in Indochina reforestation now appears to be exceeding the loss of forest, and much of this reforestation has been undertaken by local people, leading to hopes that this will reduce the likelihood of future encroachment. In October 2005, for example, 100 rai (16 hectares) were replanted, with the support of the Oriental Bird Club. The survey also showed, however, that many of the remaining pairs exist in small and isolated forest fragments, leading to plans being developed to re-connect these fragments through reforestation. A further problem the survey has highlighted is that only four of the 20 pairs are in the Wildlife Sanctuary, the remainder being in the Reserve Forest, which enjoys a lower legal protection status. Nest success also appears to be very low, largely because of predation of eggs and chicks by snakes, although intensive nest guarding has increased the number of chicks being produced at a small number of nests. Following the recognition of snakes as key Gurney’s Pitta nest predators, the Department of National Parks has initiated a research programme on snakes in the Gurney’s Pitta core area. It is clear that despite recent successes in overturning decades of deforestation and so stabilising the population, much remains to be done to ensure the future viability of this population.

In February 2005, two RSPB researchers delivered a training workshop at Khao Yai National Park in technical methods in bird research to 10 Thai research staff. This workshop covered issues such as radio tracking, nest monitoring and statistical analysis. Practical demonstrations of radio tracking were given to all participants, and the workshop was followed by a week of field research aimed at testing radio tracking methods on another pitta species elsewhere (Blue Pitta) to test the safety of the method before applying it to Gurney’s Pitta. Thus all participants had the opportunity to reinforce their formal training through practical experience. A permanent forest plot is being marked out at the Gurney’s Pitta site in southern Thailand to enable further detailed research to be undertaken. Supervisory visits were made to Thailand by RSPB staff in February 2005, September 2005 and February 2006. A scientific paper based upon research undertaken before the start of the Darwin project has been completed and will be published shortly. The paper compares bird diversity in forest with that in oil palm and rubber plantations in an attempt to quantify the biodiversity loss that accompanies loss of Gurney’s Pittas when forest is converted to plantations. Unexpectedly, it was found that the structurally very different oil palm and rubber plantations support remarkably similar bird communities.

Although the Darwin project aims primarily to support the technical elements of the Species Recovery Plan, heightened awareness of the species developed largely through the recent research and conservation initiative has also led to positive developments in socio-economic areas of the Plan. A visit to southern Thailand by RSPB staff in September 2005 coincided with the opening in the core Gurney’s Pitta area of a community forest project and community hall, a government funded scheme which will provide limited funds to villagers making sustainable use of the forest. The selection of this area for such a grant is likely to have been heavily influenced by the interest this project and preceding work has generated. Such interest has also stimulated the establishment in the area of a number of local groups, such as women’s groups, who manufacture and sell items such as shirts depicting Gurney’s Pitta to visiting tourists. The success of these schemes has led RSPB to support the appointment of a BCST Community Liaison Officer to work alongside the BCST researcher in implementing socio-economic aspects of the Recovery Plan. The funding of this post will be continued in the coming year by an award from the British Birdfair.

Plans to support habitat restoration in southern Thailand are also proceeding well, and two local forest staff (one from the Wildlife Sanctuary, one from the Reserve Forest) have received intensive training in reforestation methods at the Forest Restoration Research Unit at Chiang Mai University. This training has covered the areas of tree identification, specimen collection, seed collection and nursery establishment. Social and community aspects of forest restoration were also covered during field trips to FORRU’s main demonstration site at the Hmong village of Mae Sa Mai. During the last two days of the training process, the two officers planned their own contributions to the project. Subsequently, on-site training in tree identification, phenology trail establishment, seed collection and tree nursery techniques were provided in November 2005, January 2006 and March-April 2006. A large phenological collection has been made and a tree nursery established near the Gurney’s Pitta site. A botanist from FORRU, Mr. J. F. Maxwell, made three visits to the site in October 2005, January 2006 and March 2006 to identify tree species indigenous to the area (totally 30 days work).

By January, he had found over 90 forest tree species. Specimens collected during his latest trip are currently being processed, so the total number of species identified will probably be more than 100. This work included identification of 205 labelled trees of 68 species for phenology monitoring. In addition, a rapid survey of tree saplings and sprouting tree stumps, regenerating naturally in deforested areas, recorded at least 22 species. This work raised the possibility of applying ANR (accelerated natural regeneration) methods to rapidly recover Gurney’s Pitta habitat in some areas, rather than slower and more costly tree planting. Consequently, we decided to establish field experiments to compare ANR plots with planted ones, this coming planting season.

A tree nursery has been built on local community property, in collaboration with (and with written permission from) the Ban Tiew Environment Group and village leaders. In addition to producing trees for experimental plots, the nursery is also being used for educational activities for local school children. The nursery consists of an office/germination room, made of concrete, wood and chicken wire (to exclude seed predators) and a shaded standing down area, with a capacity for 10,000 saplings. Seed germination experiments and seedling production have commenced of 9 species of indigenous forest trees (Vatica stapfiana, Garcinia speciosa, G. merguensis, Eugenia papillosa, E. syzygioides, E. grandis, Elaeocarpus petiolatus, Horsefieldia subglobosa and Diospyros sp (Maxwell 06-172)). Propagation from wildlings has commenced of 5 species (Adinandra integerrima, Garcinia merguensis, Schima wallichii, Eugenia grandis and Carallia brachiata). The target is to increase wildling propagation to 16 species by the end of May in order to prepare for the planting season, since seedlings grown from seed will probably not be large enough. A study of the phenology of 68 local forest tree species (one to eight individuals each, depending on availability) has begun, with data collected in December, March and April. Monthly data collection will follow. The primary objective of this work is to determine when each species flowers and fruits to optimize seed collection times. From this work, seed production trees of 9 species have already been found and seeds collected (listed above).

The Babbler 19 – September 2006

27 BirdLife International in Indochina Dr. Stephen Elliott and Mr. Cherdsak Kuaraksa (FORRU) provided on-site training, assisted with nursery establishment and liaised with local officials during two visits to the site in November-December 2005 and March-April 2006. The training reinforced the techniques observed during the training workshop in Chiang Mai and concentrated particularly on data recording techniques. The first trip dealt mainly with nursery planning and establishment, procuring materials and arranging for construction. We also established the phenology circuit, labelling over 200 trees and trained local staff in use of the phenology scoring system. The second trip dealt mainly with nursery techniques, how to carry out germination experiments, how to monitor seedling growth in the nursery, how to propagate wildlings and selecting sites for field experiments. Since the educational level of local staff is low, considerable training was required in data collection and recording. Although undoubtedly a great deal of knowledge about local forest tree species is being gained by the local staff as a result of this project, getting that information down on paper is proving to be more difficult than anticipated. In addition, a great deal of time was spent in meetings with local forest officials, particularly the chiefs of the reserved forest and the wildlife sanctuary, and with local community leaders, especially the leader of the village environment group. A meeting was also attended at the South Regional Forest HQ in Surat Thani. The purpose of these meetings was to ensure all local stakeholders understand the aims of this project and to try to obtain official permission.

During the site visits, mentioned above, local forest staff arranged several trips around the area to suggest appropriate sites for field experiments. Three main sites were eventually selected. It soon became clear that deforested sites in the project area can be divided into two kinds: i) those deforested many years previously and subject to frequent fires so that they have become dominated by grasses and ii) recently deforested sites which retain an abundance of forest tree seedlings, saplings or live tree stumps (usually close to remaining forest). Only the former are suitable for tree planting, whilst the latter are more suitable for testing ANR methods, which involve nurturing remaining sources of forest regeneration. As a result of this observation, two sites were selected for the establishment of field trials in August 2006, one an area suitable for ANR experiments and one demarcated for planting with available tree species. This will include one rai (0.16 ha) at each site kept as control plots in which natural regeneration without any intervention will be monitored and compared with plots subject to experimental treatments.

In Myanmar RSPB and BirdLife staff attended a workshop on Gurney’s Pitta conservation in February 2005 designed to present to a larger audience (including the British Ambassador) recent developments and future directions in the conservation of Gurney’s Pitta in Myanmar. RSPB staff also designed and led a strategic planning workshop for the host organisation in Myanmar, BANCA, in September 2005, helping the organisation to plan its future directions, in particular how to combine the benefits accrued through the two Darwin projects it is involved in. In December 2005 a Gurney’s Pitta project officer, Aung Pyeh Khant, was appointed, and detailed maps of the survey area prepared using remotely sensed data. In February 2006, staff from RSPB and the BirdLife Indochina Programme accompanied the project officer and Dr Htin Hla (BANCA) on an expedition to southern Myanmar to develop field methods and assess access to the region. Field methods were developed and tested in the field and field survey forms designed. A plan of work for the breeding season was drawn up. Gurney’s Pitta appeared to be a reasonably common species in some areas, and was shown to respond well to playback, suggesting the future surveys should be readily achievable and that the species’ presence can be easily and rapidly assessed.

Following the purchase of a four-wheel drive vehicle, during the 2006 dry season Project staff Aung Pyeh Khant and Khin Maung Soe successfully completed their fieldwork collecting data from some 300 survey points both in an adjacent to the proposed Lenya National Park. As expected they faced many constraints in their work including security considerations in some areas, heavy rainfall and health issues. Aung Pyeh Khant is now working to complete data input and complete documentation of this year’s extensive data set.

Project researcher Aung Pyeh Khant in action in the field. Photo: Khin Maung Soe

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28 BirdLife International in Indochina

Myanmar Project survey team 2006. Photo: Aung Pyeh Khant

Source: First Annual Report to the Darwin Initiative

by Dr Paul Donald, RSPB and BirdLife International Indochina Programme

Changing attitudes of local people towards wildlife in Chin State, Myanmar The Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA), the BirdLife Affiliate in Myanmar has just launched an awareness-raising project in the buffer zone of Natmataung National Park, which lies within an Important Bird Area (IBA). This project is funded by the US Embassy in Yangon and is part of a wider programme funded by the UK Government’s Darwin Initiative and the Royal Netherlands Government. The awareness-raising project is led by Daw Khin Ma Ma Thwin, the General Secretary of BANCA, and assisted by U Moe Zaw Thwin, BANCA member.

Following an informal workshop for local schoolteachers last May, the project team developed the environmental educational materials based on discussions with local school-teachers and the national park warden.

On the 1st and 4th of August 2006 two workshops were held in Kanpetlet and Mindat townships in the buffer zone of Natmataung National Park. About one hundred local school-teachers participated. In the first session of the workshops, after the opening ceremony, exercise books specially printed with wildlife conservation messages were given to the participants and their schools. The workshops were attended by the local school-teachers, town elders, community-based conservation groups, departmental personnel and park staff. After attending the workshops the teachers will be sharing the knowledge they have gained with their pupils and fellow villagers. The teachers actively participated in the workshops and are keen to share their newly acquired knowledge.

Local teachers actively discuss to save Natmataung IBA at the workshop in Kanpetlet village. Photo: Moe Zaw Thwin

BANCA and BirdLife have already established six Site Support Groups (SSGs) in the Natmataung IBA and have plans to establish more in the future within the scope of a larger project involving more partners and donors. Two new SSGs have recently been established at this site.

Source: News Release of BirdLife International in Indochina, August 23, 2006

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29 BirdLife International in Indochina

New Birding in Vietnam Website now available With the aim of promoting nature conservation through furthering birding ecotourism in Vietnam, BirdLife has revised its birding webpage at http://www.birdlifeindochina.org/birdwatch/, providing helpful information about fifteen good birding sites in Vietnam. This is an output of a project funded by the Japan Fund for Global Environment, which helps enhance access to birdwatching information in Vietnam.

Having one of the richest avifaunas of mainland South-east Asia, with nearly 900 species of bird recorded, Vietnam supports 73 bird species of global conservation concern, among which there are 38 threatened bird species. Many of the best birding sites are easily accessible, and at some sites like Cat Tien and Cuc Phuong National Parks birders can stay overnight in the heart of the forest. In addition, travelling in Vietnam is safe, cheap and generally easy and the Vietnamese people are friendly and full of life. All of these factors have made this small country become a favourite destination for foreign birders in the last decade.

Important congregations of wintering and migrating waterbirds settle in the Mekong and Red River deltas. Xuan Thuy National Park in the Red River delta is one of only a handful of places globally where the enigmatic and Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus can be found.

The Da Lat plateau in the south, with its pines, lakes and mountains, holds four endemic species, including the Endangered Collared Laughingthrush Garrulax yersini, one of the most beautiful of all babblers. In the centre of the country, spectacular limestone crags support a unique forest type which is the only home of two unusual birds: Near Threatened Sooty Babbler Stachyris herberti and a kind of Leaf-warbler that may be a new species.

Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus in Xuan Thuy National Park, Nam Dinh Province. Photo: Nguyen Duc Tu/BirdLife

The mountains of the north hold more wide-ranging species found in China and the Himalayas but some of these, such as Short-tailed Parrotbill Paradoxornis davidianus, can be most easily seen in Vietnam.

The spine of Vietnam is the mysterious Annamite range; a ‘lost world’ where birds and mammals unknown to science have surfaced only in the last two decades. The most adventurous birders may wish to seek out these barely-known species but should always remember to seek permission from the local authorities first.

“In the past, only foreign birders explored this unique world of birds in Vietnam. However this situation has now changed. There are good signs that more and more Vietnamese people are interested in birdwatching, especially young people. BirdLife hopes that this new webpage will provide better access to birdwatching information in this country. It is surely a positive step to facilitate responsible bird eco-tourism and contribute to the conservation of the biodiversity of the country”, said Mr. Jonathan C. Eames, Programme Manager of BirdLife International in Indochina.

Source: News Release of BirdLife International in Indochina, July 18, 2006

Strengthening Community Support for Conservation at Xuan Thuy Important Bird Area With support from BirdLife International in Indochina, Xuan Thuy National Park in Nam Dinh province, Vietnam has recently been awarded a small grant by the U.S Ambassador’s Fund for a one-year project entitled Strengthening Community Support for Conservation at Xuan Thuy Important Bird Area (IBA). This follows another one-year Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF)-funded Strengthening Community Support for Biodiversity Conservation in Xuan Thuy National Park project, which was implemented in the period 2003-2004. The new project aims to establish a foundation for stakeholder support for conservation and management of the Xuan Thuy coastal IBA in northern Vietnam, enabling communities to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to the management of natural resources and thereby contributing to an improved quality of life.

The Babbler 19 – September 2006

30 BirdLife International in Indochina The IBA comprises Xuan Thuy Ramsar site, which is situated in the coastal zone of the Red River Delta, to the south of the mouth of the main channel of the Red River. Due to its location, there is a high rate of sediment deposition at the IBA, forming large intertidal mudflats, which are important habitats for migratory waterbirds, including the globally Endangered Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor and Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus. A recent BirdLife report4 that reviewed the biodiversity status of six coastal IBAs in the Red River Delta confirmed this IBA is the single most important site for conservation in the delta.

BirdLife has been active at Xuan Thuy over the last ten years. During 2001-2004, BirdLife received three KNCF small project grants to support the management of Xuan Red River Delta, especially Xuan Thuy IBA, is the Thuy National Park, to establish a conservation-monitoring world’s third most important wintering site for the programme in Xuan Thuy, and to mobilize community globally Endangered Black–faced Spoonbill Platalea support for conservation at Xuan Thuy. This new project is minor. Photo: Nguyen Duc Tu based on knowledge and insights gained from previous BirdLife projects at the site and will promote long-term community-based conservation at Xuan Thuy. The major activities to be conducted by the project include: (1) Enhancing the skills of Xuan Thuy National Park staff in working with local communities and providing regular support to the Site Support Group (SSG) named “Con Lu Bird Conservation Club” at the site; (2) Facilitating the SSG to participate in overall land-use planning and natural resource management at local levels (district and commune); (3) Strengthening the capacity of the SSG in planning and implementation of conservation actions; (4) Assisting the SSG to work towards self-sustainability.

“There has been significant habitat loss at the site over the last decade through inappropriate and continuing afforestation of mangrove on the inter tidal mudflats and of the sandy islands with the exotic Casuarina equisetifolia, and loss of reedbed to aquaculturalintensification. Fishing and shellfish collection in the intertidal zone are also taking place at unsustainable levels and threaten the integrity of the site. BirdLife hopes that the project will help strengthen support for conservation amongst local stakeholders at Xuan Thuy IBA through capacity building for the SSG that will act as a foundation to support conservation efforts at Xuan Thuy and through improving the capacity of Xuan Thuy National Park to work with local communities to achieve conservation objectives”, said Mr. Jonathan C. Eames, Progamme Manager of BirdLife International in Indochina.

Source: News Release of BirdLife International in Indochina, August 30, 2006

Signing agreement on sustainable forest product use in the buffer zone of Dakrong Nature Reserve , Vietnam As part of the project entitled Strengthening Site Support Groups to Conserve Critical Biodiversity and Contribute to Poverty Alleviation at Dakrong Important Bird Area (IBA), Vietnam, during September 25-29, 2006 four signing ceremonies of Forest-Product-Use Agreement were held in seven villages, namely Lung Ha, Ha Vung, Mai Son, Khe Cau, and Cay Chanh in Ba Long Commune, and Pa Tung and Taleng in Dakrong Commune, Dakrong District, Quang Tri Province.

Households with Forest-Product-Use Agreements at the Signing Ceremony in Ta Leng village, Dakrong commune.

Photo: Ngo Van Tuan/BirdLife

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With the representatives from the Forest Protection Department stations at Ba Long and Dakrong communes and BirdLife as witnesses, representatives of the Forest Protection Unit of Dakrong Nature Reserve, People Committees of the two communes, Balong and Dakrong Site Support Groups (SSGs) and 370 households of the seven villages signed the Sustainable-ForestProduct-Use Agreement. This is an important step towards sustainable forest product use in the core and buffer zone areas of Dakrong Nature Reserve and also for conservation in the reserve and livelihood of local communities.

31 BirdLife International in Indochina In October 2006, there will be another signing ceremony in northern Huong Hoa, Huong Hoa district, Truong Son IBA as part of another BirdLife’s project entitled Community stewardship of natural resources for biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation at Truong Son Important Bird Area (IBA), Vietnam.

Ngo Van Tuan, Programme Officer, BirdLife International Vietnam Programme

Spotlight organization

PanNature

PEOPLE AND NATURE RECONCILIATION bridging people and nature

People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) is a Vietnamese not-for-profit organization. Established by a diverse group of dedicated Vietnamese environmental professionals, PanNature thinks creatively about solving the most salient environmental issues facing Vietnam today. PanNature uses its wide experience, varied skills and contagious motivation to help lead a community-based movement to preserve Vietnam’s natural heritage and promote sustainable development nationwide. PanNature believes that this can only be achieved by mobilizing society and changing values.

PanNature was established in late 2004 and successfully registered as a not-for-profit organization in January 2006.

Mission PanNature is dedicated to protecting and conserving the diversity of life and improving human well-being in Vietnam by, promoting, and implementing feasible, nature-friendly solutions to important environmental problems and sustainable development issues.

Programmatic Approach • Research and Education • Training and Capacity Building • Communication and Outreach • Field-based Projects • Policy Advocacy and Reference • Networking and Partnership Development Recent Projects and Achievements TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING “Journalism for Conservation” Training Course for local journalists in Quang Nam province - a service contract with the WWF MOSAIC Project.

Training for Forest Rangers of Mai Chau Forest Protection Department, Hoa Binh province on Community-based Conservation Awareness as part of the FFI Pu Luong – Cuc Phuong Conservation Project.

Training and Capacity Building on Community-based Environmental Education for primary and middle school teachers and commune leaders in Nam Son and Bac Son communes, Tan Lac district, Hoa Binh province. A series of training and experiential learning programs for beneficiaries of the project were carried out by Japanese International Volunteer Centre.

Training and Capacity Building on Environmental Education and Awareness for the WWF Green Corridor Project in Thua Thien – Hue province, including development of environmental education and awareness strategy, training for forest rangers and local teachers, and technical assistance to the project.

Capacity Building and Support for Organizational Development for Environmental Volunteer Groups in Vietnam - an ongoing project funded by the SIDA Environment Fund.

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32 BirdLife International in Indochina RESEARCH AND EDUCATION Piloting the Urban Environmental Awareness Education Program in Viet Tri City - a service contract work with the Industrial and Urban Development Project in Viet Tri by DANIDA and Phu Tho province.

Environmental Clean-up Week Facilitation in Hoi An, Quang Nam province in cooperation with the WWF MOSAIC Project and the New Century Hospitality and Tourist Company.

Organizing and Implementing Environmental Education Activities in Cat Ba Islands - a project in cooperation with the Australian Foundation for the Asia-Pacific People (AFAP).

Alternatives for Slash-and-burn Farming Practice in Pa Co and Van Kieu Communities Living in the Dakrong Nature Reserve - a research program funded by Cordaid.

Field Assessment and Campaigns on Access to Biodiversity and Benefit Sharing at Community Level - a contract service for IUCN Vietnam.

Community-based Water Management in Vietnam - an ongoing research program funded by UNESCO Vietnam.

Pro-poor Market Access for Upland Ethnic Communities in Vietnam: A Feasibility Research Program in Hang Kia – Pa Co Nature Reserve, Hoa Binh Province - an ongoing project funded by ICCO Netherlands.

COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH Sarus Crane – A Symbol of Peace - a photographic book on Sarus Crane – an endangered bird species of Vietnam.

Published in April 2006.

Large Mammal of Vietnam Field Guide - a field guide book on large mammal species of Vietnam. It’s being developed in cooperation with WWF. Experiential Environmental Education Activity Manual. Developed an activity manual and trained teachers to use experiential environmental education activities. This is a service contract with the Hanoi Environmental Education Project.

Vietnam State of the Environment Report 2005, English version. Translation and editing work for Vietnam Environment Protection Agency (VEPA). http://www.thiennhien.net An information portal on nature, wildlife and the environment in Vietnamese. This website is currently under heavy changes and development to be an online journal dedicated to reporting news and information on environmental issues.

NETWORKING AND PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Business and the Environment Program: PanNature organized first two talks on “Bird-watching and Tourism” and “Community-based Ecotourism” for travel agencies and tourism companies. These were to experiment ways to link business and environmental and sustainable development issues.

--------------------------------------------------People and Nature Reconciliation Office: No. 3, Alley 55, Lane 61, Tran Duy Hung Str., Hanoi, Vietnam Postal: P.O Box 612, Hanoi GPO, Vietnam Tel: ++84 (0)4 556-4001 Email: contact@nature.org.vn

Publications Global Biodiversity Conservation Priorities by Brooks, T. M., Mittermeier, R. A., da Fonseca, G. A. B., Gerlach, J., Hoffmann, M., Lamoreux, J. F., Mittermeier, C. G., Pilgrim, J. D. and Rodrigues, A. S. L. (2006). Science 313: 58-61.

Biodiversity conservation organisations have proposed nine sets of global conservation prioritisations over the past decade, including BirdLife International’s ‘Endemic Bird Areas’. These prioritisations, although all founded on slightly different organisational missions, are all based on the understanding that the distribution of, and threats to, biodiversity are distributed unevenly across the world. Thus, prioritization of where to carry out conservation first is essential to minimize biodiversity loss. This paper, by authors including John Pilgrim of BirdLife International in Indochina, compares these different approaches, and reviews the concepts, methods, results, impacts, and challenges of these global conservation prioritisations within the core theoretical systematic conservation planning framework of irreplaceability and vulnerability. Most of the approaches prioritize highly irreplaceable regions, rich in restricted-range or endemic species. However, some of the approaches are reactive (prioritising the most threatened places), and others are

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33 BirdLife International in Indochina proactive (prioritising the least threatened places). The paper concludes by identifying an overall picture within the combined prioritsations in which a few regions, particularly in the tropics and in Mediterranean-type environments, are consistently identified as priorities for global biodiversity conservation. It is crucial that the global donor community channel sufficient resources to these regions, at the very minimum. However, the authors note that it is through the conservation of actual sites that biodiversity will ultimately be preserved or lost, and thus highlight the priority for conservation planning to be drawing the lessons of these global conservation prioritisations down to a much finer scale, such as that pioneered by BirdLife International’s ‘Important Bird Areas’ program.

Hotspots Revisited by Mittermeier, R. A., Robles-Gil, P., Hoffmann, M., Pilgrim, J., Brooks, T., Mittermeier, C. G., Lamoreux, J., and da Fonseca, G. A. B. (Eds.) (2004). CEMEX, Mexico City.

Following on the success of www.biodiversityhotspots.org, which summarises information about – and provides valuable online datasets for – the world’s biodiversity hotspots, the book Hotspots Revisited, giving a revised analysis of the hotspots, is now available in full at www.biodiversityscience.org/publications/hotspots/cover.html, complete with stunning photos of these global priority regions for conservation. The book contains a chapter on Indo-Myanmar cowritten by Jack Tordoff of BirdLife International’s Asia Division, and is co-edited by John Pilgrim, now Conservation Advisor of BirdLife International in Indochina.

Some significant bird records from the Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia, including the first recent record of Silver Oriole Oriolus mellianus by John D. Pilgrim and Andrew J. Pierce (2006). Forktail Vol. 22: 125-127 Although the Cardamom Mountains of south-west Cambodia have been the subject of significant international attention in recent years, most biological surveys in the south-west of the country have taken place either in the heights of the Cardamom Mountains or at low elevations to their south-east. This paper, co-authored by John Pilgrim (Conservation Advisor of BirdLife International in Indochina) reports on a survey of the southern foothills of the Cardamom Mountains.

Despite much logging and clearance in the survey area, substantial areas of degraded habitat remain. The most significant ornithological record by the survey team was of two or three Silver Oriole Oriolus mellianus. This is only second record of the species from Cambodia, with the first record dating back to 1927, but was soon followed by another record from nearby Bokor National Park. The authors discuss possible reasons for the anomalous paucity of records of this species on wintering grounds, and suggest that future surveys may show that south-west Cambodia is a key wintering ground.

Book reviews Wild Borneo Nick Garbutt and Cede Prudente (2006). New Holland Publishers. ISBN: 1845373782. 176 pp, 250 colour illus., 5 maps.

Illustrated throughout with stunning photographs, Wild Borneo is a celebration of, and a showcase for, the splendour and diversity of the island's natural history.

Written in an engaging, educational and thought-provoking style, it also describes the ongoing efforts of the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) to protect and nurture Borneo's wealth of natural resources.

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The National Parks and Other Wild Places of Thailand Stephen Elliott and Gerald Cubitt (2005). New Holland Publishers. ISBN: 1845373138 . 176 pages, colour photos, maps.

This publication offers practical advice for visitors to the region, describing and portraying areas such as the dense forests and exotic mammals of Huai Kha Khaeng and the hidden islands and teeming reefs of Ang Thong.

Sarus Crane – Symbol of Peace PanNature and Minh Loc (2006). Lao Dong Publisher, Hanoi. 50pp.

This is the first book to be published on the Eastern Sarus Crane Grus antigone sharpii. The book is published by PanNature and a professional photographer Minh Loc. The book presents over 300 wonderful colored photographs photographs taken by Minh Loc. It provides readers with useful and interesting information such as: cranes and people; crane species of the world; biological and ecological features of the Sarus Crane; distribution of Sarus Crane in Vietnam; and threats and how to conserve this species.

This book will be a useful tool for raising public awareness on a beautiful bird species and its conservation in Vietnam.

Le Trong Trai, Programme Officer BirdLife International in Indochina

Monographie des Faisans [Monograph of the Pheasants]: Volume 2

By Hennache, A. and Ottaviani, M. (2006). Edition W.P.A France, Clères, France. ISBN 2-9512467-2-2. 492 pp This impressive book is the second of a French-language two-volume set published by the World Pheasant Association France. The first volume was reviewed in Babbler 17. These two volumes review the available knowledge on all currently recognised pheasant species at the beginning of the 21st Century. This volume begins by continuing the treatment of each pheasant species by genus, covering the genera Crossoptilon, Syrmaticus, Phasianus, Catreus, Chrysolophus, Polyplectron, Rheinardia, Argusianus, Pavo and Afropavo. Although the first volume, with its treatment of the Lophura and chapter on conservation, is probably of more interest to Indochinese ornithologists, this volume still contains some tantalising information and photographs for such rarely seen species as Crested Argus Rheinardia ocellata.

As before, there are also clear maps throughout, showing the relative distributions of species within each genus. A lengthy section on pathology, likely of most interest to aviculturalists, follows these accounts. Finally, there is an annex covering the four species in the genus Gallus.

John Pilgrim, Conservation Advisor, BirdLife International in Indochina

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Staff news Vietnam office Tran Trung Dzung It was only in July 2005, that Dzung started to work as the Chief Technical Adviser and Team Leader for the World Bank/Global Environment Facility funded Integrating Watershed and Biodiversity Management in Chu Yang Sin National Park, Dak Lak Province Project, executed by BirdLife in collaboration with Dak Lak Provincial People Committee.

Due to his continuing and demanding teaching commitments at Tay Nguyen Univeristy Dzung has decided to move on. We wish Dzung good luck for the future.

Pham Tuan Anh After a five-month maternity leave, Ms. Tuan Anh, our Vietnam Programme Manager rejoined BirdLife's team from October 2nd, 2006.

We wish her good health and new energy to contribute to BirdLife Vietnam Programme's further development.

Cambodia office Bou Vorsak and Seng Kim Hout To improve the efficiency of BirdLife Cambodia Programme, on July 27, 2006, Bou Vorsak (left) was appointed as Acting Programme Manager and Seng Kim Hout (right) as Programme Officer. These changes represent an important opportunity for key staff to further demonstrate their abilities, to enhance their skill set and for personal career advancement. We wish them luck.

Myanmar office Aung Pyeh Khant Aung Pyeh Khant Project Officer and senior researcher (right) on the Myanmar Gurney's Pitta research programme has recently decided to move on. We thank him for his great efforts and wish him well.

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Asia Division Office Richard Grimmett Head of the Asia Division, Richard Grimmett, will be returning to Cambridge to take up a new Cambridge based post during the course of 2007, as Global Conservation Manager. This new post will support regional divisions in enabling BirdLife’s network to carry out more action for species and sites in line with the current BirdLife Strategy. The overall purpose of this position is to facilitate, co-ordinate and oversee the development and implementation of BirdLife’s IBA and Species conservation programmes, with particular reference to global and cross regional initiatives as well as national projects of global relevance.

From the Archives As our feature article in this issue considers the Kouprey we reproduce below a series of photographs from different sources. Although they in no way can shed any further light on the debate surrounding its taxonomic affinities, the scarcity of available images in the public domain justifies their inclusion here. The first four photographs below were taken by Mr. Francois Edmond-Blanc in the field near Samrong in Cambodia just after the animal was shot on 16 March 1939. This specimen is retained at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University (MCZ 38108)1.

Fig. 1 (Left) Notes the open savannah forest, which is the characteristic habitat of the kouprey. The bull Kouprey has presumably been shot and has sat down awaiting the coup de grace.

Fig. 2 (right) Notes the shape of the face and the heavy wrinkling of the skin; also the shape of the ear (including white lining) and the notched nostril.

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Fig. 3 (left) notes the shape of the nostril and the spread of the horns which are frayed near the tips.

Fig. 4 (right) notes the approximation of the bases of the horns and the angle at which they leave the skull.

Figs. 5 & 6. The two photographs reproduced above from the same book, clearly refer to two different male Kouprey2..

The male on the left was shot at Haut-Chhlong in Kratie Province. The photograph was taken by A V Pietri who was associated with the collection of at least two Kouprey specimens. The photograph on the right is credited to Charles Dumas and that may be him in the photograph. From his book it is not clear where in Cambodia this specimen was shot2.

1.

Coolidge, H. J. (Jr.) (1940) The Indo-Chinese Forest Ox or Kouprey Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Vol. LIV. No. 6. Cambridge, Mass., USA. 2.

Dumas, C. (1944) La Faune Sauvage du Cambodge. Editions Aymonier, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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