WCC 2020 Rec 089 - Activity Report

The Corbett Foundation held training sessions for the forest department personnel in Kutch, Gujarat for conducting surveys of Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indicus).

The Corbett Foundation held 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.

Raise awareness among the local communities and at the national level through media reports, school and community sensitisation programmes, provided inputs for media articles to raise awareness on bustard conservation. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/great-indian-bustards-recovery-conservation-9430708/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6r7UQeRrb8 https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/supreme-court-asks-govt-to-save-endangered-great-indian-bustard-1.9253040 https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2024/03/19/lgd35-sc-bustard.html

TCF has successfully completed grassland restoration project over 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. Based on the success of this work, TCF has secured further funding to implement similar work over 400 acres in this landscape. The work for this has begun in 2024.

The Corbett Foundation was successful in raising the following project grants for its bustard conservation work:
1. HCLTech Foundation Grant for grassland restoration work
2. Bombay Gowrakshak Trust Grant for grassland restoration work

The Corbett Foundation was one of the petitioners in a Public Interest Litigation filed 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. During the course of hearing, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has formed a 7-member committee to suggest measures for the conservation of Great Indian Bustard. The Corbett Foundation team member Dr. Devesh Gadhavi, who is also the Member of IUCN SSC Bustard Specialist Group, was appointed as a member of this supreme court-appointed committee. He has played a crucial role in the conservation of bustards and bustard habitat from powerline infrastructure that has proved to cause significant deaths of bustards due to collisions with power lines. The Corbett Foundation's Director Mr. Kedar Gore is a part of the Technical Working Group of the India Biodiversity Business Initiative of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for the conservation of Great Indian Bustard. SOPs / manuals would be developed for companies to take part in bustard conservation efforts.

1. The Corbett Foundation has collaborated with Gujarat Forest Department as the technical expert in deploying satellite-transmitters on Critically Endangered Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indicus). 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. More birds have been tagged and their movements monitored. The relevant papers have been published and enlisted below.
2. The Corbett Foundation has identified the powerlines responsible for the high mortality of different bird species in Abdasa region of Kutch district. 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. The Corbett Foundation 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 and a report will be published in 2024.