What is the Houbara bustard?

Paper:  GS III

Topic: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

For Prelims: Houbara bustard, its geographical presence and IUCN status.

For Mains: Need for conservation of endangered species, government policy to save the environment.

Why in News: The government of Pakistan has issued special permits to the Emir of Qatar and nine other members of the royal family to hunt the houbara bustard, an internationally protected bird species.

Why Pakistan is specific? 

• While Pakistanis are not allowed to hunt the bird, the government invites Arab royals to hunt it every year. This is not the first time the Qatari Prince has got such a permit.
• According to a report in Dawn, he was granted permission to hunt in late 2018 for a sum of $100,000.
• The latest person-specific permits will allow the individuals to hunt over 100 houbara bustards over a 10-day safari during the three month hunting season between November 1, 2019 – January 31, 2020.
• The hunting area is spread over the provinces of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab.

What is the Houbara bustard?

• Bustards are large, terrestrial birds that belong to several species, including some of the largest flying birds.
• The houbara bustard, which lives in arid climates, comes in two distinct species as recognised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, one residing in North Africa (Chlamydotis undulata) and the other in Asia (Chlamydotis macqueenii).
• The population of the Asian houbara bustards extends from northeast Asia, across central Asia, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula to reach the Sinai desert.
• According to the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC), roughly 33,000 Asian houbara bustards and over 22,000 of the North African houbara bustards remain today.
• After breeding in the spring, the Asian bustards migrate south to spend the winter in Pakistan, the Arabian Peninsula, and nearby Southwest Asia.
• Some Asian houbara bustards live and breed in the southern part of their ranges including parts of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan.
• According to IFHC, the main reasons for the houbara’s decline are poaching, unregulated hunting, along with degradation of its natural habitat.

The International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC)

• It is a non-profit organization supported by the Government of Abu Dhabi.
• It is one of the world’s largest species conservation projects, overseeing an international network of specialized Houbara breeding centres to support and increase wild populations of the bird in its natural habitats across entire species range.
• Abu Dhabi’s Houbara programme actually started in the 1970s. The decline in numbers of the birds in the wild was recognised by the UAE’s then President, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who initiated a project based on a vision for conservation, underpinned by principles, which remain at the heart of the programme today.
• From its beginnings in the UAE in 1977, the programme expanded to reflect the need for global cooperation; the range of the Houbara stretches from North Africa, through the Middle East and into Asia.
• In 1996, the international operations of the Houbara programme were incorporated into a single management entity, the International Fund for Houbara Conservation.

Prelims Question

Houbara bustard was recently in news, consider the following:

1. The Houbara lives in vast plains and semi-arid regions in pebbly sandy deserts with scattered vegetation cover.
2. Houbara females do not play any role in the incubation of the eggs which lasts 23 days, nor contribute to raising, defending or caring for the young.
3. The International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) is a non-profit organization, which conserve the species, supported by the Government of Saudi Arabia.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1  Only

(b) 2 and 3 Only

(c)  3 Only

(d) All of the above

Answer: A

Explanation:

Why statement 2 is incorrect: Houbara males do not play any role in the incubation of the eggs which lasts 23 days, nor contribute to raising, defending or caring for the young rather than female houbara.

Why statement 3 is incorrect:

The International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC)

• It is a non-profit organization supported by the Government of Abu Dhabi not by Saudi Arabia Government.
• It is one of the world’s largest species conservation projects, overseeing an international network of specialized Houbara breeding centres to support and increase wild populations of the bird in its natural habitats across entire species range.