GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court constituted an expert committee to address the delicate balance between conserving and protecting the endangered Great Indian Bustard bird population while honoring the nation's international obligations to promote renewable energy sources.

Great Indian Bustard

• About: It is the State bird of Rajasthan and is considered India’s most critically endangered bird.
• Flagship species: It is considered the flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.
• Habitat: Its population is confined mostly to Rajasthan and Gujarat.

oSmall populations occur in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

• Protection Status:

oIUCN: Critically Endangered

oCITES: Appendix 1

oConvention on Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix 1

oWildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule 1

Initiatives taken to protect GIB

• Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats: GIB is kept under the species recovery programme under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• Conservation Breeding Facility: MoEF&CC, Rajasthan government and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have established a conservation breeding facility in Desert National Park at Jaisalmer in June 2019.
• Project Great Indian Bustard: It has been launched by the Rajasthan government with an aim of constructing breeding enclosures for the species and developing infrastructure to reduce human pressure on its habitats.
• Conservation Reserves: Great Indian Bustard habitats to be declared as conservation reserves.
• Directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT): NGT ordered a time-bound action plan for the implementation of mitigation measures such as installation of bird diverters and their regular maintenance and monitoring by power agencies.