Conservation News 695


Artificial islands in the Szczecin Lagoon, Poland: (a) Śmięcka and Brysna; (b) Brysna Island; (c) camera-trap image of a Caspian tern Hydroprogne caspia, a new breeding species in Poland; (d) chicks of the pied avocet Recurvirostra avosetta, a species that established a colony of 44 pairs in 2024, nesting ephemerally in this zone; (e) one of two pairs of black-winged stilts on Brysna Island in 2024. Photos: Maciej Sobieraj (a), Maciej Przybysz (b), Łukasz Jankowiak (c), Marcin Sołowiej (d) and Miłosz Kowalewski (e).


this model of integrating environmental restoration with infrastructure projects can serve as an example globally. Further management should focus on predator control and maintaining early successional stages to ensure long- term population stability (Marchowski et al., 2023, Ornis Polonica, 64, 273–287). Two years ago, the Oder River, into which these artificial


islands extend, experienced an unprecedented ecological disaster that resulted in the death of millions of animals (Marchowski & Ławicki, 2023, Oryx, 57, 9). The use of these islands by bird populations highlights the potential for ecological recovery.


DOMINIK MARCHOWSKI1 (dmarchowski@miiz.waw.pl), ZBIGNIEW KAJZER2,SEBASTIAN MICHAŁOWSKI2,PAWEŁ STAŃCZAK2


and ŁUKASZ JANKOWIAK3 1Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland. 2West Pomeranian Nature Society, Szczecin, Poland. 3Institute of Biology, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland


This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC BY 4.0.


Conserving the Bengal florican in Nepal: a collaborative education and awareness campaign


The Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis, a Critically Endangered ground-nesting bird native to Nepal, India and Cambodia, is at high risk of extinction because of habitat loss and anthropogenic disturbance. In Nepal, the species is confined to three protected areas: Chitwan and Shuklaphata National Parks and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, with the latter an important stronghold. However, significant anthropogenic disturbances persist, driven by


the dependence of local communities on natural resources within the Reserve, cattle being abandoned in foraging areas and a lack of awareness about the Bengal florican and its habitat. In response, our team implemented a series of education


campaigns, supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme and in collaboration with the Koshi Bird Society, during 8 May–3 June 2024. The campaigns targeted students across 11 schools (six in Koshi, two in Chitwan and three in Shuklaphata), focusing on the distribution and ecol- ogy of the florican, and threats to its conservation. A draw- ing competition was also held to stimulate conservation interest, and pre- and post-campaign surveys unequivocally demonstrated a positive shift in awareness. To reinforce these efforts, we distributed bookmarks fea-


turing conservation messages, and selected bio-monitors from each workshop to promote birding and conservation in theircommunities. Additionally, we conducted four com- munity workshops (two in Koshi and two in Chitwan), en- gaging .250 stakeholders, including farmers, teachers and fishers, in discussions of conservation challenges and solu- tions. Overall, our campaigns engaged .900 students and .250 community members, contributing to Bengal florican conservation in Nepal. To broaden our conservation outreach, we launched the


Bengal Florican Project (bengalflorican.org), which aims to engage people in Nepal, India and Cambodia in the con- servation of the species.


ADITYA PAL1,2 (mail2adityapal@gmail.com),


TIKA REGMI3 ,SHRUTI SHAKYA1 and GANESH SAH2 1Central Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and


Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal. 2Nature Conservation and Research Committee,


Oryx, 2024, 58(6), 689–699 © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605324001157


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