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WCC 2020 Res 001 - Activity Report

General Information
IUCN Constituent: 
The Corbett Foundation
IUCN Constituent type: 
IUCN Member
Period covered: 
2022
Geographic scope: 
South and East Asia
Country/Territory: 
India
In implementing this Resolution your organization has worked/consulted with...
IUCN Members: 
Bombay Natural History Society ( BNHS ) / India
Wildlife Institute of India ( WII ) / India
Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change / India
IUCN Commissions: 
IUCN Species Survival Commission 2021-2025 (SSC)
IUCN Secretariat: 
No
Other non-IUCN related organisations: 
Ministry of Power, Renewable Energy Companies, Rajasthan Forest Department, Gujarat Forest Department, Maharashtra Forest Department, Sanctuary Nature Foundation, The Habitats Trust, NatWest India Foundation
Implementation
Indicate and briefly describe any actions that have been carried out to implement this Resolution: 
ActionDescriptionStatus
Capacity-buildingCoordinated several training sessions for Gujarat Forest Department personnel. Resource persons from international agencies that have expertise in putting satellite tags on Great Bustards were held. Moreover, several virtual meetings were held to discuss the most appropriate quality and design of the bird diverters to be installed on the powerlines within GIB landscape in Gujarat and Rajasthan states of India. Completed
Convene stakeholders/NetworkingTCF held several meetings with the local stakeholders (Gujarat Forest Department, Collector, Air Force Station at Naliya, Gram Panchayat Members, power companies and villagers) to discuss the issues such as grassland habitat restoration, organic farming in GIB landscape, stall-feeding of livestock and mitigating power lines through undergrounding and/or installing bird diverters. On-going
Education/Communication/Raising awarenessRaised awareness among the local communities and at the national level through media reports, school and community sensitisation programmes, wrote many popular articles at the regional and national media. On-going
Field activitiesDevelopment and restoration of 55-acre community grazing land in Kutch, Gujarat - Invasive species have been removed (uprooted) to develop the degraded land into a grassland. The indigenous and edible grass species suitable for bustards have been sowed. The work is being carried out by involving the local village community, and a model of controlled and rotational grazing is being practised. Other activities like stall-feeding of livestock and the development of grass seed-bank are also being done through active participation and ownership of the local community. The area is very much within the 'priority' habitat of Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican. 5 different predator-proof exclosures (~10 acres each) have been developed under this activity. The enthusiasm and commitment of villagers from Kanakpar are the strengths of this entire work. TCF team is currently evaluating the impact of this activity on local biodiversity. Organic Farming: With the funding support of The Habitats Trust, TCF worked with 10 farmers who cultivated groundnut in their privately owned agriculture fields without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides, in an organic way. ~6000 kg of yield was sold at a higher rate within a week of the harvesting. On-going
FundraisingTCF was successful in raising the following project grants for its GIB conservation work: 1. Strategic Partnership grant of The Habitats Trust for the conservation of Great Indian Bustard in Kutch, Gujarat 2. Developing a Great Indian Bustard conservation plan for the state of Maharashtra 3. Understanding the socio-economic dynamics of the local communities in and around the GIB habitat near Sam, RajasthanOn-going
Policy influencing/advocacyFiled a Public Interest Litigation in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India on the conservation of Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican, with a particular emphasis on mitigating the threats of power lines passing through bustard habitats in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. In April 2021, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India passed a landmark order to underground the power lines that pass through identified Great Indian Bustard (GIB) habitats in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The order came during the hearing of a PIL filed by Dr. M. K. Ranjitsinh, Piraram Bishnoi, Santosh Martin, Navinbhai Bapat and The Corbett Foundation. The petitioners have requested the Hon’ble Supreme Court to take necessary decisions for the conservation of GIB (and Lesser Florican) in the country. The power lines passing through the bustard habitat are a proven fatal threat to the GIB, and are also one of the prime reasons behind the steep decline in the GIB population in the past decade. To protect the species from such a threat, the petitioners have requested the underground placement of power lines in critical bustard habitats. In addition to this, habitat protection and its proper management, control over disturbance caused by free-ranging dogs, the conservation breeding programme of GIB, and a halt to any further development/expansion of wind farms and solar parks in the bustard habitat have also been requested. The Supreme Court has appointed a 3-member committee to monitor and instruct how and where to underground the high-voltage lines. Dr. Rahul Rawat, Scientist at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Sutirtha Dutta, Scientist at Wildlife Institute of India, and Dr. Devesh Gadhavi, Deputy Director of The Corbett Foundation, have been appointed as the Members of this Committee.On-going
Scientific/technical activities1. Collaborated with Gujarat Forest Department as the technical expert in putting satellite and GPS tags on Critically Endangered Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indicus), a resident and endemic bustard species, in Gujarat. In Sept 2020, a male and a female florican were fitted with solar-powered satellite tags. This was the first-ever tagging of a female lesser florican. A scientific paper has been published of this research in JBNHS that has highlighted the threat of power line collision in the case of lesser florican too. The tagged female, unfortunately, collided with a 33kv power line in Maharashtra on her return migratory journey from Telangana. The paper is available at https://doi.org/10.17087/jbnhs/2021/v118/167575 By the year 2022, total 12 Lesser Floricans have been tagged. 2. A collaborative study of The Corbett Foundation (TCF) and Wildlife Insititute of India says that not just the GIB but ~30,000 birds die annually due to powerline collision in Abdasa taluka of Kutch district, Gujarat. TCF has identified the powerlines responsible for the high mortality of different bird species. It was essential to reduce the bird mortality from these powerlines until they are undergrounded, as per the Hon'ble Supreme Court's order. With the valuable support of The Habitats Trust's Strategic Partnership Grant (THTSPG) - 2020, TCF has installed around 800 bird diverters on two powerlines. Total four types of diverters have been installed on 11 kV and 66 kV powerlines, passing through important bird habitats in Kutch, Gujarat. The method suggested by WII and international agencies have been followed for the scientific installation to make it more effective. TCF team is conducting a scientific study to check the impact of such bird diverters on the bird mortality. 3. TCF is working on mapping the 'revenue wastelands' suitable for Great Indian Bustard in the state of Maharashtra in collaboration with the Maharashtra Forest Department. The project work is still on. On-going
Please report on the result /achievement of the actions taken: 
1. Capacity-building: Owing to collaborative efforts with the Government of Gujarat, so far TCF team, in collaboration with the Gujarat Forest Department, has succeeded in tagging 12 Lesser Floricans in two years. This is possibly the biggest attempt by any single team. The preliminary data is already published and the team is collecting the other data to come up with scientific publications. This work will fill the gap of lacking information of the non-breeding grounds of the species. 2. Convene stakeholder/networking: Collaborative efforts of petitioners and coordination with power agencies and local administrative offices have given fruitful results. ~10 km of powerline has been made underground in Abdasa, Kutch Gujarat. More work is in progress. Moreover, the grassland development work in Kanakpar village has emerged as a model. Various government officers, villagers, and politicians are visiting this site and promoting it to be replicated in the other villages as well. 3. Education/Awareness: More than 50 school awareness programs have been conducted, and the message of grassland conservation has been conveyed to the students and villagers. Various popular articles and
What challenges have you encountered in implementing this Resolution and what measures have you taken to overcome them?: 
Unlike big cats the availbility of fund for the conservation work in bustard landscape is very limited. Moreover, COVID-19 pandemic has also affected overall disbursement of fund for the wildlife conservation. Slow implementation of Hon'ble Supreme Court's order is also a threat to the fast vanishing species like bustard.
Identify and briefly describe what future actions are planned for the implementation of this Resolution: 
Future ActionDescription
Education/Communication/Raising awarenessTCF will develop new awareness material in the form of print and audio-visual contents
Field activitiesTCF plans to expand the area of grassland plots developed at Kanakpar, depending on funding support. There is a scope to expand it to 200 acres of area. The activities with farmers to grow bustard-friendly crop without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides can also be expanded provided there is funding support.
FundraisingTCF will collaborate with like-minded agencies and try to get more funds for the bustard conservation-related activities
Policy influencing/advocacyTCF will continue providing technical inputs for the PIL filed in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. TCF will also continue publishing popular articles in national, regional and local media to make more people aware of the ground realities and issues faced by the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) and Lesser Floricans
Scientific/technical activitiesTCF will also continue monitoring the bustard population (GIB and Lesser Florican) in the Kutch landscape and come up with a few scientific publications from the region. TCF will also continue to scientifically study the impact of bird diverters on bird-mortality
Additional Information