PIB TrackerThe bustard target is 30 birds, and a swapped egg produced a chick that lived
Gujarat's action plan for the Great Indian Bustard aims at a minimum viable population of over 30 birds in 200-500 sq km, and viable captive eggs are being placed under wild females.
What happened
- Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav reviewed the Great Indian Bustard, grassland restoration and Project Cheetah at Bhuj, Kachchh, and released the Gujarat Action Plan for GIB Conservation prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India with the Gujarat Forest Department.
- The plan aims at a minimum viable population of over 30 birds and 200-500 sq km of safe, contiguous habitat, with immediate focus on the roughly 200 sq km Lala-Rawa landscape.
- At Naliya, about 11 sq km of grassland infested with Prosopis juliflora has been restored and an enclosure of 15 sq km secured with 30 km of predator-proof fencing.
- In a 'jump-start' intervention, infertile eggs of wild females were replaced with viable eggs from the conservation breeding programme; the chick of the second attempt has passed the critical first three months in the wild.
- Project Cheetah has reached 52 individuals from 29 founders, including 49 cubs born in India, cub survival at Kuno around 68%, and habitat of 3,428 sq km across Kuno and Gandhi Sagar.
For Prelims
- Gujarat Action Plan for GIB Conservation: released at Bhuj by the Union Environment Minister, prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India with the Gujarat Forest Department.
- Minimum viable population target: the plan's stated goal is over 30 Great Indian Bustards, with 200-500 sq km of safe, contiguous habitat.
- Lala-Rawa landscape: the immediate focus area in Kachchh, of roughly 200 sq km, for habitat restoration, grazing and predator management.
- Naliya works: about 11 sq km of grassland restored from Prosopis juliflora, with 15 sq km enclosed by 30 km of predator-proof fencing.
- 'Jump-start' intervention: infertile eggs of wild GIB females swapped for viable eggs from the breeding programme; the second attempt's chick crossed three months in the wild.
- GIB Soft Release Centre: developed near Naliya to house and acclimatise captive-bred birds brought from Rajasthan before eventual release.
- Grasslands: said to cover nearly 24% of India's land area; a five-year national assessment is proposed with WII, ICFRE and FSI under National CAMPA support.
- Project Cheetah: 29 founders, now 52 individuals with 49 India-born cubs, 68% cub survival at Kuno, 3,428 sq km across Kuno and Gandhi Sagar.
For UPSC: The current example for species recovery being reframed as landscape restoration, and for open natural ecosystems being treated as habitat rather than wasteland. Use it on conservation of critically endangered species, on invasive species and habitat fragmentation, and on the funding and institutional machinery through which recovery programmes are actually delivered.
What it is NOT: The release gives no count of Great Indian Bustards anywhere - not in Kachchh, not in Gujarat, not in India - and no size for the conservation breeding stock that supplied the eggs, no number or date for any release from the Soft Release Centre, and no outlay for either the Gujarat Action Plan or the proposed grassland assessment. It also does not say how many of the 29 founder cheetahs survive, or against what denominator the 68 per cent cub survival is calculated.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.14 · GS2.9 · Linkage L2
Anchor
A recovery plan whose stated ambition is a population of over thirty birds tells you the position the species is in. The unit of conservation has shifted from the animal to the landscape because at these numbers protecting individuals no longer works, and the habitat is the only variable left with enough room to move.
Substantiation (data)
The Gujarat plan seeks over 30 birds and 200-500 sq km of contiguous habitat, beginning with the 200 sq km Lala-Rawa landscape. At Naliya 11 sq km has been cleared of Prosopis juliflora and 15 sq km fenced with 30 km of predator-proof fencing. Grasslands cover nearly 24 per cent of India's land area.
Exemplification
The 'jump-start' method is the concrete illustration: infertile eggs laid by wild females are replaced with viable eggs from the captive programme, so a wild female raises a captive-bred chick in the wild. The chick from the second attempt has crossed three months, the interval at which most such chicks are lost.
Counterpoint
Project Cheetah in the same review shows what these numbers can become: 29 founders have become 52 individuals with 49 cubs born in India, 68 per cent cub survival at Kuno, and 3,428 sq km of habitat across Kuno and Gandhi Sagar. Captive-bred recovery is not inherently futile; it is expensive and slow.
Problematisation
None of it is measured against a standing wild population, because the release publishes none. A restoration figure in square kilometres and a single surviving chick cannot be converted into recovery without the denominator, and the Soft Release Centre has birds to receive but no announced release date, number or protocol.
Position
Landscape restoration is the right frame, but it changes what has to be reported. If the ecosystem is the unit, the outputs to publish are habitat secured, threats removed and populations counted over time - not fencing length and ceremonial plan releases, which measure effort rather than recovery.
Deploys into: Conservation of critically endangered species and the limits of captive breeding · invasive species and habitat fragmentation in open natural ecosystems · grasslands and wastelands in India's land-use classification · institutional and financing machinery for species recovery programmes · reintroduction and translocation as conservation policy
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change · 2026-09-13 · PRID 2309882 · PIB source ↗