Empowering communities to protect the White-bellied Heron: How livelihood programs are saving the endangered species

2026-03-30 - 13:21

The Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) is proving that the path to wildlife conservation runs through the hearts and economies of local communities. By transforming potential threats like illegal fishing into sustainable ventures such as climate-smart agriculture and professional entrepreneurship, RSPN has turned residents into the primary guardians of the endangered White-bellied heron. As a collective effort to improve White-bellied heron conservation efforts, the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) focused on building resilient local communities through enhanced livelihood programs. The event uncovered Bhutan’s record-breaking achievement of 31 White-bellied herons, the highest in the world. This wouldn’t have been possible without the engagement of local communities. They are the underdogs of conservation efforts that made it happen. At the White-bellied Heron International Conference 2026, RSPN also invited three groups, one youth-led and two women-led groups to showcase their products at an international event. Karma Wangchuk, Program Officer at RSPN said that the involvement of local communities in the collective effort of White-bellied heron is an important facet that cannot be ignored. “We believe that it is increasingly important to look at the community side in balancing efforts especially for those residing around the key areas of conservation. Without their support, we cannot move forward.” As part of their community livelihood enhancement, RSPN has initiated programs such as Climate-smart agriculture (CSA), Human-wildlife conflict (HWC), rural water supply, and crop compensation scheme. In line with the CSA program, RSPN promoted small-scale entrepreneurship and financial backing to youth and women-led groups. Damber Gurung, Company Secretary for Balana agriculture and livestock youth group said, “RSPN has helped us by providing packaging and even marketing of our locally sourced products. We are deeply grateful to RSPN for enabling us with opportunities like this.” Choki, member of Drachukha Flower Women Group said, “This is an important initiative that also looks after the endangered White-bellied heron species. As part of this program, we got to learn a lot about how we can make use of village produce and learn to operate a business and we are really grateful for that.” The youth and women groups now pack and market their locally-sourced products in a clean and professional manner. Karma Wangchuk said that the support empowers these youth and women-led groups in efforts specially meant to advance conservation goals. He added that the local government also provided workshed to the groups, while funding and machinery (on a cost-sharing basis), training and packaging were provided by RSPN, so that the community can earn a living. Along key areas of conservation, there lies a huge risk of Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) and illegal activities that may exacerbate destruction of natural habitats for White-bellied herons, thereby further threatening the species. “For instance, deteriorating livelihoods in key areas may also exacerbate activities such as illegal fishing activities. Since White-bellied herons are solely reliant on freshwater fish, this may endanger heron numbers in Bhutan,” said Karma Wangchuk. In parallel, he added that fish farm projects and fisheries have also been implemented to local communities over the years, so as to decrease illegal fishing activities, and raising fish for both subsistence and commercial use. “From our lens of estimation, we see that enhancing community livelihood may have been an important factor in achieving this milestone since we have implemented various livelihood initiatives.” He said that these community livelihood mechanisms may have improved awareness for people to realize the importance of WBH conservation. “The credit for the achievement of the rise in White-bellied Heron population mainly goes to the joint effort of stakeholders such as the Department of Forest and Park Services, Local government, and community members,” he said.