Ram Jakati, an Indian conservationist has been honored by Britain’s largest nature conservation charity Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) for his extensive work in saving the endangered vultures. He has been bestowed the prestigious Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Nature Conservation.
As the Chief Wildlife Warden for the Forest Department in Haryana, Jakati had played a key role in bringing back the vultures from the brink of extinction due to the use of a veterinary drug, diclofenac given to cattle in the 90s. He revealed that diclofenac was harmless for cattle but had a devastating impact on vultures feeding on their carcasses.
With rampant doses given to the cattle, India’s vulture population dropped to just one percent of what it had been before the use of diclofenac.
“The combined climate and nature crisis and the impact of human activity are pushing many once-common species on the brink of extinction. But around the world people and some governments are fighting back. So I am pleased that we are able to celebrate the vital work of Dr. Jakati. His energy and resolve have prevented the extinction of vultures in India,” RSPB Chief Executive Beccy Speight said to IANS.
The conservationist played a key role in not only getting the drug banned but also in establishing a network of sanctuaries, breeding centers, and taking urgent actions that were needed to ensure that vultures did not go extinct before the ban could be implemented. He founded SAVE (Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction) in 2001, an international partnership that to this day plays a coordination role in the conservation of South Asia’s vultures. Situated in the lower Shivaliks near here Pinjore, Haryana, SAVE has been a world-leading example of effective conservation delivery for the past 20 years.
“I would like to emphasize that we could make rapid progress in vulture conservation in India because we had an excellent team to start with during early 2000. I would, therefore, like to accept this award on behalf of that vulture team which laid a solid foundation for work on saving Indian vultures from possible extinction,” said Jakati on receiving the honor.
Eight critically endangered white-rumped vultures, six of them captive-bred, were reintroduced into the wild last week for the first time in India.
“The release of vultures is a great occasion for biologists across the globe. The next crucial step is ensuring the safety of the environment in the vulture safe zone. Each of them has been tagged with a 30-gram device for satellite transmitters that allow them to monitor their movements and survival,” informed Vibhu Prakash, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Principal Scientist.