The Babbler 3

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BirdLife International in Indochi na

The Babbler BirdLife International in Indochina

September 2002 Volume 1, Issue 3

Welcome to the third issue of The Babbler, covering July to September, 2002, which we hope you will enjoy reading.

Inside this Issue

1 2 9 10 11 13 14 15

Welcome

Regional news

Spotlight organisation

Rarest of the rare

Project update

Profile

In this issue Programme Manager, Jonathan Eames presents his view of the region, its conservation challenges, and outlines BirdLife’s future strategy.

Earlier this year and for the first time ever, BirdLife supported conservationists in Myanmar with an attempt to survey Gurney’s Pitta. Although our Burmese/Thai team were finally prevented from doing any fieldwork, we hope to repeat the attempt next year.

Also in this issue we report on the declaration of Lo Go Sa Mat as a national park. BirdLife has lobbied for sometime for the conservation of this IBA which lies in the southern Vietnamese lowlands EBA. In our future work we hope to work with WWF and others to produce and implement a management plan for this important site Another major development we report on this issue is the establishment of the first IBA Support Group (SSG) on Ha Nam Island in Quang Ninh province. We hope this will be the first of many SSGs we hope to establish throughout the region in the coming years.

If you have any contributions or suggestions, please let me know at Phuong@birdlife.netnam.vn The Babbler is also available on the BirdLife website

Book review

Recently published

BirdLif e International in Indochina #11, Lane 167, Tay Son Hanoi, Vietnam www.birdlif ev ietnam.com

Left to right/Top: Jack Tordoff, Nathan Sage, Jonathan Eames, Nguyen Cong Mao and Nguyen Duc Tu. Below: Nguyen Thi Muoi, Luu Thi My, Nguyen Luong Duyen and Vu Thi Minh Phuong The Babbler - September, 2002

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BirdLife International In Indochina New challenges and new ricks

Since 1994, BirdLife International’s Asia Division has implemented a country programme in Vietnam. Now BirdLife is embarking on an expanded programme in the adjacent countries of Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Laos. In this feature, programme manager Jonathan Eames presents his view of the region and its conservation challenges, reviews BirdLife’s successes to date, and Photo: Minh Loc presents strategic directions for the future Some myths about Indochina Mention the Mekong Delta and many people will conjure up thoughts of dense inhospitable lowland forests, mosquitoinfested swamps, or perhaps an image of the mango collectors being ambushed by a tiger in the film Apocalypse Now! But the truth is that the Mekong Delta is now a dull, monotonous agricultural landscape with mile after mile of rice that supports minimal biodiversity, with tiny pockets of semi-natural habitat no different from many parts of Europe. This is in stark contrast to neighbouring Cambodia where Bengal Floricans Eupodotis bengalensis strut around the man-made landscape they share with rice farmers and herds of white zebu cattle. Most people would associate this Endangered bustard with the riverine grasslands of the Indian

subcontinent, yet Cambodia has more Bengal Floricans than India and Nepal combined.

And what of Myanmar, Kipling’s golden land? Visit Myanmar and you can meet dedicated conservationists founding new NGOs; step into the forest department and you will receive a warm welcome from staff trained in the United Kingdom.

You can visit protected areas established 100 years ago, and many conservationists have pinned their hopes that Myanmar, alone in the region, may still support a population of Sumatran Rhinoceros. Could the Pink-headed Duck Rhodonessa caryophyllacea, last seen in the wild in 1949 and believed by most to be extinct, still exist in a far-flung forest jheel?

Flip through BirdLife’s Threatened Birds of Asia or Endemic Bird Areas of the

World and you will soon appreciate the international importance of the Indochinese region for bird conservation.

New challenges At BirdLife, we recently decided to expand beyond a single country programme in Vietnam to embrace the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Biodiversity conservation in the region faces several major challenges. These include the continuing rapid consertion and fragmentation of primary landscapes (especially lowland evergreen forests, riverine habitats, grasslands and wetland) to agricultural and aquacultural habitats, and a continuing decline of the region’s remaining quality forest. These threats are not unique to this region, but what is alarming is the rate of habitat

The Babbler - September, 2002

BirdLife International in Indochi na 3 loss and degradation, fuelled by the increasing human demand for natural resources. High rural densities and population growth rates characterise the Indochina region. In Vietnam’s Red and Mekong River Deltas for example, the rural population densities are comparable to urban population densities in developed nations.

Dispersed species, especially storks, ibises and vultures, are declining rapidly and restrictedrange forest birds like Gurney’s Pitta Pitta gurneyi and The author (left) with Dr Htin Hla, President, Wildlife and Adventures and Edwards’s Pheasant Lophura Tours (WATT) and Ms Khin Ma Thwin, Secretary, Bird Enthusiasts and edwardsi move closer to Nature Conservation Association (BENCA). Photo: J.C.Eames extinction as their lowland forest habitats are converted to attitude and the level of support within the region and between oil palm plantations or to they afford international NGOs. countries within it. In Vietnam paddyfields.

There is a marked contrast and Laoss there are signs of between Cambodia, where the donor fatigue.

Traditionally Many South-East Asian government is relatively important funders of the countries are called ‘tigers’ dependent on foreign aid and environment sector, like because of their high rates of consequently more tolerant of Denmark, have significantly international NGOs, and reduced their support for economic growth.

But Vietnam where the converse is Vietnam and ceased to support synonymous with this generally true.

However, Laos altogether. Others, notably prosperity are high rates of governments in general commit the Netherlands, are strong deforestation, rapid insufficient resources to advocates of a basket-funding urbanisation and high levels of biodiversity conservation. As a approach. The net effect on natural resource consumption. result, although on paper international NGOs in Vietnam With the exception of Thailand, rural poverty remains high targets for protected areas is that we are competing for throughout the region. coverage are often met, the diminishing donor resources.

Myanmar qualifies for UN least reality on the ground is very And, if donors continue to follow developed nation status. Nondifferent.

This is further the Vietnamese Government’s democratic and noncompounded by limited capacity policy of ODA delivery for participatory governments are for biodiversity management conservation through the state the norm, the pace of democratic and the level of public and apparatus, unless there is a reform and institutional reform government awareness and radical and swift reform of the is slow and the levels of interest in biodiversity bureaucracy involved, little government corruption are conservation remains low. further action can now be notoriously high. The mass achieved. As Vietnam and Laos media are under close In recent years, BirdLife has wane in terms of donor interest, government control throughout made an important contribution Cambodia is now a leading much of the region, and civil to conservation in Vietnam. recipient and I believe it won’t society remains undeveloped External donors funded our be long before Myanmar is and tragically unaware of the conservation programme, and under the spotlight too. Donor crisis faced by its biodiversity. this dependency is unlikely to support for Myanmar is Donor funding schemes are change. But we must be aware currently low, but recent often complex, slow and that donors regularly shift their political developments, bureaucratic, with two years focal areas, the manner in particularly the release of An being the norm until the first which they seek to deliver San Su Kyi, bode well for the payment is made. Governments overseas development aid future. in the region vary in their (ODA), the scale of funding The Babbler - September, 2002

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The evolution of BirdLife International in Indochina When BirdLife began our programme in Vietnam ten years ago, the country had three Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs) (it now has four after we discovered three new species to science!), and a poorly developed

protected areas network. Our programme has focused on the surveying and gazettement of protected areas within the most critically threatened of these EBAs, management planning and advocating the establishment of protected areas and the identification of Important Bird Areas (IBAs).

We have established a reputation for protected areas planning and for researching and disseminating high quality, authoritative publications on the status of biodiversity. Our achievements have been considerable and are highlighted in the accompanying text box.

Milestones: BirdLife International in Indochina 1988 Conducted first-ever status survey for threatened species in Vietnam 1992 Participated in the development of the Vietnam Biodiversity Action Plan 1993 Started project to secure protected areas in two EBAs in Vietnam 1995 Identified IBAs in the Red River Delta 1996 First new protected area gazetted in Vietnam with BirdLife support 1996 Began comprehensive review of protected areas system in Vietnam 1996 Established Representative Office in Hanoi 1996 Undertook first field survey in Cambodia 1996–2000 secured the establishment of six new protected areas 1996 Discovered new EBA in Vietnam 1997 Identified IBAs in the Mekong Delta 1997 Published the wise-use of wetlands strategy for the Mekong Delta 1998 Undertook first quantitative survey for a threatened species 1999 Published recommendations for expansion of the Vietnam protected areas system 2000–2002 Developed first two GEF projects 2000 Published first modern bird field guide for Vietnam (in Vietnamese) 2001 Published Sourcebook of protected areas in Vietnam 2001 Launched web site www.birdlifevietnam.com 2001 Joined Forest Sector Support Programme to guide government policy in Vietnam 2001 Established partnership with commercial forestry interests in Vietnam 2002 Established contacts in Myanmar and began a status survey for Gurney’s Pitta 2002 Started first IBA support group in Vietnam 2002 First new protected area gazetted in Cambodia 2002 Began an Integrated Conservation and Development Project in Vietnam with DOF (BirdLife in Denmark)

A new direction Over the next five years, BirdLife International in Indochina aims to implement site based conservation initiatives at key IBAs, research the status and distribution of threatened species and their habitats, advocate and influence government policy decisions, implement multi-donor projects in four count ries across the subregion, support the development of new and emerging local NGOs, establishing

partnerships with like-minded international NGO partners, and maintain BirdLife’s reputation as the key source for authoritative data on biodiversity conservation.

This process has already begun, and with support from the Danish Government through Danida, we launched an IBA programme in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in 2000 which has supported local staff and

established relationships with government authorities and the Wildlife Conservation Societ y.

In Myanmar, we have initiated contacts with the Bird Enthusiasts and Nature Conservation Association.

Support from the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) allowed us to plan a field survey to search for Gurney’s Pitta, although political developments thwarted our attempt, so we will try again in 2003.

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Can BirdLife difference?

make

a

BirdLife has demonstrated its ability to deliver conservation in Vietnam and we believe that we can make a difference in the wider region. We have a strong base in Asia through the Asia Partnership and the Asia Division, and BirdLife International in Indochina has an established history in the region (BirdLife was amongst the first international NGOs to be invited to work in Vietnam).

Importantly, BirdLife has a reputation for early entry and success in difficult working environments, and for us to enjoy similar success in Myanmar, it will be necessary to be amongst the first international NGOs in the country. This was a lesson from Vietnam.

BirdLife has a demonstrable track record in conservation planning and a reputation as a source of authoritative information on biodiversity in the region.

Lastly, and most importantly, one of BirdLife International’s hallmarks is its skilled and motivated staff.

However, we still have insufficient capacity, particularly to influence government policy, but our biggest single constraint is a

View from the summit of Mount Victoria of the montance evergreen forest in Natmataung National Park in Chin State, Myanmar. The landscape comprises a mosaic of evergreen and pine, together with shifting cultivation. Photo: J.C. Eames lack of core funding and the reliance on external donor support. The Asia Bird Fund may change this, but not in the medium term. To date in Vietnam, we have little experience in delivering conservation on the ground.

Only this year will we begin our first protected area-based project in the country, in cooperation with DOF (BirdLife in Denmark). Lastly, in the eyes of many, including the Vietnamese Government, BirdLife is seen as too narrowly focused, concerned only with birds and this means

The Giant Ibis Pseudibis gigantea (C ritically Endangered) inhabits a strip of dry deciduous forest across northern C ambodia, where it is locally comm on, although its range has declined m assively during the last 50 years. Will we learn enough about this species in tim e to develop a m anagem ent strategy before it goes extinct? Photo: WCS Cam bodia

we are sometimes excluded from dialogue.

Forty-five years ago, Charles Wharton filmed herds of Kouprey in Cambodia. Unless there is urgent conservation action and success in Indochina, a celluloid legacy will be all that is left of some of the world’s richest and most spectacular biodiversity.

Jonathan C. Eames, BirdLife International in Indochina #11, Lane 167, Tay Son, Dong Da Hanoi, Vietnam. eames.birdlife@netnam.org.vn

A widespread and locally comm on species across much of C ambodia, sharing its largely anthropogentic landscape with farm ers and pastoralists, the B engal Florican Eupodotis bengalensis is alm ost extinct in Vietnam. Photo: J.C. Eam es The Babbler - September, 2002

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Regional News Vietnam: Lo Go Sa Mat becomes National Park On 12 July 2002, Vice Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan approved the upgrade of Lo Go Sa Mat Nature Reserve, Tay Ninh province, to national park status.

Decision No. 91/2002/QDTTg states that the national park will have a total area of 18,765 hectares, including 8,594 hectares under strict protection and 10,084 hectares for ecological rehabilitation.

The new national park supports a mosaic of forest and freshwat er habitats that are not found in any other Special-use Forest in Vietnam.

species of large waterbi rd, including Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans and Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia epsicopus, both of which are in the Red Data Book of Vietnam. Furthermore, the national park supports two species endemic to southern Vietnam and south-eastern Cambodia: Blackshanked Douc Langur Pygathrix nigripes and Germain’s Peaco ck Pheas ant Polyplectron germaini.

As a result of the growing appreciation of the values of Lo Go Sa Mat and its potential for In recent years, research by ecotourism Tay Ninh Department of development, the Tay Science, Technology and Ninh provincial Environment, Vietnam authorities have made National University, Ho Chi a strong commitment Lo Go Sa M at habitat. P hoto: A.W.Tordoff Minh City, BirdLife to the conservation of International, the Institute of Ecology and Biological the site. These efforts have now been recognised by the Resources, the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, and government, with the approval of the national park, which the International Crane Foundation, has revealed that Lo Go will be managed by the province. BirdLife has actively Sa Mat is of extremely high importance for biodiversity campaigned to promote conservation of this site and hopes to conservation. The national park supports a number of work on the development of a management plan for the site forested wetland habitats that have been virtually eradicated in the near future. from elsewhere in Vietnam. Lo Go Sa Mat is a vital stopover point for the globally threatened Sarus Crane Grus Further details about Lo Go Sa Mat National Park can be antigone, as it migrates between its breeding grounds in found on the BirdLife International website at: northern Cambodia and its wintering grounds in the Mekong www.birdlifevietnam.com (English) or Delta of Vietnam. Lo Go Sa Mat supports a number of other www.birdlifevietnam.org (Vietnamese)

National Assembly approves Ministry for Nature Resources and Environment Vietnam’s National Assembly (NA) approved latest government's proposals set up two new ministries by a landslide vote on August 5. One of the two new ministries to be created will be the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), which will cooperate with the General Department of Land Administration, the General Hydro-Meteorology Department

and environmental offices currently operating within the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE).

During its initial period, the responsibilities of the MNRE will be limited to land resource management. Management of other natural resources such as water, forests, oil and gas will remain the responsibility of the Ministry of Fisheries, the

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Vietnam Oil & Gas Corporation.

However, the government intends to gradually transfer control of these resources to the MNRE in coming years, according to Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. The existing MoSTE will become the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

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Grant for conservation projects in the Oriental region The Oriental Bird Club (OBC) aims to encourage interest in Oriental birds and their conservation. Each year, the Oriental Bird Club (OBC) awards two major conservation awards, the Forktail-Leica Award for Conservation and the OBC-WildWings Award for Conservation Awareness, as well as several OBC small grants for conservation work and conservation awareness projects. The OBC targets these awards and grants at Asian nationals and projects. Both major awards aim to involve local people and communities in conservation 1. The 2002 Forktail-Leica Award for bird conservation is the fourteenth award supported by finds generously donated by Leica Camera. The award is for GBP 1500 and proposals must be received by 1 st September, 2002. This award is only open to Oriental nationals and projects should where possible: ¾ Involve local people ¾ Support national non-government organisations ¾ Aim to influence Government decisions in favour of wildlife conservation OBC targets this award to projects which include studies or survey of ¾ Globally threatened species ¾ Areas supporting concentrations of endemic species ¾ Poorly known areas likely to support globally threatened or endemic species 2. The OBC-WildWings Conservation Awareness Award is the ninth award generously sponsored by WildWings, the independent travel agency for birders. The award of GBP 1,000 is being offered to Oriental nationals for projects designed to raise conservation awareness, particularly among local communities. The closing date for applications is the 1st September 2002. Example of such projects include ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾

Involving local communities in making decisions which benefit wildlife Funding publications and education material about wildlife conservation Funding wildlife camps for school children Interpretative material for visitor centres

3. The OBC small grants up to GBP 500 are offered for conservation work and conservation awareness projects. Small grant applications are considered at any time of the year. Criteria outlined for the two major awards apply also to small grant applications, which are awarded four times a year. The Conservation Fund section of the OBC Bulletin outlined successful projects. Strong preference is shown to application from Oriental nationals, or those that support Oriental nationals working with counterparts from outside the region. Applications should apply at least six months prior to the intended study period.

If you are interested in applying for any of these awards and would like a copy of the guidelines for applicants please contact Phil Bedstead (Conservation Officer), OBC, PO Box 324, Bedford, MK42 0WG, UK; email obc.admin@virgin.net or visit the website http://www.orientalbirdclub.org The Babbler - September, 2002

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Gurney’s Pitta Pitta gurneyi. Painting: Norman Arlott (Rare Bird Club/BirdLife International )

Gurney’s Pitta survey in Myanmar

By Phil Round Ever since my search for, and eventual success ful rediscovery of, Gurney’s Pitta in southern Thailand, I have dream ed of ent ering southern Myanmar to search for this brilliant creature there, too. Gurney’s Pitta was first described from southern Myanmar, in 1875, and nearly half of all the 103 specimens in museums around the world were collected there. Curiously, though, there were no Burmese breeding records: the only records of nest and young came from southern Thailand, leading initially to speculation that Gurney’s Pitta was perhaps only a nonbreeding visitor to Myanmar.

However, the absence of any similar migratory pattern among other Sundaic forest birds, and close parallels in the seasonal distribution of sightings between Myanmar and Thailand (where the species is resident, but becomes very hard to detect from July onwards) seem to imply that Gurney’s Pitta nests in southern Myanmar too.

There have been no confirmed records of Gurney’s Pitta from Myanmar since 1941, yet birds of unknown provenance continue to pass through the illegal bird trade, ending up in Thai zoos. There are so few Gurney’s Pitta left in southern Thailand that it is almost certain that most or all such emanate from southern Myanmar.

It looked this year as if I would finally get to enter Myanmar on my pitta chase, through the good offices of BENCA (Bird Enthusiasts and Nature Conservation Association) a Burmese NGO, and with support from BirdLife International including RSPB (BirdLife in the UK). Dr Htin Hla and Ms khin Ma Ma Thwin, both Burmese ornithologists and nature conservationists who with others set up BENCA and initiated the Gurney’s Pitta survey, met me at Rangoon Airport in early May. Provided with forest cover and topographic maps, we plotted a

potential survey route. We weren’t sure how we could get around: the roads are rutted and for some of the time boat travel, followed by a long tramp on foot, night be necessary to access forest patches as rem ain.

Most historical collecting localities of Gurney’s Pitta were towards the extreme south, close to the coast.

Judging from the rather small scale forest cover images, it looked as if most of the extreme lowland forest, which should hold Gurney’s Pitta and many other globally threatened or near-threat ened forest birds, had already been cleared. In much of southern Myanmar, as elsewhere in the Sunda subbregion, forest in most of the lowland has already been largely replaced by plantations of rubber and oil-palm. But further north, where the isthmus broadens, yet still within the known historical range of Gurney’s Pitta, there seemed to be a larger lowland forest area.

Besides the first records of Gurney’s Pitta for Myanmar for nearly one hundred years, loomed the prospect of other exciting discoveries: possible northern range extensions for other threatened Sundaic forest birds, discovered from southern Myanmar. And perhaps one of the largest and most potentially viable tracts of lowland rainforest rem aining anywhere in the Sunda region.

After flying back to Bangkok, I then traveled down to Ranong, the Thai provincial capital opposite the southernmost Burmese settlement of Kawthaung, where I was to meet

Htin Hla, Hazel and their colleagues, as soon as they had made the rather more arduous trip from Rangoon by a combination of plane and boat. A Thai colleague, Yotin Meekaeo, an ace forest bird finder and a man who has found more Gurney’s Pittas in the wild than anyone still living, also joined me.

However, events on the world stage conspired to defeat us. A border incursion into Thailand by ethnic Wa troops from northern Myanma, more than one thousand km to the north of Ranong, prompted a vigorous response by the Thai military.

Burmese government forces in turn countered by closing the whole land border between the two countries, denying both Thailand and Myanmar the lifeblood of cross border trade, and incidentally preventing our Thai and Burmese fi eld teams meeting up.

It was very frustrating, being in contact on opposite sides of the border by mobile phone, yet prevented by a curfew and by armed soldiers from traveling either way.

Htin Hla’s brief forays into forest close to Kawthaung were also impeded by the presence of soldiers and he was left with no alternative but to return to Rangoon. Today, three months later, the Thai-Burmese border rem ains closed.

In spite of our failure this year, both BirdLife and BENCA remain determined that the survey will go ahead as soon as practicable, and plans are already being made for a repeat attempt in early 2003.

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Spotlight Organisation This issue’s profile is the BirdLife Partner in Taiwan

by Dr. Woei-Horng Fang

Wild Bird Federation Taiwan Organizational Structure The WBFT was established in 1988, and currently is composed of the following 19 local bird societies: Wild Bird Society (WBS) Keelung, WBS Taipei, WBS Taoyuan, WBS Hsinchu, WBS Nantou, WBS Changhua, WBS Miaoli, WBS Chiayi, WBS Chiayi County, WBS Yunlin, WBS Tainan, WBS Kaohsiung, WBS Pingtung, WBS Taitung, WBS Hualien, WBS Ilan, WBS Kinmen, WBS Penghu, and WBS Matsu. There are almost 4000 local memberships which, including families, representing over 10,000 people.

In 1994, this organization joined the largest non-governmental bird conservation organization in the world, BirdLife International, enabling us to play a more active and important role in regional and international bird conservation work Objectives and Responsibilities The WBFT is registered under the Ministry of the Interior as a public welfare civic organization, gathering together local volunteers concerned with the natural ecological environment.

Through cooperative efforts, we hope to achieve the following objectives and responsibilities as a representative of the people by supporting an excellent quality of life and maintaining natural landscapes for future generations: Observation, research, and conservation of wild birds and related habitats; Promotion of concepts of natural ecological and environmental conservation; Administration of measures to conserve wild birds like education, publicity, and the establishment and management of conservation areas; Publication of wild bird research reports and related books and information; Joining of international organizations, attendance at international meetings, and exchange of visits with international conservation groups, all which help raise Taiwan's conservation image.

What work do we do?

Natural habitat conservation work Promotion of the passage of laws of wildlife conservation.

Sponsorship of periodic conferences on coastal wetland conservation.

Carrying out of avian investigation projects and publication of reports.

Contact:

Delineation of important bird areas (IBAs) in Taiwan.

Habitat conservation including the wetlands at Taipei's Guandu, Ilan's Wuweigang and 52 Jia, Hsinchu's Hsiangshan (Fragrant Mt.), Taiwan's coastal wetlands, Yunlin's Huben Village, and Taitung's Chihben.

Species Conservation Establishment of a database for Taiwan birds, and advancement of bird banding work and research.

Sponsorship of periodic ornithological technology symposiums.

Publication of Red Data Books for Asia and Taiwan.

Setting up of the Raptor Center for advancing research and data collection.

Carrying out of specific bird investigation projects and publication of reports, such as Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), Lanyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans), and Fairy Pitta (Pitta brachyura).

Promotion of education Since 1991, annual sponsorship of activities for the spring and fall bird migration seasons.

Throughout the year, sponsorship of local bird societies for small and large-scale birdwatching activities, exhibitions, and training.

In recent years, sponsorship of over 500 events with over 600,000 participants.

Distribution of 400,000 migration season pamphlets and 60,000 posters.

Publication of local educational promotional periodicals.

International exchange and cooperation Joining BirdLife International and participation in international conservation projects.

Participation in the British Birdwatching Fair to promote conservation work in Taiwan and ecotourism.

Promotion of Taiwan's entry into international conservation work such as IBA projects in South Asian countries and an Atlantic coastal forest recovery project in Brazil.

On-going Work Important Bird Area project; Establishment of comprehensive habitat protection laws and regulations; Red Data Book Project; Species selection objectives for advancing conservation work and monitoring of threatened and endangered species groups.

Wild Bird Federation Taiwan 1F, No.3, Lane 36, Chinglung St. 116, Taipei, Taiwan Tel: 886-2-2930 3649/8663 1252.

Email: wbft@bird.org.tw The Babbler - September, 2002

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Rarest of the rare Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor This spoonbill has a single, very small population. A lack of baseline data makes identifying a population trend problematic . Apparent recent increases may reflect improved observer coverage or the displacement of birds from degraded and destroyed sites.

Given the substantial treats to its habitat, it may currently be declining or is likely to decline in the near future. These factors qualify it as Endangered Black-faced Spoonbill. Photo: Fang W.H

Range 15,200/106,600 km2

Population < 800

Altitude Lowland

Identification 76cm. Smallish, white spoonbill with blackish bill and face. Similar species Eurasian Spoonbill P. leucorodia is larger has yellow tip to bill and white face.

Range and Population Black-faced Spoonbill breeds on islets off the west coast of North Korea and South Korea, and Liaoning province in China.

Birds have been reported in the Tumen estuary of Russia, but breeding has not been proven. The three major wintering sites are the Tsengwen estuary of Taiwan, Inner Deep Bay of Hong Kong (China) and the Red River Delta, Vietnam. It also winters in Cheju, South Korea, Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, and Yancheng and Hainan, China, and there are recent records from Thailand and Macao (China). The population is estimates at 800 birds.

Ecology It breeds in mixed colonies on small islands. Breeding success is low. It winters on tidal mudflats. Satellite tracking has show that birds witering in Hong Kong and Taiwan migrate along the coast of eastern China to northern Jiangsu, then over the Yellow Sea to the Korea peninsula.

Habitats Wetland, Coastline

Threats Habitat loss and degradation Land/water pollution

Threats Habitat destruction is probably the biggest threat. The main wintering grounds are threatened by industrial development, particularly a key site in Taiwan and also in China, and reclamation, especially in South Korea, Japan and China.

Economic development in China has converted many coastal wetlands into aquaculture ponds and industrial estates. Pollution is a major threat to birds wintering in Hong Kong. Increasing levels of disturbance and also hunting are threats in China and Vietnam. Fishers in China collect waterbird eggs at a nesting site.

Conservation It is legally protected in China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea and Japan. Breeding sites in North Korea at Taegam-do, Unmu-do, Sonchonrap-do and Tok-do, are designated as seabird sanctuaries and sites in China have been declared as non-hunting areas. Protected wintering sites include Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay (Hong Kong), Xuan Thuy and Tien Hai (Vietnam), and Manko (Japan). An action plan was published in 1995 and workshops involving all major range countries were held in 1996 and 1997.

Education material, satellite tracking and field survey results and management recommendation have been produced.

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Project updates First IBA Support Group established in Vietnam Yen Hung District People’s Committee (DPC), Quang Ninh Department of Science Technology and Environment (DOSTE) and BirdLife International recently collaborated to host a opening meeting to establish the first “IBA Support Group” for Ha Nam Island IBA in Quang Ninh province, with financial support from BirdLife International, through the Danida funded project “Improved conservation planning through institutional strengthening in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam”.

This meeting was held in Yen Hung District, Quang Ninh province on Friday 30 August, 2002.

The meeting was attended by repres entatives from Quang Ninh DOSTE, BirdLife, Yen Hung DPC, FPD, Police, the representatives of all communes in Yen Hung and shrimp pond owners in this area, and Mr. Cach, director of Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve. Kenh Trap site Support

wild bird populations and supporting local livelihoods.

The IBA Support Group has three permanent members of staff, who will monitor bird populations, habitats and threats, and report back to the group. Later, the responsibilities of these staff may expand to environmental awareness and enforcement of management regul ations.

BirdLife will not be a Openning an IB A support group on Ha Nam Island. member of the IBA Support P hoto: A.W.Tordoff Group but will provide Group comprises representatives of support and assistance, in particular all stakeholders, who will meet on a BirdLife will assist the group to periodic basis to monitor the identify and approach sources of conservation of the IBA, discuss financial and technical support to problems, find solutions and obtain address environmental issues they support to implement these solutions. have identified.

Through these The aim of the IBA support group is activities, the IBA support group will to strengthen environmental develop and implement their own management on Ha Nam island, with conservation awareness project in the a particular emphasis on protecting future.

identifying important biodiversity areas planning in protected areas in Lao p.d.r.

BirdLife International and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), in collaboration with the Forest Inventory and Planning Division and the Division of Forest Resource Conservation of the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and with financial support from Danida, conducted an analysis of all available data on bird distributions in Lao P.D.R., in order to identify Important Bird Areas (IBAs) within each protected area. This analysis was part of the worldwide IBA programme of BirdLife International, which aims to identify and protect a network of critical sites fo r the conservation of the world’s birds. IBAs were selected as the basis for this analysis for several reasons. Firstly, it was considered essential that the criteria and systems of evaluation used were objective. Secondly, birds were the only major taxonomic group for which the available data were su ffi ciently comprehensive to allow an analysis that was nationwide in scope.

During the analysis, a total of 44 IBAs were identified and mapped. IBAs were identifi ed within all protected areas for which data were available, with one or two being identified in each. Regarding species, 86% of the globally threatened and near-threat ened speci es confirmed to occur in Lao P.D.R. are found within at least one IBA. Similarly, 93% of

to

support

land-use

the biome-restricted species are found within at least one IBA. Most of the species that are not found within an IBA are speci es for which there are no recent confirmed records from Lao P.D.R., such as Indian Skimmer Rynchops albicollis and Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni. By the end of 2002, the results of the analysis will have been collated into a directory, and distributed to the institutions responsible for land-use planning within protected areas at the national and provincial levels.

The analysis was successful in identifying a network of sites that, if adequately protect ed, would support significant populations of most bird species of global conservation concern currently extant in Lao P.D.R. The results can be used as a basis for identifying restri cted zones within protected areas. Of course, other factors must also be taken into account in the land-use planning process, including the location of existing villages and agricultural land, patterns of forest resource exploitation by local communties, and national development plans. However, now that information on conservation importance is available in an easily accessible format, it will be possible to zone protected areas in a way that balances the needs of conservation with those of local communities who depend on their natural resources.

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Hunting study at Phong Dien Nature reserve, Thua thien hue province This is a study of the impacts of hunting on Edwards's Pheasant Lophura edwardsi at Phong Dien Nature Reserve (PDNR), conducted with the support of the Rufford Small Grants Facility of the Whitley Awards Foundation for International Nature Conservation and BirdLife. The objectives of the study were to: ¾ understand the effects of hunting on the population of Edwards's Pheasant in PDNR; ¾ understand the underlying factors driving hunting of Edwards's Pheasant; ¾ understand the factors determining the sustainability of hunting in the area; ¾ raise the awareness of forest protection staff and local people regarding the importance of Edwards's Pheasant and the other conservation values of the nature reserve; Edwards’ s P heasant Lophura edwardsi. ¾ train local team members in survey P ainting: George Lodge from P heasants their lives and homes by William B eebe techniques; ¾ develop a strategy for conservation of Edwards's Pheasant and managing hunting activities in PDNR. In order to collect data for the study, a series of surveys were conducted in focal four villages in the buffer zone of PDNR, betwen June 2001 and July 2002. During each survey, the project team interviewed commune leaders, village leaders, local hunters, NTFP collectors and government staff to obtain data on hunting of Edwards's Pheasant within PDNR. The results of the study revealed the following: ¾ hunting is a long-standing traditional activity of local communities living around PDNR; ¾ as a result of several factors, principally low densities of quarry species, the main hunting method is snaring, not hunting with guns; ¾ there are five main groups of people involved in hunting in PDNR: commercial hunters, illegal loggers, opportunistic hunters, wildlife restaurant owners and wildlife traders; ¾ hunting is no longer an important source of income for people living in the buffer zone of the nature reserve, who hunt mainly for domestic consumption or to suppliment their diets while collecting NTFPs in the forest; ¾ hunting is still an important source of income for wildlife traders and professional hunters, most of whom come from outside the area; ¾ Edwards's Pheasant is not a focal quarry species for commercial hunters, and is not in demand in the wildlife trade; ¾ the population density of Edwards's Pheasant appears to be highest in the upper watersheds of the My Chanh and O Lau rivers; ¾ the main threat to Edwards's Pheasant is use of indiscriminate ground snares by rattan collectors and illegal loggers, to suppliment their diets; ¾ levels of rattan collection have decreased significantly over the last years following over-exploitation of the resource; ¾ illegal logging and hunting are still widespread and common, despite actions by the Forest Protection Department to control these activities.

Release of confiscated wildlife. Photo: Tran Quang Ngoc

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BirdLife International in Indochina

Based on the results of the study, the following recommendations were made: ¾ local communities living in the buffer zone of PDNR, particularly those living near or inside the forest areas, should be involved in forest protection and management; ¾ local communities in the buffer zone of PDNR should also be involved in anti-hunting activities; ¾ awareness of the value of and threats to biodiversity in PDNR should be raised among local communities in the buffer zone; ¾ a management board for PDNR should be established, forest guard stations should be established and manned, and regular patrols should be initiated; ¾ the capacity of Phong Dien and A Luoi District Forest Protection Departments in forest protection and wildlife management should be strengthened; ¾ anti-hunting and logging patrols should focus on the upper watersheds of the My Chanh and O Lau rivers, which are the key areas for Edwards's Pheasant; ¾ collection of rattan and other NTFPs within the core zone and buffer zone of PDNR should be regulated, to ensure that these activities take place at sustainable levels; ¾ a monitoring programme should be established to monitor levels of hunting and illegal logging; ¾ further studies should be conducted to assess the habitat requirements of Edwards's Pheasant.

Finally, based on the above recommendations, a conservation strategy for Edwards's Pheasant was produced, and submitted to the provincial Forest Protection Department.

Profile Le Manh Hung Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) Following his graduation in 1999 from the Biology Department in Hanoi National University, Hung joined the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) of the Vietnam National Centre for Natural Sciences and Technology. Since joining the IEBR, Hung has become Curator of birds in the Zoology Museum Department, in charge of nearly 3,000 bird specimens.

Hung’s first taste of field work began as a student in 1998 and 1999, when he joined survey expeditions at Cuc Phuong National and Ben En National Park respectively. On the strength of these expeditions, Hung participated in a collaborative project between the IEBR and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in Ha Giang province in 2000, where he received training in field techniques and preparation of voucher bird specimens from experi enced ornithologists. The same year, he completed an introductory course covering remote sensing and GIS applications. Ever active, Hung also took the opportunity to participate in a workshop for young ornithologists in Kunming in August 2000, which included a short training course in field techniques at Xishuangbana Natural Reserve in southern China. At the start of 2001, he offici ally became the member of the Asian Raptor Research and Conservation Network and lost no opportunity to become immediately involved in regional research efforts to monitor raptor migrations. In May 2001, Hung passed entrance exams for a Masters

degree in Zoology at Thai Nguyen University, where he is currently studying.

Since 2001, Hung has also been an active member of the IEBR and BirdLife International Vietnam Programme collaborative project entitled Improved conservation planning through institutional strengthening in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. As part of his contribution to the project, Hung has been responsible for the implementation of field surveys at numerous sites in Vietnam including the coastal zones of Central Vietnam and Quang Ninh province, Lo Go Sa Mat nature reserve, Van Ban and Du Gia proposed nature reserves and several sites in Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces. As a result of this work, Hung has gained invaluable experi ence in the study of Vietnamese avi fauna under the tutelage of BirdLi fe staff. Hung is one of the youngest and most ardent ornithologists in Vietnam and says he is determined to devote his life to wildlife conservation.

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Book Review Photographic guide to the Turtles of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Bryan L. Stuart, Peter Paul van Dijk and Douglas B. Hendrie (2002). Wildlife Conservation Society ISBN 0-9632064-9-4 5.00 The publication of this guide arrives at a critical juncture for one of the most threatened groups of wildlife in Southeast Asia. Drastic declines have occurred in many populations throughout the region in recent years as a result of intensive over harvesting, driven by the high prices fetched by many species in the traditional medicine and restaurant trades. Turtles are particularly vulnerable to this human hunting pressure due to high levels of mortality from natural predators in the wild and the long time taken by many species to reach reproductive maturity.

Written and designed expressly with the non-biologist in mind, this pocket-sized booklet avoids the use of technical jargon and provides a highly user-friendly introduction and identification guide to all 34 species of freshwater, terrestrial and marine known to occur in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Excellent photographs grace each of the species accounts, which also provide notes on distinguishing features to further aid identification and additional information on species distributions, habitat preferences and conservation status.

Intended mainly for use by conservation workers and officials involved in protected area management, biological surveys and regulating wildlife trade within the countries covered, the guide has been produced in four bilingual versions to facilitate use throughout the region. Recognising that the large number of different names in use for the species of the region has confused and frustrated attempts to stem illegal trade in turtles, a standardised set of national names has been provided for each species as well as information regarding their legal status in each country. It is hoped that the timely publication of this guide will assist conservation efforts throughout the region to save this much-beleaguered group.

Requiem for Nature by John Terborgh (1998) Island Press / Shearwater Books Washington, D.C., Covelo, California.

For ecologist John Terborgh, Manu National Park in the rain forest of Peru is a second home. He has spent half of each of the past twenty-five years there conducting research.

Manu is assumed to provide inviolate protection to nature; yet even there, in one of the most remote corners of the planet, Terborgh has been witness to the relentless onslaught of civilization.

Seeing the steady destruction of irreplaceable habitat has been a startling and disturbing experience. In Requiem for Nature, Terborgh appraises the prospects for the future of tropical conservation. This book is a clarion call for

anyone who cares about the quality of the natural world we will leave our children.

Terborgh explains how seemingly pristine environments can gradually degrade and describes the difficult social context a debilitating combination of poverty, corruption, abuses of power, political instability, and a frenzied scramble for quick riches in which tropical conservation must take place.

Throughout, he argues that the greatest challenges of conservation are not scientific, but social, economic, and political, and that success, if there is to be any, will require simultaneous progress on many fronts. Terborgh paints a rather gloomy picture for the future of our planet, highlighting the mirage of â&#x20AC;&#x153;sustainable development,â&#x20AC;? the failure of ICDP approaches, and the grim reality that biodiversity The Babbler - September, 2002

BirdLife International in Indochina 15 conservation will fail altogether in many countries through the combined effects of weak institutions, corruption and social instability. In a regional triage, Terborgh writes off future conservation in over-populated Vietnam and the Philippines while slamming Chinese markets for “everything that breathes.”

Overall, Terborgh provides an excellent overview of the transformation of tropical wilderness area, and

subsequent loss of biodiversity, and makes a compelling case that nature can be saved only if good science and strong institutions can be thoughtfully combined. Unfortunately, Terborgh falls short on providing useful guidance for conservationists by simply calling for the internationalization of conservation. But as a Requiem for Nature, the author thoughtfully illustrates the seemingly inevitable death of our forests, and the wildlife once teaming therein.

Recent publications Here are four new publications are available from the BirdLife International www.birdlifevietnam.com (English) and www.birdlifevietnam.org (Vietnamese)

in Indochina

website:

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Le Manh Hung, Tran Thieu Du and Vu Huu Trac (2002) A Rapid Field Survey of Xin Man and Yen Minh Districts, Ha Giang Province, Vietnam. Unpublished report to the BirdLife International Vietnam Programme and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources. (In English and Vietnamese).

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Le Manh Hung, Pham Duc Tien, Nguyen Duc Tu and Cao Dang Viet (2002) A Rapid Field Survey of Huong Hoa District, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. Unpublished report to the BirdLife International Vietnam Programme and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources. (In English and Vietnamese).

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Le Manh Hung, Pham Duc Tien, Andrew W. Tordoff and Nguyen Dinh Chung (2002) A Rapid Field Survey of Le Thuy and Quang Ninh Districts, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. Unpublished report to the BirdLife International Vietnam Programme and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources. (In English and Vietnamese).

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Tran Quang Ngoc, Nguyen Van Vinh, Le Trong Trai, Phan Thanh Ha, Le Ngoc Tuan, Ta Xuan Hong and Dang Thang Long (2002) Understanding the impacts of hunting on Edwards’s Pheasant Lophura edwardsi at Phong Dien Nature Reserve, Vietnam: towards a strategy for managing hunting activities. Unpublished report to the Whitley Award Foundation for International Nature Conservation (In English).

Other publications ¾

Nguyen Duc Tu, Dr Andrey N. Kuznetsov, Dr Alexander L. Monastyrskii, Nguyen Truong Son and Jonathan C. Eames (2002) 48 Hours: A Rapid Biodiversity Assessment of the Ban Lam and Khau Tinh Areas, Tuyen Quang Province, Vietnam. In English.

¾ Jonathan C. Eames, Nguyen Duc Tu and Dr Alexander L. Monastyrskii (2002) An Interim Biodiversity Report for Yok Don National Park, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. In English.

These reports are an output of the PARC Project at Na Hang Nature Reserve, Ba Be National Park and Yok Don National Park, which is implemented by the Forest Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in association with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These reports were produced by the BirdLife International Vietnam Programme, which was subcontracted to provide a biodiversity conservation team to the PARC Project. Persons wishing to obtain copies of these reports should contact the PARC office directly.

Compile d and edited by Vu Thi Minh Phuong, Communications Officer For more information, contact: phuong@birdlife.netnam.vn #11, Lane 167, Tay Son, Hanoi; Tel/Fax: ++844 851 7217; Website: http//www.birdlifevietnam.com (English) or http//www.birdlifevietnam.org (Vietnamese) The Babbler - September, 2002