Examine the effectiveness of the Species Recovery Programme under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme in reversing the decline of India's critically endangered species.

The Species Recovery Programme (SRP) is a component of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme–Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH). Under it, the Centre gives States money and technical help for targeted action on critically endangered species [1]. The scheme now covers 24 species [2]. The record so far shows that the SRP can stop a decline, but it has not yet clearly reversed one.

Where it delivers

• Focused funding with a scientific lead: the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) project received ₹33.85 crore for five years, with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) as technical lead [1].
• Back-up captive population built: the breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra (Rajasthan) now hold 97 GIBs, 57 of them bred in captivity [3].
• Move to rewilding: in October 2026, two captive-bred males were released into Desert National Park, and 11 more birds are set aside for release [3].
• Integrated design: breeding is combined with habitat management, research and incentives for landowners [4].

Where it falls short

• Wild numbers still critical: the GIB remains Critically Endangered, with about 250 birds left in isolated patches of grassland [5]. Success in captivity is not yet recovery in the wild.
• Threats persist: hunting, disturbance and habitat fragmentation caused the decline [5]. Released birds go back into the same landscape.
• Short funding cycles: five-year budgets [1] are much shorter than recovery takes. The Iberian lynx needed two decades to grow from 62 to 648 mature individuals (2001–2022) before IUCN moved it down to a lower threat category [6].
• Funds spread thin: one scheme component serves 24 species [2], so few get the attention the GIB gets.
• Reliance on wild eggs: 40 of the captive birds came from eggs collected in the wild [3]. That is a costly trade-off for such a small wild population.

Way forward

• Measure what matters: judge success by breeding adults counted in the wild, the test IUCN applied to the lynx [6].
• Restore the whole system: adapt the lynx model of restoring prey and habitat, moving animals between groups to widen genetic diversity, and reducing human-caused deaths [6] through grassland restoration.
• Long-term funding: 15–20-year commitments, reviewed every five years.
• Communities as partners: give herders and farmers who share bustard habitat incentives to protect it [4].

The SRP has taken India's flagship species from managing their loss to the first steps of recovery. However, gains in captivity have not yet produced growing wild populations. Long-term funding, habitat restoration and community care of the land can turn it into a real reversal, in line with Article 48A and SDG 15 (Life on Land).