The creation of the SAVE consortium – Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction: a possible model for Africa?

Abstract

There have been few faster, more dramatic and wide-scale species declines than those of South Asian vulture populations since the 1990s. This article describes the background to this problem, caused mainly by the veterinary drug diclofenac, and the establishment and structure of the SAVE consortium created to help coordinate the necessary conservation response. The lessons learnt in Asia and the working model of such a consortium are presented, which could be of assistance for tackling the vulture crisis in Africa despite obvious differences of scale and political landscape, so would undoubtedly need at least some modification.

Keywords: African vultures, Asian vultures, conservation, consortium, coordination, diclofenac, NSAIDs, SAVE, vultures