Gurney's Pitta is about to go the way of Dodo.

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From "Letter from the Chairman" in Oriental Bird Club's bulletin on June 2000. by Nigel Collar Gurney's Pitta is about to go the way of Dodo, gaining the dubious distinction of becoming the first major species to become extinct in this millennium. This issue of the Bulletin is a Thailand special, and we hope that it inspires many readers to visit the country in the near future to experience its distinctive mix of ornithological and cultural sensations. There is, as the saying goes, so much to see. But however long the potential tick-list maybe, one species may soon be missing. And since this is quite definitely the greatest Thailand special of the lot, we have good reason to be alarmed. Despite letters sent to the highest levels by BirdLife International and the Oriental Bird Club, Gurney's Pitta lost more habitat this last winter at its one known site, Khao Nor Chuchi, and nothing was done to stop it happening. I promised in the last issue that OBC would not let such a thing pass without raising its voice and taking a stand. In late March and early April Brian Sykes (OBC Secretary), Marcus Kohler (Chairman, OBC Conservation committee) and Tony Juniper (Policy Director, Friends of the Earth) visited Thailand to consult with Thai experts and sympathizers to put together a plan of action for Gurney's Pitta. Their report in this issue makes grim but gripping reading. For almost 15 years conservationists have been trying to save Gurney's Pitta at Khao Nor Chuchi. The history of their various efforts deserves one day to be written up as a tribute to the passion and commitment of dozens of nature-lover who cannot bear the thought of losing so wonderful a species, Starting with a handful of volunteers- Marcus Kohler was one - the work steadily grew into a major co-operative programme between Denmark and Thailand, and one which should have clinched it for the pitta, Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent in demarcating the wildlife sanctuary at the site, training the staff, mapping the forest area, developing management agreements for forest outside the sanctuary, and building local support through economic livelihood schemes and the promotion of tourism. But the Thai Government has failed to deliver on its side of the bargain. The Royal forest Department (RFD) has a statutory responsibility to protect forest inside wildlife sanctuaries. Yet eight now there are houses inside the sanctuary, there are gardens and plantations and, since the beginning of this year, there is a 5 ha clearing which was once the territory of one of the last remaining pairs of Gurney's Pitta. How can this be? How can it be that the sanctuary employs something in the order of 30 staff, most of them locally recruited but three of them directly appointed by the RFD, and nothing was done to stop this destruction? The cutting that took place this year was done by hand, so it must have taken the best part of a month. And nobody apparently noticed it. The problem of Gurney's Pitta is now primarily one of enforcement. Those outside the government of Thailand have done everything they can to set the scene for the saving of Gurney's Pitta. What more they can do in the future is what OBC has been exploring this spring. But the fact remains that none of it is do-able without the protection of the wildlife sanctuary and the implements. This is down to the RFD. Its failure to date is a discredit to the great country we creature in these pages.

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Hayashi no tori [ศ. 21 ก.ค. 2543 - :21 น.]

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