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Woodpecker variety a vulnerable species
KATHMANDU, AUG 02 -
BirdLife International, a global alliance of organisations working for the conservation of bird species, marked the Great Slaty Woodpecker, commonly known as Raj Lahanche, from ‘least concern’ to ‘vulnerable’ category last month.
In Nepal, this bird is listed as ‘endangered’, meaning the species needs strong conservation efforts to protect its existing population.
An updated report on IUCN Red List for Birds 2010 by BirdLife International, the official Red List Authority for assessing the status of birds for IUCN, said this species has suffered a rapid population decline over the past 20 years due to loss of forest cover throughout range countries.
However, the true rate of decline may be greater than currently estimated, and evidence of such decline may result in the species being listed in a more serious category in future, the report said.
The total global population is estimated at 26,000-550,000 which, according to previous levels of forest cover, may be a 90 percent decline at historical levels, according to a Monday press statement issued by Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN), a member organisation of BirdLife International.
Raj Lahanche’s population has been reported in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam, among other countries in Asia.
Hum Bahadur Gurung, Executive Director of BCN, said, “The new status of this bird will also affect the national status. There is a need for serious action on part of the government and other stakeholders to work for conservation and habitat management of threatened bird species.”
With this new listing, globally threatened birds in Nepal total 35. Of the 865 bird species found in Nepal, 35 are globally threatened, with five species ‘critically endangered’, six ‘endangered’ and 24 ‘vulnerable globally’.
According to a 1985 study, there were 14,951 Great Slaty Woodpeckers in Nepal but the number dropped to 6,051 in 2005.
Posted on: 2010-08-03 08:48
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