SYLLABUS

GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context: The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) released the first official Great Indian Bustard (GIB) population assessment since 2017-18 and reviewed the progress of Project Great Indian Bustard at the 91st Standing Committee meeting of the National Board for Wildlife.

Key Findings

• Population Status: Estimated 130 (±21) GIBs remain in the wild.
  • Population has remained broadly stable since the previous estimate of 128 (±19) during 2017-18.
  • Trend analysis showed stable detections, encounter rate, abundance, and occupancy since 2017.
• Habitat Status: GIB occupies only about 16% of the surveyed landscape, despite the availability of larger suitable habitat.
  • Most birds are confined to relatively undisturbed grasslands around the Desert National Park and Pokhran Field Firing Range.
  • The species prefers flat to slightly undulating grasslands with sparse fallows and generally avoids agriculture and infrastructure.
• Major Threats: Habitat fragmentation due to expanding power transmission lines, agricultural fencing, roads, water sources, and solar plants.
  • Increasing mortality from collisions with overhead power lines, as GIB has poor frontal vision and limited ability to avoid wires.
  • Other threats include habitat loss, poaching, and egg predation.
  • The report stressed that long-term survival requires stronger habitat protection, threat mitigation, habitat restoration, and conservation breeding.
• Other Observations: During the survey, 35 GIB flocks, 1,568 Chinkara herds, and 79 Desert foxes were recorded.
  • Non-native species such as Nilgai, pigs, and free-ranging dogs were also observed.
  • The Thar Desert remains the last viable landscape for large-scale recovery because of its extensive contiguous natural habitat.

About Project Great Indian Bustard (GIB)

• Launched by the Government of Rajasthan in 2013.
• A collaborative conservation programme involving the Government of India, Rajasthan Government, Gujarat Government, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and international institutional cooperation.
• Objectives:
  • Improve and restore GIB habitat.
  • Protect eggs and nests.
  • Manage predators.
  • Mitigate threats from power transmission lines.
  • Support captive breeding and rewilding.
• Captive Breeding Programme:
  • Conservation breeding centres are located at Sam and Ramdevra in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
  • 98 chicks have been produced in captivity.
  • Wild eggs are collected, incubated, and chicks are reared under controlled conditions before planned release into the wild.
  • The programme is now preparing to enter the rewilding phase, with infrastructure, monitoring systems, and management protocols being developed.
• Innovative Conservation Approaches:
  • Artificial Insemination: Has emerged as a major contributor to successful breeding, accounting for the majority of chicks hatched during the current season.
  • Jumpstart Intervention: Eggs are collected from wild nests for captive breeding, encouraging females to lay replacement eggs and thereby increasing both captive and wild populations simultaneously.
  • Power-Line Mitigation: Bird diverters, rerouting, and undergrounding of transmission lines in critical habitats are being pursued to reduce collision-related mortality.