Project Info
Project Description
White-winged duck (Asarcornis scutulata), also known as “Deo hanh” in Assamese, was once widely distributed in north-east India and south-east Asia. They come under ‘endangered’ category now due to the small and fragmented population (c. 1000 mature individuals) as per the assessment of BirdLife International in 2016. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh alone harbours about 50% of its global population with an estimate of c. 450 individuals. Although, Arunachal Pradesh has a suitable environment for the species, still the status of the bird in Arunachal Pradesh is not known beyond Pakke Tiger Reserve and Namdapha National Park. The rapid and continuing decline is majorly due to loss/disturbance to forested wetlands in the distribution range resulting to their habitat destruction.
As per the latest studies conducted in early 1990s, 21 protected areas were known to support its population globally. Being the State Bird of Assam, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Dihing-Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, were established specifically to conserve the species. Despite the efforts, White-winged Duck (WWD) is evidentially showing a decline, as per experts and birdwatchers. A concerted effort across its entire distribution range, especially India, is yet lacking, logically due to lack of updated information and a synchronous concerted effort.
Major Threats
- destruction, degradation and disturbance of wetlands and pristine rainforests
- loss of nesting habitats—swampy areas with primary forests and large trees;
- direct threats of bird and egg poaching.
Despite being an endangered species and a species of interest (State Bird of Assam), little effort has been taken to conserve the bird in its distribution range resulting into shrinkage of distribution range and population decline. Lack of knowledge about their population status and site specific conservation requirements are the major bottlenecks in its conservation and actions for recovery. This project aims at bridging the information gap, and outlining and executing a long-term recovery plan in collaboration with forest department, local stakeholders, and experts.
To begin with, the information gap on status of the species and its habitat will be bridged through ground surveys. Identification of threats and specific drivers of these threats would form the basis of species recovery planning for Assam & Arunachal Pradesh. The next phase would target implementation of recovery measures and monitoring of changes. The project will be carried out across the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
The long-term objective of the project is to recover the population of WWD by working towards stabilising and finally increasing the number and sites of occurrence of the species in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The project was initially technically supported by experts of international repute and was funded by ONGC.
PARTNERS: Department of Environment & Forests, Government of Assam, Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Arunachal Pradesh
PROJECT LEAD: Aftab Ahmed
