With less than 150 Great Indian Bustards remaining in the wild, what’s driving their extinction?

• The Supreme Court last week said it will review its April 2021 order to bury underground all power lines in the habitat of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), after the Centre found the order “practically impossible to implement” over long distances.

The Great Indian Bustard: A Bird on the Brink

• The Great Indian Bustard (GIB), the largest of India's four bustard species, is facing a critical fight for survival.

Habitat and Decline:

• Once widespread across the Indian subcontinent, their habitat has shrunk to a mere 10%.
• These grassland birds, crucial indicators of healthy grasslands, are now critically endangered with just 50-249 individuals remaining.

Main Threat: Power Lines

• The biggest threat to GIBs are overhead power lines.
• Their poor frontal vision and weight make it difficult to dodge these lines, leading to collisions and fatalities.
• Research suggests 18 GIBs die from this cause annually in Rajasthan alone.
• The recent boom in renewable energy infrastructure in their core habitat (Kutch and Thar desert) has exacerbated the problem.

Other Threats:

• Free-ranging dogs.
• Pesticide use in farmlands.
• Loss of grassland (especially nesting sites).
• Decreased support from local communities.

Conservation Efforts:

• Species Recovery Programme: A government initiative to create a captive breeding population for future reintroduction.
• Bird Diverters: Reflectors installed on power lines to make them visible to GIBs and prevent collisions.

Supreme Court Intervention:

• The Supreme Court has mandated burying power lines in core GIB habitat and set up committees to oversee implementation.
• The Centre argues against burying all lines due to technical and economic challenges.
• In March 2024, the Court established a new committee to explore further conservation measures.
• The future of the Great Indian Bustard hangs in the balance.
• Balancing development needs with critical species protection remains a challenge.

Prelims Takeaway

• The Great Indian Bustard
• IUCN