Forest Department-WII mega Great Indian Bustard survey next month
NAGPUR: The Maharashtra Forest Department (MFD) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, will launch a major survey in the state to assess status of critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB).
WII has prepared a landscape map of 280 grids with each grid of 15×15 km. The survey will cover over 60,000 sqkm area in the entire state where there was record of GIBs. However, number of districts to be covered will depend on number of volunteers.
Official sources said Nagpur, Chandrapur, Solapur, Aurangabad, Nashik, and Ahmednagar districts will be taken up on top priority.
“This is for the first time such a comprehensive survey will be launched from September 25. The WII has laid grids where survey will be done with the help of vehicles. Views of farmers and locals will be recorded about the status of the birds,” said divisional forest officer (wildlife) GK Vashishtha.
“We plan to survey 25 probable GIB sites. We are in process of selecting 30 volunteers for the project who will launch the survey separately along with our researchers,” said WII’s project coordinator Shaheer Khan.
GIB is a critically endangered species and endemic to the Indian sub-continent. From thousands its number has dwindled to globally around 300 birds in the wild in fragmented habitat in the states of Rajasthan (shared with Pakistan), Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka.
The largest population of 100-125 birds exists in Jaisalmer, Barmer, and Bikaner districts of Rajasthan. All the remaining populations number less than 35 birds each.
In Maharashtra, GIBs have been recorded in Nannaj in Solapur, Warora in Chandrapur and Umred in Nagpur districts. However, owing to habitat destruction the birds have been pushed to extinction here too.
“As global change leads to increasingly rapid habitat alteration in land use pattern and exponential human disturbance, it possesses a great challenge to conserve this magnificent bird of the grassland ecosystem,” said Khan.
Khan added GIB is being pushed to extinction due to modernization of agricultural practices and rapid infrastructural developments. In this ever changing scenario, it is of great importance to assess the status of the remaining wild population and its habitat.
Vashishtha said till now the department used to conduct an annual GIB estimation exercise in August or September to know about its status. However, this is for the first time that such a big field survey is being launched.
Sources said the survey project is part of the ministry of environment, forest & climate change (MoEFCC) & WII, who have joined hands for setting up GIB breeding centre in Gujarat.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/forest-dept-wii-mega-gib-survey-next-month/articleshow/60298331.cms
