Yadav Unveils Gujarat Action Plan for Great Indian Bustard at Bhuj Review

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav chaired a review meeting of flagship conservation programmes in Bhuj, Kachchh, covering the Great Indian Bustard, grassland restoration and Project Cheetah. Gujarat's Cabinet Minister for Forest and Environment, Climate Change and Science and Technology, Arjun Modhwadia, attended, along with senior officials from the Union ministry, the Gujarat Forest Department, the Wildlife Institute of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

At the meeting, the minister said conservation must extend beyond single species to the restoration of entire landscapes, combining scientific management, habitat restoration and community participation. He said India is working to become a global benchmark in landscape-level conservation.

Releasing the Gujarat Action Plan for GIB Conservation, prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India with the Gujarat Forest Department, Yadav said it offers a science-based roadmap to build a minimum viable population of more than 30 birds and secure 200–500 sq. km. of safe, contiguous habitat. The immediate focus is the roughly 200 sq. km. Lala–Rawa landscape, where interventions will include habitat restoration, grazing management, removal of invasive species, predator management and mitigation of infrastructure-related threats.

Kachchh, the minister noted, holds an important but small and isolated GIB population. On-ground work already completed includes the restoration of about 11 sq. km. of grassland in Naliya that was infested with Prosopis juliflora, and the securing of an enclosure with 30 km of predator-proof fencing across 15 sq. km., along with targeted management of nest predators. He said GIB conservation is ultimately the conservation of Kachchh's open natural ecosystems, which also support the lesser florican, chinkara, desert cats, raptors, vultures and other specialised wildlife.

Referring to a 'jump-start' intervention in which infertile eggs laid by wild GIB females were replaced with viable eggs from the conservation breeding programme, Yadav said the chick from the second such attempt has survived beyond its critical first three months in the wild — a landmark result for the species' recovery in Gujarat. A GIB Soft Release Centre has also been developed near Naliya to house and acclimatise captive-bred birds from Rajasthan before their eventual release, once protocols and habitat conditions allow.

On grassland restoration, the minister said grasslands cover nearly 24% of India's land area but remain among the country's most degraded and under-conserved ecosystems. A proposed five-year national assessment with the Wildlife Institute of India, ICFRE and the Forest Survey of India, supported by National CAMPA, would provide a scientific basis for a national framework for grassland management, covering mapping, ecological assessment, restoration and better management of open natural ecosystems, including Gujarat's Banni Grassland.

Reviewing Project Cheetah, Yadav said the population has grown from 29 founder cheetahs to 52 individuals, including 49 cubs born in India. Cub survival in Kuno stands at around 68%, which he said demonstrates the potential for successful population establishment under suitable ecological conditions. Protected habitat for cheetahs has expanded to 3,428 sq. km. through integrated management of Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar, while Banni Grasslands in Gujarat and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh have been identified as future release sites. The programme, he added, is moving towards landscape-level management to ensure adequate habitat, prey base and ecological connectivity for the species' long-term recovery.