The first ever systematic land cover assessment in the country was done in 1995 by the Land Use & Planning Project (LUPP) of the Ministry with funds from Danida.

With the key objectives of bringing together people working in the wintering habitats of the Black Necked Cranes in Bhutan and other relevant stakeholders and to share experiences and status of the species conservation works in their respective areas, a one day workshop was organized by RSPN in Thimphu on May 30^th, 2011. Furthermore the workshop was also aimed to evolve a mechanism to regularly share information about status and conservation of species from their respective areas.

May 26, 2011 - The first steering committee meeting for the Community-Based Sustainable Project in Phobjikha was held on 18^th May 2011 at the Hotel Phuntsho Pelri in Thimphu. The project steering was established with representation from major stakeholder agencies which could significantly contribute to developing Phobjikha as a model community-based tourist destination.

Alternatives to mitigate Human Wildlife Conflict

Traditional watchtower to guard the crops

Consultative meetings with the stakeholders and communities of Passangphu and Madhuwa Tshowogs in Kangpara Gewog, Tashigang from 25^th April- 1^st May. The consultative meeting was a part of RSPN’s pilot initiative to reduce Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) in the area. This two-year project, funded by UNDP and DANIDA, will focus on compensating the HWC affected farmers by institutionalising a community-based sustainable financial mechanism at the grassroots level. Interested households can register as a member of the scheme by contributing membership fee and premiums. The compensation will be partial and eligible only if the elected committee deem appropriate for compensation. In a socio-economic survey conducted

12-day old White-bellied heron chick (Photo: RSPN)

Update 19 May 2011 - The first White-belleid heron hatched in captive on May 2011 is 13-days old today. Today at 13 days old, it weighed 265.3 grams.

The officials at the hatchery site say they feed only three times a day. It takes whole fish, which is 6-7cm long.

Four-day old White-bellied heron chick, weighed 59.7 grams (Photo: RSPN)

May 11, 2011 - The White-bellied heron is a critically endangered species as per the IUCN’s category (2007). With the current global population estimated to be less than 200 of which Bhutan has 26 numbers, it is of a great conservation significance to Bhutan to embark on saving the bird.

The ongoing white-bellied heron conservation project is conducting a research on captive-breeding of the bird at Phochu in Punakha. To begin with, RSPN in collaboration with Department of Livestock and Department of Forests and Park Services under Ministry of Agriculture and Forests have undertaken a captive-rearing of the bird to address the high mortality rates at its infant period due to predation and other calamities such as forest fires.  Such program is first of its kind in the world for white-bellied heron.

27 April 2011: From feeding the Black Necked Cranes to fighting for its survival, Mr. Phurba Wangdi, a 65 year old local Bumdeling resident is known as the Black Necked Crane Caretaker in Bumdeling in Trashi Yangtse. These birds visit the valley every winter. His commitment for conservation of the Black Necked Crane was recognized by not only the local community but international organizations like the WWF, when he was awarded the first ever ‘Regional Crane Conservation Award’ at the regional workshop held in Delhi last week.

The workshop was inaugurated on April 22 to celebrate the Earth Day. Dasho Paljor Dorji, advisor to the National Environment Commission of Bhutan and Founder of Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) was also present during the inaugural session.

Sixty-five-year-old Phurba Wangdi has spent more than half his life conserving the endangered black-necked cranes when they migrate to Bumdeling valley in Trashiyangtse every winter.

That commitment was recognised at a workshop on regional cooperation for black necked cranes held in New Delhi, India, on April 22 -23. India’s minister of environment and forests, Mr Jairam  Ramesh presented Phurpa Wangdi the first regional crane conservation award for his 35 years of selfless commitment towards conserving the black necked cranes.

This year’s Earth Day theme is Billion Acts of Green®. The purpose of this theme is to mobilize one billion acts of environmental service around the world. The campaign calls for people of all nationalities to commit to an act that helps reduce carbon emissions and promotes sustainability. The act can be a simple gesture, such as washing laundry in cold water, or immense, like picking up a million pounds of trash. Whatever the act may be, Earth Day is a great time to generate as many as possible in your community. Collectively, these acts will not only have an impact on global carbon emissions, but will also demonstrate the power of small every-day individual acts of green.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is meeting in Bangkok from 3 – 8 April, 2011 to discuss action plans following decisions made at COP 16 in Cancun Mexico.