world-critically endegered birds eaten and killed by Myanmar people??

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 06/12/2010 - 09:33

Dear all,

Greetings from Matthew at the British Council.

I’m like to alert you all to something very special I heard about
recently. Actually, it was on a BBC Radio 4 programme called ‘Saving
Species’, broadcast about 2 weeks ago. Part of the programme was about
the bird below, called the Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

Among birdwatchers and environmentalists all around the world, this
strange and beautiful bird is incredibly famous. It breeds in
northeast Russia, and spends the winter in coastal regions in parts of
Southeast Asia. Its status is ‘critically endangered’ – there are
probably fewer than 1,000 mature individuals left, perhaps even as few
as 500. It is declining by around 20% per year.

In January 2010, a team made up of individuals from bird organisations
based in Thailand, UK, Russia and Myanmar (from BANCA) surveyed parts
of the Irrawaddy Delta. Incredibly, as a result of the survey, they’ve
found that around 200 Spoon-billed Sandpipers winter here, about 100
miles away from Yangon! This is an incredible discovery. The exact
locations are in the attached report.

However, they also found one of the main reasons for the bird’s
decline: hunting. Many people living around the coastal area where the
sandpiper winters put up nets to catch wading birds, selling them as
food or eating them themselves. The hunters aren’t looking to catch
Spoon-billed Sandpipers deliberately, but they inevitably end up
caught in nets and die.

I’ve attached the report for you to read. I’m hoping that we can start
a project to intervene and help to stop the bird’s dramatic decline.
It’s the perfect opportunity for an effective, targeted education
campaign, involving young people in conservation (in fact, the front
photo of the report shows children releasing a sandpiper that was
caught in the hunters’ nets.) The people that live near the site stand
to make a lot of money from eco-tourism if they can protect these
birds – European birdwatchers already spend a lot of time and money in
Thailand looking for rare species. Myanmar could be next, and this is
so close to Yangon it would be quite simple to start such a project.

Anyway, I hope you are interested in discussing the possibility of a
project to protect this bird (and, if we can reduce hunting, the other
birds and biodiversity on the mudflats of the delta). I am a very keen
birdwatcher, and will give you all the help and support you need to
get started on a project. We could even team up with UK-based
organisations.

Please drop me a line soon with ideas on how we can get started.

Thanks,

Matthew

see :::::::::

http://groups.google.com/group/antiplastic-campeign-yangon/web/WSG_117_Zockler_Hunting%20SBS%20in%20Myanmar.pdf

AttachmentSize
WSG_117_Zockler_Hunting_SBS_in_Myanmar.pdf1.65 MB
Environmental Action Program(EAP)IYB.pdf1022.9 KB

Comments

Environmental Education Program

Submitted by Nature on Mon, 06/14/2010 - 17:05.

This is the off-season of Tourism and schools start the education year; best time to do the Environmental Education Programs at schools and villages nearby.  The educators of Myanmar Bird and Nature Society will lead the action. Any person or organization concerned with this issue is invited.  Environmental education/action program poweroint is attached on the main document and your participation is welcome.

Lack of awareness and poverty kill them?

Submitted by admin on Sat, 06/12/2010 - 10:56.

Dear Matthew,

Thanks for your kind information.

In year 2000, John Rappole at Smithsonian Institution wrote me about Myanmar Bird Concerns as follows;

1. Loss of Habitat - Although Myanmar has more native habitat than most Asian nations, the rate of loss is significant, with habitats located in lowland areas suitable for farming likely to disappear soon.

2. Lack of Information - The status of much of the avifauna in Myanmar is completely unknown. Without such knowledge, whole community of birds (and other animals and plants) are likely to disappear before it is even recognized that they are threatened.

3. Lack of Public Awareness - The people of Myanmar have a natural love and affinity for their environment. It is a part of their culture and religion. However, few understand the links between their environment and themselves, or how important it is to conserve resources - for themselves and their children.

We, SST co-founded Myanmar Bird and Nature Society(MBNS) and run the the public awareness Environmental Education Programs(EEP) throughout the country in co-operation with Oriental Bird Club(OBC) and UNDP. However, we could NOT fight the POVERTY, the root cause. One of the University teacher told us a true story of a man who feeding his parents by earning of catching, killing and selling the birds. He would like to change his living as a farmer because of RELIGIOUS teaching. At Environmental Thematic Working Group meeting, UNDP's technical advisor in cyclone Nargis affected area also remind to solve the root cause while doing conservation. I commented not to ignor the GREED at  Environmental Performance Assessment workshop of NCEA and UNEP.

Recently, I requested to the society to go on the EEP in delta as Environmental Action Programs. However, active members are being away from the society for their survival. Even me and SST is struggling in ecotourism. I sympathize your feeling of keen birdwatcher. I persued you to get the REAL cooperation of the Western and UK-based organizations, which usually reluctant to break the SANCTION even though I reminded that the deterioration of bidioversity would not wait till the sanction lift.

We have been longing to team up with you and any organization.