News: Conservation efforts are having a positive impact on Great Indian Bustard population in India
Facts:
Conservation Efforts in India
Bustard Recovery Programme:
Initiated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2015, it is a programme for Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican and Bengal Florican. It recommends:
- linking local livelihoods with bustard conservation
- state governments to identify the core breeding areas for bustards and keep them inviolate from human disturbances
- Restriction on infrastructure development and land use diversion for roads, high tension electric poles, intensive agriculture, wind power generators and construction.
Project Great Indian Bustard: It is a Rajasthan government project launched in 2018. It envisages constituting enclosures and securing inviolate areas to ensure successful breeding of birds in the Desert National Park
Additional Information
Types of Bustards Found in India
| Name | Characteristics | Geographical Extent | IUCN Status |
| Great Indian Bustard#State Bird of Rajasthan | Can be distinguished by its black crown on the forehead contrasting with the pale neck and headOne of the heaviest flying birds (weighing up to 15kgs)# Endemic to Indian subcontinent | Rajasthan (Desert National park), Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in India and parts of Pakistan | Critically Endangered |
| Lesser Florican | # Smallest in the bustard family# Endemic to Indian subcontinent | Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and | Endangered |
| Bengal Florican | Mostly black in colour with largely white wings # Endemic to Indian subcontinent | Terai and the Brahmaputra valley (Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.) Considered to be extinct in Bangladesh. | Critically Endangered |
| MacQueen’s Bustard | Pale sandy in colour | Found in desert and steppe regions of Asia Winter migrant to the desert regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat | Vulnerable |
Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican and Bengal Florican – They are listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
