Description:
As part of International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD), SOS SAVANE-ONG is organizing an awareness-raising, conservation and stakeholder mobilization event to highlight the efforts undertaken to conserve the last remaining vulture populations in the RBT-WAP landscape. The event will also provide an opportunity to welcome the Funding Allocation Committee of the West African Savannas Foundation (FSOA) for a field visit focused on showcasing the actions and achievements of the vulture conservation project. The visit will highlight the progress made in ecological and telemetry monitoring of vulture populations, habitat restoration and protection, and the involvement of local communities. The event will further facilitate direct exchanges with local communities and community monitoring committees involved in monitoring nesting sites, highlighting their role in the surveillance and protection of vultures. Discussions will also address key conservation challenges, including myths, beliefs and perceptions surrounding vultures, the use of certain vulture body parts in some practices, and the availability of food resources at butcher shops. Through this event, SOS SAVANE-ONG aims to demonstrate that vulture conservation depends on the complementarity of scientific knowledge, field monitoring, habitat protection and community engagement, while creating a space for dialogue on actions needed to ensure the long-term conservation of these species. Activities Planned Presentation of the project and SOS SAVANE-ONG’s vulture conservation efforts, including key achievements, results and lessons learned; Field visit with the FSOA Funding Allocation Committee, providing an opportunity to discover first-hand the sites and conservation actions supported through the project; Presentation and demonstration of ecological and telemetry monitoring methods, including vulture capture, fitting of tracking devices and release of individuals, in accordance with appropriate protocols; Visit to vulture nesting and feeding sites, with a presentation of the measures implemented for their restoration, protection and monitoring; Exchanges with local communities and community monitoring committees, focusing on their experiences, roles and contributions to vulture conservation; Awareness session on myths, beliefs and perceptions surrounding vultures, with particular attention to the potential consequences of certain practices for vulture conservation; Discussion on the availability of food resources, particularly at butcher shops, and on factors that may limit vultures’ access to these resources; Presentation of achievements in community-based conservation and the role of local stakeholders in monitoring and protecting vulture populations; Roundtable discussion on the future of vultures in the RBT-WAP landscape, focusing on persistent threats, priority needs and the sustainability of ongoing conservation efforts; Collective commitment to vulture conservation, through the identification of concrete actions that each stakeholder can undertake or strengthen.