"Bird islands: On India’s bustard conservation programme"
Schedule I species
category under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 receiving the highest level of legal protection.
Bird diverters
reflective devices fixed on power lines to make wires visible to flying birds, reducing collisions.
The Great Indian Bustard (GIB), locally called 'Godawan', is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world and is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, India's highest statutory protection category. It is also classified Critically Endangered by the IUCN and listed in Appendix I of CITES (meaning: the international treaty regulating trade in endangered species). Ornithologist Salim Ali had proposed the bustard as India's national bird so legal protection would automatically follow, but the Indian Board for Wildlife chose the peacock instead. The population collapsed from roughly 1,260 birds in 1969 to about 600 by 2000, and further to 140-175 in Rajasthan by the 2010s; today only around 120 individuals survive, almost all in Rajasthan's Thar landscape.
Much of this decline stems from habitat conversion. Grasslands once dismissed as 'wastelands' were converted into irrigated, pesticide-intensive farmland as canal irrigation expanded in Rajasthan, fragmenting the open terrain the bustard needs. Hunting, including by former royal households, continued into the late 1970s before legal protection took full effect. More recently, high-tension power lines have become the single largest cause of mortality. Being heavy with poor frontal vision, the GIB often collides with wires strung at its flight height.
The Desert National Park in Jaisalmer, where the latest release took place, is one of the species' core habitats. The park actually spans two districts, Jaisalmer and Barmer, and unlike many protected areas it has resident human settlements within its boundaries, reflecting a conservation model that coexists with local communities rather than excluding them entirely.
India's primary response to the GIB's decline has been a captive breeding and release programme, run jointly by the Wildlife Institute of India and the Rajasthan Forest Department, largely funded through Compensatory Afforestation Fund resources (CAMPA). Eggs are collected from the wild, artificially incubated, and chicks reared in captivity before release once mature. The programme now holds 97 birds, including 57 captive-bred individuals that have themselves produced 29 chicks this year and 24 the previous year, a rare case of a captive population breeding successfully rather than merely being maintained.
The other major intervention targets power lines. In 2021, the Supreme Court, in a case concerning GIB conservation, ordered that low-voltage power lines within the bird's priority habitats in Rajasthan and Gujarat be placed underground, and that bird diverters (reflective devices making wires visible to flying birds) be installed on existing high-voltage lines. …
With reference to India's 'Desert National Park', which of the following statements are correct?
1.It is spread over two districts.
2.There is no human habitation inside the Park.
3.It is one of the natural habitats of 'Great Indian Bustard'.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Consider the following statements regarding the Great Indian Bustard (GIB):
1.It is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
2.It is classified as 'Critically Endangered' by the IUCN.
3.Rajasthan hosts the largest surviving wild population of the species.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Which of the following statements about Desert National Park is/are correct?
1.It is located entirely within Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan.
2.It has resident human settlements within its boundaries.
3.It is a natural habitat of the Great Indian Bustard.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Consider the following statements regarding the Supreme Court's order on power lines and Great Indian Bustard conservation:
1.The original 2021 order mandated undergrounding of all high-voltage transmission lines across Rajasthan and Gujarat.
2.The order was later modified to limit the underground mandate to the bird's officially notified 'critical habitat'.
3.The modification followed objections from renewable energy companies regarding project economics.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to recent Indian conservation efforts, match List-I (conservation action) with List-II (species/site involved):
List-I:
A.Enclosure-based holding
B.Inter-reserve relocation
C.Confinement causing human conflict
D.Ecologically mismatched afforestation
List-II:
1.Gir lions
2.Delhi Ridge
3.African cheetahs
4.Tigress moved from Valmiki to Buxa
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
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