Bhupender Yadav Reviews Great Indian Bustard Conservation, Project Cheetah and Grassland Restoration in Gujarat’s Kachchh
Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav on Sunday reviewed a wide-ranging set of wildlife and habitat conservation initiatives in Gujarat’s Kachchh region, with particular attention to the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB), grassland restoration and the progress of Project Cheetah. During the review, the Centre also released a dedicated Gujarat Action Plan for Great Indian Bustard Conservation, setting an ambitious target of building a viable population of more than 30 birds in the state.
The review reflects a broader shift in India’s conservation approach, with the focus increasingly moving beyond individual species to the landscapes and ecosystems that sustain them. Yadav stressed the importance of combining scientific conservation methods, habitat restoration, effective management, infrastructure planning and meaningful participation of local communities to protect fragile open natural ecosystems over the long term.
Gujarat’s New Great Indian Bustard Action Plan Sets Out Key Targets
The Gujarat Action Plan for Great Indian Bustard Conservation has been prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the Gujarat Forest Department. The plan lays out a structured roadmap for strengthening the state’s GIB population and improving the quality and continuity of the habitat on which the species depends.
One of its central objectives is to establish a minimum viable population of more than 30 Great Indian Bustards in Gujarat. The plan also calls for securing between 200 and 500 square kilometres of safe, contiguous habitat, an important requirement for a species that needs extensive open landscapes to feed, move and breed.
A major focus has been placed on the approximately 200 sq km Lala-Rawa landscape in Kachchh. The area is being prioritised as a critical conservation landscape, with proposed measures covering habitat restoration, grazing management, invasive species control, predator management and efforts to reduce infrastructure-related threats.
Kachchh currently supports a small and isolated GIB population, making targeted intervention particularly important. The Great Indian Bustard remains classified as Critically Endangered, and its survival depends not merely on protecting individual birds but on securing sufficiently large and suitable landscapes where the species can sustain itself.
Naliya Grasslands Get Major Habitat Restoration Push
Several conservation interventions have already been undertaken in the Naliya landscape to improve habitat conditions for the Great Indian Bustard. One of the key challenges has been the spread of invasive vegetation, particularly Prosopis juliflora, which has altered the character of open grassland areas and reduced the availability of suitable habitat.
According to the Environment Ministry, around 11 sq km of grassland affected by the invasive species has now been restored. The intervention is aimed at bringing back open habitat conditions that are more suitable for the GIB and other species dependent on Gujarat’s grassland ecosystems.
Another major step has been the installation of a 30-km predator-proof fence around a 15 sq km enclosure. Targeted management of nest predators is also being undertaken as part of the conservation effort, particularly because the survival of eggs and young birds is crucial for increasing the wild population.
Yadav underlined that conserving the Great Indian Bustard cannot be treated as a single-species exercise. Protecting the bird also means protecting Kachchh’s open natural ecosystems, which support a much wider range of wildlife, including the lesser florican, chinkara, desert cats, raptors and vultures.
Wild GIB Egg Intervention Brings Encouraging Result
The review also took note of an innovative conservation-breeding intervention involving eggs laid by wild Great Indian Bustards. Under the intervention, infertile eggs produced by wild GIB females were replaced with viable eggs originating from the conservation breeding programme.
The second chick produced through such an intervention has now survived for more than three months in the wild. The Environment Ministry described the development as a significant milestone, as improving breeding success and chick survival will be critical to the long-term recovery of the species.
A GIB Soft Release Centre has also been established near Naliya. The facility is expected to play an important role in the gradual acclimatisation of captive-bred birds before their eventual release into suitable habitats, subject to established conservation protocols and the availability of appropriate ecological conditions.
The approach is intended to bridge the gap between captive breeding and survival in natural landscapes. For a species as threatened as the Great Indian Bustard, each successful breeding and release intervention can contribute valuable knowledge to the larger recovery programme.
Centre Plans Five-Year National Grassland Assessment
Grassland conservation was another major issue discussed during the review meeting. The government is considering a five-year national assessment of India’s grasslands in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) and the Forest Survey of India, with support from National CAMPA.
The proposed exercise would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the country’s grassland ecosystems. It would include mapping and ecological assessment, identification of degraded landscapes, restoration planning and the development of a scientific framework for better management of Open Natural Ecosystems.
The Ministry pointed out that grasslands account for nearly 24 per cent of India’s land area, yet many of these ecosystems remain degraded and comparatively under-conserved. Gujarat’s Banni Grassland in Kachchh is among the important landscapes that could benefit from a more systematic national approach to grassland management.
The emphasis on grasslands is particularly relevant to species such as the Great Indian Bustard, whose survival is closely linked to healthy open habitats. Better mapping, restoration and management could also help balance conservation priorities with the livelihood needs of communities that depend on these landscapes.
Project Cheetah Population Rises to 52
The review in Gujarat also covered the progress of Project Cheetah, one of India’s most closely watched wildlife restoration programmes. According to the Environment Ministry, India’s cheetah population has now reached 52 individuals, originating from 29 founder cheetahs, while 49 cubs have been born in the country.
Kuno has also recorded a cub survival rate of around 68 per cent, according to the ministry. The figure is significant because the successful survival of India-born cubs is an important indicator of whether the population can eventually become self-sustaining.
The area of protected habitat available to cheetahs has meanwhile expanded to 3,428 sq km through integrated management of Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar. Increasing the availability of suitable habitat remains a key part of the programme as the cheetah population grows.
Gujarat’s Banni Grasslands have also been identified as a potential future cheetah release site, along with Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. The identification of additional landscapes is aimed at creating a broader geographic base for the species and reducing dependence on a single conservation site.
Conservation Focus Shifts Towards Entire Landscapes
The review in Kachchh brought together several strands of India’s wildlife conservation strategy, from species recovery and captive breeding to grassland restoration and landscape-level habitat management. The Great Indian Bustard programme, in particular, demonstrates why conservation cannot stop at protecting a handful of birds when the ecosystems they need are under pressure.
For Kachchh, the challenge is especially complex. The region contains ecologically valuable grasslands and open natural ecosystems while also facing pressures linked to development, invasive vegetation, grazing and infrastructure. The new Gujarat action plan seeks to address these competing pressures through a combination of habitat protection, scientific management and targeted interventions.
The review meeting was attended by senior officials from the Environment Ministry and the Gujarat Forest Department, along with representatives of the Wildlife Institute of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority. The discussions are expected to strengthen coordination between scientific institutions, forest authorities and conservation agencies as Gujarat moves ahead with its GIB and grassland restoration priorities.
