Context:

The Supreme Court directed the Centre to clear its plans to save the critically-endangered Great Indian Bustard.

SC Asks Govt to Prepare Plan to Save Great Indian Bustard

• The  Supreme Court outlined that the Centre should  plan to maintain a balance between the preservation of the bird species and India’s global commitments to reduce its carbon footprints while embracing alternatives  such as solar power.

About Great Indian Bustard

• Great Indian Bustard is the state bird of Rajasthan.

Great Indian Bustard

• 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
  • Habitat: It is confined mostly to Rajasthan and Gujarat.
  • 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.

• Steps Taken to Protect

  • • 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.
  • Significance: GIBs are considered the flagship bird species of grassland and hence barometers of the health of grassland ecosystems.

News Source: The Hindu