"Ex-situ conservation is a necessary but insufficient condition for species recovery." Discuss with reference to India's Great Indian Bustard programme.

Ex-situ conservation means protecting a species outside its natural habitat, for example through captive breeding. The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is Critically Endangered [2], and only about 150 birds remain in the wild [3]. India's GIB programme shows that captive breeding can prevent extinction, but it cannot bring the species back on its own.

Why ex-situ conservation is necessary

• Insurance against extinction: The breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra (Jaisalmer) are run by MoEFCC, the Rajasthan Forest Department and WII with National CAMPA funds. They now hold 97 birds, and 57 of these were bred in captivity [1].
• Technical capacity: The International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) provides technical support. Under the "jumpstart" method, captive-laid eggs are placed in wild nests. This has produced chicks in Rajasthan (6) and Gujarat (2) [1].
• A source for restocking: On 4 October 2026, the first two males were released at Sam, Desert National Park (DNP). Nine more birds are earmarked for release [1].

Why it is insufficient

• The threat persists: WII's landscape study identifies power-line collisions as a leading cause of GIB deaths [4]. Released birds return to the same danger. Without removing it, each release only refills a population that keeps losing birds.
• Weaker legal protection: In 2021 the Supreme Court restricted overhead lines across about 99,000 sq km. In M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2024), it modified that order because underground cables cost 4 to 20 times more, and it set up an Expert Committee [2].
• Captive numbers are not recovery: Only 11 of the 97 birds are marked for release [1]. No survival data on released birds has been published yet.

Way forward

• Put power lines underground inside WII's 13,663 sq km priority area [2], and fit bird diverters elsewhere.
• Use DNP's ~200 sq km of fenced grasslands as a soft-release stage, with telemetry tracking [1].

Breeding produces birds, but only safe habitat lets them survive. The programme's five pillars must move together: breeding, habitat management, threat mitigation, habitat restoration and community engagement [1]. If they do, the GIB can serve as a model that meets both Article 21's environmental guarantee and SDG 15. Ex-situ conservation is the foundation of recovery, and in-situ protection must complete it.