Finally, a recovery programme for the neglected bustards

Will MoEF plan save the rare birds endemic to Indian grasslands?

After suffering neglect for decades, the Indian bustard species, one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, have some reason to cheer. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has prepared a species recovery programme to control the dwindling population of the Great Indian Bustard, the Lesser Florican and the Bengal Florican, three of the four bustard species found in India. All the three birds have been endemic to the grasslands of India and are on the brink of extinction. The fourth one Houbara, is a migratory species.

Bustards, considered the flagship grassland species, represent the health of the grassland ecology. With rampant hunting for the birds and declining grasslands in the country, their population also kept dwindling. The Great Indian Bustard can weigh up to 15 kg and grow up to one metre in height. Its population decreased from 1,500-2,000 in the 1980s to 250-300 last year. Similarly, only less than 350 Bengal Floricans are left in the country and less than 2,500 Small Floricans survive in the world with breeding restricted to Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and western Madhya Pradesh.

The Great Indian Bustard, the state bird of Rajasthan, was earlier found throughout the western half of India, spanning eleven states. The bird is now restricted to only fragmented pockets in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, with very little breeding population. The Bengal Florican, which was once widely distributed in the Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains, is now found in pockets in Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The Lesser Florican, the smallest in the bustard family, was found throughout the country.

Action delayed

While about 75 per cent decline in the Great Indian Bustard was observed within a timescale of last three generations (40-45 years; each bird has a life span of 12-15 years), the governments did little to save the bird. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), during the World Conservation Congress in 2004, had passed a resolution urging the Indian government to start a “Project Bustards” to protect all the bustard species in the country.

What programme guidelines say

The Bustard Recovery Programme recommends linking local livelihoods with bustard conservation
A profitable and equitable mechanism to share revenues generated from eco-tourism with local communities should be developed
For effective conservation, the guidelines direct state governments to identify the core breeding areas for bustards and keep them inviolate from human disturbances
The guidelines suggest restriction on infrastructure development and land use diversion for roads, high tension electric poles, intensive agriculture, wind power generators and construction
Only low intensity, traditional pastoral activities should be allowed, that too, not during the breeding season, say the guidelines

Incentive for people