𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗺𝗮𝗿

As an exchange program visit to neighbouring range countries of White-bellied Heron, the staff from the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) and the Department of Forest and Park Services recently visited Myanmar country. The program was coordinated mainly to share the knowledge on integrated approaches used by RSPN Bhutan in saving White-bellied Heron birds.

During the program, the participants visited important cultural and biodiversity sites in Myanmar and hosted a knowledge-sharing workshop with conservation organizations in Myanmar. The day-long knowledge-sharing workshop was jointly hosted by the country office of #Fauna and Flora International in Myanmar and RSPN. The participants from Myanmar attending the workshop included the #WWF-Myanmar, #Nature Conservation Society, #Myanmar Biodiversity Fund, #Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Society (BANCA), and researchers.

It was a significant milestone for RSPN to conduct this exchange program visit to Myanmar with limited information and conservation efforts undertaken of White-bellied Heron from the country. During the knowledge-sharing workshop, both the participants from the Bhutan and Myanmar sides presented the conservation works and way forward plans. RSPN shared the knowledge on various approaches used by Bhutan particularly through the implementation of projects like International Climate Initiatives (IKI) to enhance the conservation of White-bellied Heron. From the Myanmar side, the conservation organizations presented their respective areas of work and the status of the White-bellied Heron population in the country. As per the annotated checklist maintained by the researcher since 1999, it is estimated that 29 White-bellied Heron distribution records are in Myanmar. However, the recent record for the last five years accumulates to only around 5 White-bellied Heron in the country. Though there are no systematic surveys especially population surveys conducted on White-bellied Heron in Myanmar and India, the estimated population based on the sighting records indicates a very low number of population occurring in the region. From the knowledge-sharing workshops held with joint partners from the respective countries of India and Myanmar, indicate the presence of 10-13 individuals of White-bellied Heron in India and about 5 individuals in Myanmar if we account for the last five years’ sightings. In Bhutan, the recent population survey saw 25 individuals of White-bellied Heron. This makes the global population of this species only about 43 individuals. There is a great concern about the declining and low population occurrence of the species in the region.

Later RSPN drives the discussion on building regional effort to conserve the White-bellied Heron through diverse mechanisms relying on the expertise and experience of conservation efforts undertaken by RSPN. A discussion was held on scaling up a similar conservation approach at the regional level. It was found that considering the critical nature of the White-bellied Heron, there is huge scope for the distribution range countries of the species to collaborate in saving the species. The White-bellied Heron was declared extinct from Nepal and similarly, many of the historical distribution sites have no recent record of the species occurring. The key discussions were the need to update the White-bellied Heron Strategy document, develop a country-specific Conservation Action Plan and implement landscape regional projects among White-bellied Heron range countries.

RSPN will leverage the conservation experiences of the White-bellied Heron for more than two dacades to lead many of the areas discussed at the regional level. As an immediate measure, RSPN is planning to host training of researchers and staff of relevant conservation organizations from Myanmar and India in Bhutan for survey and monitoring of White-bellied Heron, and initiate resource mobilizations required to support regional programs.