Conservation Plan for Great Indian Bustards

Tags: Government Schemes National News

The ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is taking various measures for conservation and protection of Great Indian Bustard in the country, including in Rajasthan.

Important steps taken by the Ministry 

• The Great Indian Bustard is listed in Schedule-I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. Highest degree of legal protection from hunting.

• Important habitats of Great Indian Bustards have been designated as National Parks/Sanctuaries for their better protection.

• This species has been identified for conservation efforts under the centrally sponsored scheme 'Species Recovery Programme'.

• Breeding conservation of the Great Indian Bustard has been done in collaboration with the Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra Forest Departments.

• Sites have been identified for setting up conservation breeding centers for Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican birds in consultation with the Wildlife Institute of India and international experts.

• A satellite conservation breeding facility has been established at SAM, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

About Great Indian Bustard

• It is considered India's most critically endangered bird species and is especially found in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

• It is one of the heaviest flying birds endemic to the Indian subcontinent.

• It is the state bird of Rajasthan.

• These birds are on the verge of extinction, with barely 50 to 249 surviving, according to a 2021 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

• It is a large bird with brown-and-white feathers with black crown and wing markings. It is one of the heaviest birds in the world.

• Its habitat is Arid grasslands.

• IUCN Status - Critically Endangered.

• Listed in Wildlife Protection Act’s Schedule 1.

• The cause of the decline in numbers is Hunting, Intensification of agriculture, Power lines.