International protection for Great Indian Bustard, Bengal Florican and Asian Elephant
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Environment
- Published
22nd Feb, 2020
-
-
Context
- India’s proposal to include Great Indian Bustard, Asian Elephant and Bengal Florican in Appendix I of UN Convention on migratory species was unanimously accepted at the ongoing thirteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) in Gandhinagar.
-
About Asian Elephants
- The Asian elephant is the largest land mammal on the Asian continent. They inhabit dry to wet forest and grassland habitats in 13 range countries spanning South and Southeast Asia.
- While they have preferred forage plants, Asian elephants have adapted to surviving on resources that vary based on the area.
- Asian elephants are extremely sociable, forming groups of six to seven related females that are led by the oldest female, the matriarch. In Asia, elephant herd sizes are significantly smaller than those of savannah elephants in Africa.
- India is the natural home of largest population of mainland Asian elephant/Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus).
-
Why do they need this inclusion?
- Mainland Asian elephants/Indian elephants migrate over long distances in search of food and shelter, across States and Countries.
- Some elephants are resident while others migrate regularly in annual migration cycles; proportion of resident and migratory populations depends upon, size of regional populations, as well as on extent, degradation and fragmentation of their habitats.
- The challenges confronting Asian elephant conservation in most elephant Range States are habitat loss and fragmentation, human elephant conflict, and poaching and illegal trade of elephants.
- The greatest threats to Asian elephants are habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation; illegal killing (e.g. for their ivory and other products or in retaliation for human-elephant conflicts); and the loss of genetic viability resulting from small population size and isolation. As a result, Asian elephants now occur on only about 10% of their historical range and many of the remaining populations are both small and isolated.
-
How the inclusion will help?
- Placing Indian elephant in Schedule I of the CMS Convention, will fulfil natural urge of migration of Indian elephant across India’s borders and back safely and thereby promote conservation of this endangered species for our future generations.
- Intermixing of smaller sub populations in Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar and widen the gene base of these populations.
- It will also help to reduce human elephant conflicts in many parts of its migratory routes.
-
What has been done in India to protect them?
- India has declared Indian elephant as National Heritage Animal which is also provided the highest degree of legal protection by listing it in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- They are also included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
- Project Elephant (PE), a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched in February 1992 to provide financial and technical support to major elephant bearing States in the country for protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors.
- Project Elephant has declared 24 elephant reserves in 12 states to protect elephant populations in the wild and develop their habitat.
-
About Great Indian Bustard
- The Great Indian Bustard is a Critically Endangered species with a small population of about 100–150 individuals that is largely restricted to Thar desert in Rajasthan, India.
- As its name suggests it is found in India, and is the largest bird within this range; with males standing at well over a metre in height.
-
Why do they need this inclusion?
- The species has disappeared from 90% of this range; their population has reduced by 90% within 50 years (six generations); and their threats are expected to increase in future.
- The population of Great Indian Bustard, a tall bird with a wingspan of over two metres, declined from an estimated 1,260 in 1969 to around 150 in 2018.
- Lesser Florican, the smallest bird in the bustard family also known as ‘Likh’ or ‘Kharmore’, followed the same pattern with its numbers declining from 3,530 in 1999 to less than 700 in 2018.
-
How the inclusion will help?
- Inclusion of the species in Appendix I of CMS will aide in transboundary conservation efforts facilitated by International conservation bodies and existing international laws and agreement.
- The move will aide in protection of the species against hunting and other human induced mortality risks.
-
What has been done in India to protect them?
- In 2012 the Indian government launched Project Bustard, a national conservation program to protect the great Indian bustard, along with the Bengal florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis), the lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus), and their habitats from further declines.
- The program was modeled after Project Tiger, a massive national effort initiated in the early 1970s to protect the tigers of India and their habitat.
-
About Bengal Florican
- Bengal Florican is the only member of its genus Houbaropsis, and is the rarest member of the Bustard Order, Ortidiformes.
- Two thirds of the global population breeds in the floodplain of the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia; they migrate up to 100km annually to escape the floodwaters in the non-breeding season.
- Thousands of kilometres away in Nepal and India, there exists another population of the same species which occupies the duars and terai grasslands along the base of the Himalayas.
-
Why do they need this inclusion?
- The Bengal Florican an iconic, critically endangered species of topmost conservation priority, exhibits transboundary movements, and its migration exposes it to threats such as land use changes, collision with power transmission line at boundary area of India-Nepal and probable power-line collisions.
- Populations have declined as a result of habitat loss, hunting and the species no longer breeds outside Protected Areas in the Indian subcontinent, except in a few areas of Assam.
- The population of Bengal Florican is not more than 350 birds in India.
-
How the inclusion will help?
- Inclusion of the species in Appendix I of CMS will aid in transboundary conservation efforts facilitated by International conservation bodies and existing international laws and agreement.
-
What has been done in India to protect them?
- The Bengal Florican is listed in the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act. It was also listed in National Wildlife Action Plan 2002-2016.
- The Project Bustard is an Indian initiative for strengthening conservation of Great Indian Bustard, Bengal Florican and Lesser Florican and the threatened grassland habitat.
- It aims to promote a knowledge-based and adaptive conservation framework that fully involves the local communities, who inhabits adjacent to the Bengal Florican’s habitat, in conservation efforts.
- Bengal Florican has been identified as one of the species for recovery programme under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (Centrally Sponsored Scheme) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, 2009.
Quick Recap
- Great Indian Bustard, Asian Elephant and Bengal Florican will be included in Appendix I of UN Convention on migratory species.
- Asian Elephants—largest land mammal on the Asian continent—follow matriarch.
- Asian Elephants is included in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Appendix I of CITES.
- Project Elephant (PE)—centrally sponsored scheme—launched in February 1992-- declared 24 elephant reserves in 12 states to protect Asian Elephants.
- Great Indian Bustard—Critically Endangered—largely restricted to Thar desert in Rajasthan.
- Great Indian Bustard—Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972)—Appendix I of CITES—State bird of Rajasthan.
- Lesser Florican—smallest bird in the bustard family—also known as ‘Likh’ or ‘Kharmore’.
- Project Bustard—launched in 2012—to protect great Indian bustard, Bengal florican and the lesser florican.
- Bengal Florican—only member of its genus Houbaropsis— rarest member of the Bustard Order, Ortidiformes—critically endangered.
- Bengal Florican no longer breeds outside Protected Areas in the Indian subcontinent.
- Bengal Florican included in recovery programme under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats
