Dasho Dzongrab and Representative from JICA inaugurate the community waste management in PhobjikhaThe Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) as conservation and development partner to the Phobjikha valley had initiated a Community based Solid waste management project in the valley. The project aims to keep Phobjikha valley clean and free from waste and to make the place environment friendly. The project was funded by JICA office in Bhutan.

Bumitsawa, Pho Chu, Punakha

It was hatched in captive breeding on May 7th, 201117^th September 2011. At 7.58 am, a White-bellied heron weighing 5.6 kilograms was released from its flight pen at Bumitsawa in Pho Chu, Punakha. It was 134 days old at the time of the release from the research site. It was the first white-bellied heron chick hatched in a captive breeding.

The juvenile heron is tagged with a band numbered 32 on its right leg. It is also mounted with a 35gms Platform Terminal Transmitter (PTT) that will be useful in monitoring its whereabouts through a satellite data.

Members participated and visited the site

16^th and 18^th August 2011 - About 30 people representing various agencies (Government and non-government) such as Nature Recreation and Ecotourism Division (NRED), Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO), Guide Association of Bhutan, Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB), Phobjikha Environment Management Commission (PEMC), Wangdiphordang Dzongkhag Administration, Gross national Happiness Commission (GNHC) local business community, Local Government (LG) and the local communities attended the study tour cum consultative workshop in Phobjikha.

Jigme Tshering, RSPN’s Project Officer based in Phobjikha attended a month long training in Germany

The team with the 36th CraneCranes have been fascinating man since time immemorial not only for its elegance and beauty but also for its agile dancing, flight formations and loud trumpeting calls. These birds need large areas of forests, wetlands and barren land for feeding, roosting as well as for breeding. However, with increasing developmental activities around the world, forests are continuously being cleared and wetlands drained out.

Thousands of miles are covered each year during the migration. Some species even cover more than a dozen countries. Therefore it is important to know and understand even the temporary habitats used for stopovers and staging for necessary conservation of these habitats.

7^th August 2011, BNCIC, Phobjikha - About 23 individuals (Aman Kora  Resort employees, Phobjikha) volunteered to clean the campus of the Black-necked Crane Information Centre (BNCIC) in Phobjikha on 7^th August 2011. The volunteers helped the RSPN field staff in cleaning the campus, erecting the fallen fencing poles and cleaning up the interior of the Centre.

Dasho Sangay Thinley officially launched the book29 July 2011, Thimphu: RSPN’s Chairman, Dasho Sangay Thinley (Rtd.) officially launched the book titled “The Critically Endangered White-Bellied Heron” on the occasion of the Global Tiger Day organised jointly by Wildlife Conservation Division and WWF Bhutan program office.  The book is a result of initiative taken by RSPN and the Research Team of RSPN. The book provides an overview of the white-bellied heron population, distribution and status in the country.

New Delhi, India: Underscoring the urgent need for a strong regional collaboration to ensure food security in the face of climate change, delegates from the four countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal said the impact of climate change in the Eastern Himalayas cannot be undermined.

In a two-day expert group meeting held in New Delhi, India, the participants agreed that a clear policy on food security and climate change must be introduced and implemented in the region.