🗞️ Why in News Project GIB has reached its rewilding phase. On 3 October 2026, during Wildlife Week, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma (by video) initiated the process for the first release of two captive-bred Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) from a soft-release facility into an enclosure in the Desert National Park (DNP), Jaisalmer, scheduled for 4 October. They also inaugurated a new Rewilding Aviary at Ramdevra.
What Happens on 4 October
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birds | Two captive-bred GIBs (the Rajasthan Forest Department said two male chicks aged four to six months), radio-tagged to track movement, behaviour, habitat use and survival |
| Site | An enclosure inside the Desert National Park, Jaisalmer; the Rajasthan government had announced releases at Ramdevra (3 October) and Sudasari (4 October) |
| Why now | Timed with the end of the monsoon, when the insect load in DNP grasslands helps young birds feed |
| Scale | A pilot: the Ministry says lessons will “progressively refine the protocols for subsequent releases”; the State had readied 10 birds trained in a rewilding tunnel |
| Risk | Captive-bred bustards released into the wild survive at only 10 to 30 per cent a year, by project estimates; predators include raptors and desert foxes |
The new aviary. The Rewilding Aviary at Ramdevra measures 160 m x 64 m x 14 m, a pillar-less structure built by the Rajasthan Forest Department through the Rajasthan State Road Development and Construction Corporation (RSRDC) at a sanctioned Rs 9.25 crore from the State. It gives captive-bred birds unobstructed space to build flight muscles and natural behaviour before release.
A Decade of Conservation Breeding
| Figure | Detail (Ministry of Environment, 3 October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Birds at Sam and Ramdevra centres | 97: 40 hatched from wild-laid eggs, 57 bred in captivity |
| Use | 86 kept for captive reproduction; 11 earmarked for release |
| Live chicks from captive breeding | 24 in 2025, 29 in 2026 |
| “Jumpstart” method | Captive-laid eggs placed in wild nests, accepted by incubating females: 6 chicks in Rajasthan, 2 in Gujarat |
| Habitat work | About 200 sq km of fenced grassland enclosures inside DNP, by the Ministry’s count (the Indian Express puts the release enclosures at 15 to 20 sq km); WII telemetry shows these are the prime breeding habitat |
Who runs it. The Bustard Recovery Programme is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), with technical collaboration from the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (Abu Dhabi) and funding from National CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund). Rajasthan calls its State effort Project GIB, launched in 2013. The first Conservation Breeding Centre was set up at Sam in 2018-19 and the second at Ramdevra (Pokhran) in 2022; artificial incubation of wild-collected eggs began in 2019. Gujarat has a soft-release and conservation facility at Naliya, Kutch.
The Species
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Ardeotis nigriceps; locally Godawan; State bird of Rajasthan |
| Status | IUCN Critically Endangered; Schedule I, Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972; CITES Appendix I; CMS Appendix I |
| Habitat | Arid and semi-arid grasslands; the Thar (Jaisalmer: DNP and Pokhran), with small numbers in Kutch (Gujarat), Maharashtra and Karnataka |
| Population | Rajasthan 130 (plus or minus 20); about 5 to 6 birds across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka (2024-25 survey, released July 2026); at least 40 birds in the northern DNP around the release sites |
| Biology | One of the heaviest flying birds; lays usually one egg every one to two years, so recovery is slow |
| Threats | Collision with overhead power lines from renewable energy projects, habitat loss, predation of eggs and chicks, free-ranging dogs |
The Supreme Court’s role (background). In M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India, the Court in April 2021 ordered power lines in GIB habitat to go underground. On 21 March 2024 a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud modified that order, set up an Expert Committee to decide where undergrounding is feasible, and recognised a right against the adverse effects of climate change under Articles 14 and 21. The Ministry says conservation actions are “guided by the Judgement of the Supreme Court”, acting on the Expert Committee’s recommendations; lines outside the DNP are to be buried by December 2027.
Why It Matters
1. From breeding to rewilding. Conservation breeding was insurance against extinction; the test of success is whether released birds survive, breed and join the wild flock. The pilot moves the programme from captive numbers to wild outcomes.
2. An umbrella species. The Minister described the GIB as the umbrella species of the Thar: protecting its grasslands also protects land degradation neutrality, a Central Asian Flyway stopover for migratory birds, and the livelihoods and ecotourism of desert communities.
3. The power-line trade-off remains. Western Rajasthan is also India’s largest solar and wind belt. Released birds will fly into a landscape where undergrounding beyond the DNP is still due by December 2027.
4. Low survival is expected. Globally, releases of captive-bred bustards (the houbara programmes in the Gulf and North Africa) took years of refinement. A 10 to 30 per cent annual survival rate is a reason for pilots, not against them.
UPSC Relevance
GS Paper 3. Conservation; environmental impact assessment; species recovery programmes; renewable energy versus biodiversity.
A question worth preparing. “Captive breeding buys time; only habitat secures a species.” Discuss with reference to the Great Indian Bustard recovery programme and the Supreme Court’s 2024 judgment on power lines in the Thar. (250 words)
The Mains framing. Set out the species’ status and threats, the three-phase recovery design (conservation breeding, habitat restoration, rewilding), the Court’s balancing of climate commitments and biodiversity, and a way forward: undergrounding on schedule, bird diverters, grassland protection outside protected areas, community stewardship.
📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia
Prelims, statement-ready facts:
- Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps): IUCN Critically Endangered; Schedule I WPA 1972; CITES Appendix I; CMS Appendix I; State bird of Rajasthan.
- Project GIB (Rajasthan) since 2013; breeding centres at Sam (2018-19) and Ramdevra (2022), Jaisalmer; run with WII and MoEFCC, funded by National CAMPA.
- As of 3 October 2026: 97 birds in captivity (40 from wild eggs, 57 captive-bred); 11 earmarked for release.
- First release of two captive-bred birds in the DNP scheduled for 4 October 2026, radio-tagged.
- Supreme Court, M.K. Ranjitsinh (21 March 2024): Expert Committee on power lines; right against adverse effects of climate change under Articles 14 and 21.
- Wild population: about 130 in Rajasthan (2024-25 survey); “jumpstart” places captive eggs in wild nests (6 chicks Rajasthan, 2 Gujarat).
Prelims, the traps:
- The GIB is Critically Endangered, not Endangered; the Lesser Florican and Bengal Florican are also Critically Endangered, while MacQueen’s Bustard is Vulnerable.
- Desert National Park is in Jaisalmer and Barmer, Rajasthan; Naliya (Kutch) is Gujarat’s GIB site, not a national park.
Mains, arguments and keywords:
- Umbrella species; conservation breeding versus rewilding; soft release; power-line mortality; bird diverters; grassland as “wasteland” policy failure.
Interview, be ready for:
- “Should solar lines in the Thar go underground at huge cost for 130 birds?” Yes where the Expert Committee finds it feasible; elsewhere diverters and routing; extinction is irreversible, cost is not.
Sources: PIB, Ministry of Environment, 3 October 2026, The Indian Express, 3 October 2026, Free Press Journal on the Rajasthan release plan, Supreme Court Observer, M.K. Ranjitsinh
Source: Project GIB First Release: Captive-Bred Bustards Return to Thar — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs
