Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has approved Rs 56 crore for the next phase of the conservation of Great Indian Bustard (GIB) and Lesser Florican.

• As of now, around 140 GIBs and fewer than 1,000 Lesser Floricans are surviving in the wild.

Conservation Programme 

• It has been running since 2016 for long-term recovery of critically endangered GIB and Lesser Florican.

• Components of programme:
  • First component: It comprises targets such as completion of the conservation breeding centre (CBC) in Jaisalmer’s Ramdevra, development of the Sorsan Lesser Florican facility, preparatory work for releasing captive-bred birds, release of GIBs in Rajasthan and other range states, post-release monitoring and artificial insemination.
  • Second component: It comprises in-situ conservation of GIBs in other range states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. 

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• • • This component will be implemented by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) along with state governments. Between 2024-2026: Wildlife Institute of India (WII) will also undertake GIB population estimation in Jaisalmer, its range states and rangewide population estimation of the lesser florican.
• Rewilding won’t begin before 2027: Until then WII plans to collect two to four eggs of the GIB and six to ten eggs of Lesser Florican each year.
• Captive-bred Bustards: Release sites will be identified. These Bustards will be trained for release and soft release enclosures will also be developed.
• 2024-2029 Phase: This will also target developing and implementation of artificial insemination techniques as a back-up to the captive-breeding conservation, scientists working on the project said. 
• The WII has been collaborating with the Abu Dhabi-based International Fund for Houbara Conservation for the same.

About Great Indian Bustard

• GIBs are the largest among the four-bustard species found in India.
  • The other three being 
    1. MacQueen’s bustard
    2. Lesser florican 
    3. Bengal florican
• Conservation Status:
  • International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List (IUCN): Critically Endangered
  • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix1
  • Convention on Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix I
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
• Great Indian Bustard is the state bird of Rajasthan.
• Habitat: Today, its population is confined mostly to Rajasthan and Gujarat. Small populations occur in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
• Significance: GIBs are considered the flagship bird species of grassland and hence barometers of the health of grassland ecosystems
• Characteristics:
  • Great Indian bustards are tall birds with long legs and long necks; the tallest individuals may stand up to 1.2 metres (4 feet) high.
  • Males and females are distinguished by the colour of their feathers.
  • Lifespan: 12-15 years
  • GIBs are a slow-reproducing species: They lay a few eggs and have almost a year-long parental care of chicks. The GIB achieves maturity in around 3-4 years.
  • Food Habits: Great Indian bustards are omnivores. They prey on grass seeds, insects l, and sometimes even small rodents and reptiles.
• Threat: Due to their poor frontal vision, the birds can’t spot overhead power lines from a distance, and are too heavy to change course when close. 
  • Thus, they collide with the cables and die.
  • Recently, the Supreme Court constituted a seven-member committee to find a balance between conservation measures for the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) and efforts to generate renewable energy in the same regions.

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About Lesser Florican

Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indicus), often referred to as the likh or kharmore, is the smallest bustard Endemism: It’s endemic to the Indian Subcontinent, where it lives in tall grasses 

• Conservation status:
  • Wildlife Protection Act,1972: Schedule I
  • CITES: Appendix II
• Mating Strategy: The most characteristic feature of the bird is the mating strategy. 
  • During the breeding season, males are seen folding their legs and leaping upwards, reaching a height of about 2 to 3 metres. 
  • They flutter rapidly, even up to 600 times a day, while emitting a croak-like sound.
• Habitat: States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. 

Steps Taken to Protect

• 2013-2016: Plans to recover the species first started in 2013 under the National Bustard Recovery Plan, which later gave way to the Bustard Recovery Project in 2016. 
• In July 2018: A tripartite agreement was signed between MoEFCC, Rajasthan forest department and WII.
  • As part of the project run by the three parties, two GIB conservation breeding centres and one Lesser Florican centre are functioning in Rajasthan’s Sam, Ramdevra and Sorsan respectively.
• Project Great Indian Bustard: It has been launched by the Rajasthan government with an aim of constructing breeding enclosures for the species.
• GIB species recovery programme: Under this, the Wildlife Institute of India and Rajasthan forest department jointly set up breeding centers where GIB eggs harvested from the wild were incubated artificially.
• The Supreme Court is also monitoring the GIB and Lesser Florican conservation programme: A petition seeking protection of the two species is pending before it. 
  • Earlier, the SC had ordered burying power transmission lines in GIB habitat in Rajasthan and Gujarat in 2021
  • However, it recalled its order in 2024 after the Centre submitted that the exercise would be expensive and impractical. 
  • The SC also tasked an expert committee to study the issue.

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