Mainly a terrestrial bird, Bustard survives on traditional agricultural produces like bajara, juvar and other cereal crops as well as insects and reptiles. It’s a Schedule I bird under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and included in the Red Data list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Though its main habitat area is the Kutch Bustard Sanctuary (KBS), which is fenced and notified area spread over 202.86 hectares of land, its ecological zone is much bigger where both human and livestock population pose a ‘biotic threat’ to this omnivorous species.

According to Satish Thackar, sarpanch of Nalia village, 60 per cent of the irrigated land in his taluka now has cotton. Former Abadasa MLA Ibrahim Mandhara says that farmers coming from Punjab and Haryana, who have settled here, have changed the entire agricultural scenario in the area with their farming knowledge and use of technology. Now, even the local farmers are opting for cotton as against their traditional crops.

But experts and Forest officials see this new trend as hazardous for the GIB. “The GIB is habituated to only traditional crops as their food, cotton is exotic for them. Also, chemicals are used in cotton farming and if by mistake they eat cotton seeds, it would have adverse effect. This change in the cropping system is worrisome,” R L Meena, conservator of the Kutch forest circle told Newsline on Wednesday.

He said that since this species is also found outside the KBS, they have launched a programme to increase this ecosystem and are appealing to every new industry coming in the border district to give substitute land only in Abadasa.

Meena further said that his department is also writing to the Revenue department not to allot wasteland lying with it for agriculture purpose. He said they are even ready to buy land in Abadsa for the purpose. According to him, the department has already got 1,700 hectares land of the state government undertaking through the collector. They have also made a proposal for the transfer of 3,000 hectares of spare land of the Gujarat Energy Development Corporation.

He said these steps were undertaken as per the decisions taken during a special workshop held in Delhi last year for preparing a roadmap for the conservation of Bustards in the country.