The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is among the rarest birds in the world and is listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Currently, numbers are hovering at a dismal 130, with around 110 in Rajasthan and 20 in the other states. “There is no breeding of GIB outside Jaisalmer since the last 5-6 years. It shows that the remaining GIBs are aged birds who are not biologically viable to survive unlike the ones in Jaisalmer,” avers Dr. Mamta Rawat, Founder, Director and Managing Trustee, Ecology, Rural Development & Sustainability (ERDS) Foundation.
While loss of habitat has been the main reason for the reducing numbers, ERDS is addressing the existing GIB habitat, where it is being regularly sighted. The ever-increasing demand for marginal land for tillage for more production, large scale land conversion and changing land use pattern at landscape level is causing this loss.
Read the full story that first appeared in The New Indian Express dated March 19, 2023 here:
