Crane Tsheyphell is Back!!!

After spending 9 months and 12 days in the wetlands of the Tibetan Plateau in China, Crane Tsheyphell is back in the Phobjikha valley for the winter. Tsheyphell left the summer site, Yamcho Yumco, on 8th December, 2023, at around 10:20 AM and reached a place called Jerela at 02:09 PM, located behind the giant Jomolhari peak. The next day, Tsheyphell began his flight at around 8:50AM from Jerela and reached Phobjikha at 11:10 AM. Crane Tsheyphell was tagged with GPRS/GSM transmitter in the winter of 2020 and has been unraveling a lot of stories for us.

This study is conducted by RSPN in partnership with the Department of Forest and Park Services and NABU International with the fund support of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.As of today, we have counted 473 Black-necked Cranes including 44 juveniles in Phobjikha. 

Crane Tsheyphell is Back!!!

After spending 9 months and 12 days in the wetlands of the Tibetan Plateau in China, Crane Tsheyphell is back in the Phobjikha valley for the winter. Tsheyphell left the summer site, Yamcho Yumco, on 8th December, 2023, at around 10:20 AM and reached a place called Jerela at 02:09 PM, located behind the giant Jomolhari peak. The next day, Tsheyphell began his flight at around 8:50AM from Jerela and reached Phobjikha at 11:10 AM. Crane Tsheyphell was tagged with GPRS/GSM transmitter in the winter of 2020 and has been unraveling a lot of stories for us.

This study is conducted by RSPN in partnership with the Department of Forest and Park Services and NABU International with the fund support of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.As of today, we have counted 473 Black-necked Cranes including 44 juveniles in Phobjikha. 

Fostering Regional Partnership for saving critically endangered White-bellied Heron from extinction

With an objective to foster Regional Conservation Partnership between India and Bhutan towards the conservation of critically endangered White-bellied Heron (WBH) from extinction, officials from the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) and Department of Forest and Park Services (DoFPS) visited the Namdhapha National Park and Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh from 1st to 8th November 2023 under the financial support of India Bhutan Foundation.

Lessons and good practices learnt from the visit: Concerted and coordinated regional collaboration among the WBH range countries is indispensable given the transboundary nature of WBH. Without collective effort, an exemplary WBH conservation practice in one country may tackle part of the issue only.  

There is an imminent need in developing a country-specific WBH Conservation Action Plan, especially for WBH range countries such as India and Myanmar. Bhutan has one prepared already and it is under implementation. Once the country specific conservation plan is developed, scaling it up to regional conservation plan is essential. 

It is important to share and disseminate lessons learnt, best practices and research findings of WBH among the WBH range countries through international seminars, workshops and institutional visits. A similar exchange visits for the Indian counterpart to Bhutan will add value as Bhutan seems to be ahead in the conservation of White-bellied Heron. 

For a WBH conservation to succeed and ultimately save it from extinction, tripartite collaborations among CSOs, Governments and communities in all WBH range countries are critical.   

The RSPN Team found the visit to be educative and timely and would like to thank India Bhutan Foundation (IBF) for the financial support and ATREE (An NGO in India working on Ecology & Environment and currently undertaking research on WBH) for facilitating the visit, including logistics.

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Visit by the Independent Evaluation Unit Team, Green Climate Fund (GCF) Secretariat

The Independent Evaluation Unit(IEU) team of GCF who are currently in Bhutan, had a bilateral meeting with the RSPN earlier today. The interactive session saw a discussion on the relevance and effectiveness of the past GCF’s Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme in Bhutan and the RSPN’s work towards becoming GCF Delivery Partner. RSPN shared its experiences in the areas of environmental conservation and gamut of climate resilience projects implemented in the local communities across the country.

The GCF team will also make a field visit to the RSPN project sites on 21st May,2023.

The meeting between GCF and RSPN, first of its kind, was significant in strengthening goodwil and relationship between the two organizations.

Polyhouse sets distributed to the communities living in the White-bellied Heron Landscape

1. Kewena-Tshachuphu Chiwog communities under Punakha district received the poly house materials.

One of the core activities under the Sustainable Livelihood Division (SLD), RSPN is to promote organic farming practices in rural communities. Organic farming practices are picking up among the communities and one step to encourage and motivate such practices is by providing polyhouse sets to the farmers. 

From the ongoing BMUV-IKI project, the RSPN team along with technical support from respective gewog agricultural extension officers has successfully distributed and installed 36 sets of polyhouses for the community groups living in the WBH landscape of Dagana, Punakha, Tsirang, Trongsa, Wangduephodrang and Zhemgang districts. Polyhouses serve as a shield between nature and what you are growing.

The greenhouse is an enclosed structure or environment where crops or saplings are grown. It protects crops from pests, diseases, and adverse climatic conditions which in turn allows the growing seasons to be extended and possibly improved.

The supply of poly house is expected to bring the following benefits:

• To contribute towards achieving National Food Security and Self Sufficiency. 
• To produce fresh vegetables, and fruits throughout the seasons and also able to grow exotic flowers/tropical fruits.
• There is efficiency in the use of water and nutrients on the farm as compared to open-field cultivation.
• It also extends the growing season as the plants won’t depend on weather conditions or patterns. 
• The returns on investment (ROI) from the greenhouse are typically higher than open-field farming.

Additionally, the “working together” mechanism was added to the communities primarily to foster collaboration and coordination among the participants for greater result orientation.

“My village has been dependent on the other communities during the need for necessary saplings. With the polyhouse program supported by RSPN and the introduction of the working together mechanism, we are optimistic about building community cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. Moreover, polyhouse is an opportunity to generate additional income for the community groups”,
Mrs. Tshering Wangmo
Kewana-Tshachuphu Chiwog, Punakha District.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the Local government and communities for their continued support.

Supporting Polyhouse to the communities living in the White-bellied Heron landscape

Organic farming practices are picking up among the communities and one step to encourage and motivate such practices is by providing polyhouse sets to the farmers. From the ongoing BMUV-IKI project, the RSPN team along with technical support from respective gewog agricultural extension officers has successfully distributed and installed 30 sets of polyhouses for the community groups living in the WBH landscape (Dagana, Tsirang, Trongsa, and Zhemgang districts). Polyhouses serve as a shield between nature and what you are growing. The greenhouse is an enclosed structure or environment where crops or saplings are grown. It protects crops from pests, diseases, and adverse climatic conditions which in turn allows the growing seasons to be extended and possibly improved.

White-bellied Heron Conservation Action Plan 2022- 2031 Launched

The White-bellied Heron (WBH) Conservation Action Plan was launched today, in the presence of our conservation friends Department of Forests and Park Services Bhutan For Life WWF Bhutan RSPN started the conservation of WBH in 2003 and over the years, together with our partners, we have put in our efforts to the conservation of this species to a great extent. Over the last two decades, we have mapped the distribution range, identified key feeding and nesting habitats, and closely monitored the populations, nests, and juveniles. We have educated, inspired, and engaged local communities, students, researchers, institutions, and policymakers in its conservation. We now have a better understanding of its genetic diversity, ecology, biology, threats, and challenges.

The Conservation Action Plan is an outcome of multi-institutional collaboration and the support of many individuals. This is a national document developed jointly by DoFPS and RSPN. The overall conservation strategies and actions outlined here reflect the holistic approach to achieving the milestone in the conservation of WBH within the period of the next 10 years, 2022-2031. As it becomes effective in 2022, this plan is expected to bring various conservation partners together in putting our foremost efforts to achieve our common goal of saving the last remains of WBH from its brink of extinction. The action plan was developed through funding support from the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation With this action plan in place, we look forward to the effective implementation of the WBH conservation programs with the same spirit of support and collaboration with the partners.

Black-necked Crane Sighting at Khamdra, Paro

A lone juvenile Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) was sighted at Khamdra, under Doga Gewog in Paro. Khamdra village falls within the western flyway of the Black-necked Crane migration route to and from the Phobjikha valley in Wangduephodrang, where the largest flock of the species winter every year. Occasionally, cranes make stopovers on their long migration to refill their energy or sometimes due to fatigue.

Local farmers and forest officials of Khamdra village first noticed the bird on 15th March 2021. They also noticed the crane flying over to Dawakha village, adjacent to Khamdra village, for feeding. By evening, the crane flew towards the valley floor below Dobji Dzong for roosting, where there are small marshy areas. Cranes prefer shallow ponds or marshy land covers to roost. Movements on the surface of the water by predators and other animals alert the roosting cranes and they fly away to safety. 

The wildlife rescue team, under the Nature Conservation Division of the Department of Forest and Park Services, confirmed no physical injury on the juvenile crane in Khamdra. To further affirm the condition, a team from the Royal Society for Protection of Nature visited the site and observed the crane along with the Incharge of Dawakha Forest Beat Office on 30th March 2021. 

The crane was found foraging in the farm fields of the area (Lat:27.260832° & Long: 89.507511°). The team also didn’t notice any injury on the crane and recommended the Incharge to continue monitoring and record the crane’s movement and its site preferences through the frequency of specific site visitation. There were number of stray dogs around the village, which could harm the crane. Therefore, villagers will be requested to confine the dogs whichever belonged to them.

While most of the fields were already cultivated with potato and buckwheat, there were some uncultivated fields, but tilted, where the crane can find enough feed. Cranes feed on leftover grains from the last season harvest as well as on insects and smaller rodents. At Dawakha, the farmers will be soon completing their annual spring cultivation season and all the fields will be cultivated with local crops.

This will hamper the crane of finding food if it continues to stay within the locality. In Phobjikha, occasionally, one or two cranes were observed to spent throughout the summer and join the next flock during the autumn migration. However, in Dawakha, unlike Phobjikha, there are no vast natural wetlands where the cranes can forage. Therefore, artificial feeding through supplemental feed of wheat and barley was recommended to be carried out at the most frequented field when all the farmlands are cultivated. In Bomdeling, Trashiyangtse, local farmers contribute paddy to supplement feed for the Black-necked Cranes when the natural food source gets exhausted in the fields.

The annual Black-necked Crane population census in Bhutan (2020-2021) counted 552 individuals, spread across the country. Black-necked Cranes spend about 5 months in the country and spend the rest of the year in their summer habitat in China.

Reported by: Jigme Tshering and Damcho Yonten

RSPN

The 19th White-bellied Heron(WBH) annual population survey was conducted from February 27 – March 03, 2021 counted 22 herons in the country. The survey confirmed 22 Herons which is five less than the previous year. Out of 22 Herons, 19 are adults and three sub-adult individuals. The decrease in population was mainly observed in upper Punatsangchhu basin; Phochu, Mochu, Adha and Harachhu which were oldest and previously the most abundantly used habitats in Bhutan. The survey covered all currently known and expected habitats along Punatshangchhu, Mangdechhu, Chamkharchhu, Drangmechhu, Kurichhu, Kholongchhu and major tributaries.Using the Epicollect5 mobile app, a digital data collection platform, all the data were recorded and uploaded to the central WBH database and analyzed.

The Five-year Strategic plan document will provide strategic direction and set up a clear course of action in achievingRSPN’s goals and objectives. It will also give an opportunity for RSPN and its stakeholders to prioritize time, money, and people for efficient use and growing itself to a sustainable competitive conservation NGO. The identified institutional goals constitute high-level direction setting outcome-based statements, that outline the long-term vision of RSPN.