By Yemi Olakitan
Vulture populations have drastically decreased across Africa over the past 50 years, with average drop rates reaching 97%. This loss is highlighted by the fact that 7 of the 11 species of African-Eurasian vultures are now in danger of going extinct. On the continent, poisoning, belief-based use, and collisions with energy infrastructure are among the leading causes of vulture deaths.
In West Africa, killing vultures for their parts—which are used in traditional medicine or charms—is said to be the main cause of vulture deaths. More than 2000 critically endangered hooded vultures (Necrosyrtes monachus) perished in Guinea Bissau in 2020, and more than 50 died from poisoning in Gambia during the same time frame. The IUCN Red List currently lists the hooded vulture as Critically Endangered, further emphasizing the gravity of this threat.
To address vulture risks in the area, a vulture conservation project was started in Guinea-Bissau, the Gambia, and Senegal in 2021. Organizaço para a Defesa e Desenvolvimento das Zonas Hmidas (ODZH) in Guinea-Bissau, WABSA, West African Bird Study Association in the Gambia, and Nature-Communautes-Developpement (BirdLife Partner) in Senegal are carrying out the project supported by IUCN Save Our Species and co-funded by the European Union. Throughout the first half of this year-long investigation, numerous initiatives were carried out in all nations in an effort to comprehend the reasons and forces motivating the usage of vulture parts. There has been a concentrated effort to focus on vulture monitoring surveys and sensitization programmes, particularly in Senegal and Gambia.
Building capacity is an essential component of this endeavour. In order to combat wildlife crime, specifically the poisoning of vultures in Guinea Bissau, ODZH is conducting capacity-building training for judges and law enforcement officers operating at checkpoints in three regions, namely Bissau, Bafatá, and Gab
Another key element of this project is carrying out vulture surveys to determine vulture populations in these countries and to understand where vulture parts may be being sourced within the country. In the Gambia, WABSA successfully conducted a countrywide survey of vultures. A total of 4892 hooded vultures and 21 White-Backed Vultures Gyps africanus were recorded over a distance of 970 km, with sightings mostly recorded in settlements and farmlands.
“Vultures play a key role as they help clean carcasses from the environment, thereby likely reducing transmission of diseases. Besides carcasses, vultures also feed on prey such as lizards, smaller birds and rodents, an aspect that has reduced poisoning cases in the country ,“ notes Fagimba Camara, senior research officer at WABSA.
Since the inception of the project, NCD has carried out vulture surveys in eight target sites in Senegal, with monthly monitoring ongoing at five of these sites. Further, market surveys have been carried out in these sites, to help understand the regional drivers of vulture part use in the country. NCD project implementation teams have undergone training on vulture monitoring at the regional sites.
