JAISALMER: The first-ever “Godawan Day” dedicated to the critically endangered Schedule-I wildlife species, the Great Indian Bustard (Godawan), will be celebrated in Jaisalmer on today May 21 in the presence of Rajasthan’s Minister of State for Forest and Environment, Sanjay Sharma. The Rajasthan Forest Department has started extensive preparations for the state-level event.On May 21, 1982, the Governor of Rajasthan had officially declared the Great Indian Bustard, locally known as “Godawan,” as the State Bird of Rajasthan. The decision was taken at a time when the state had begun recognizing the alarming decline in the bird’s population and the urgent need for its conservation. In this context, the Rajasthan Government had announced in the Assembly last year that May 21 would be observed annually as “Godawan Day.” As part of this initiative, the first Godawan Day will now be celebrated in Jaisalmer on today May 21.On Thursday morning, Minister Sanjay Sharma will unveil statues of the Great Indian Bustard in the Sudasari region and visit the GIB breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra to review the activities of the conservation breeding programme. He will also participate in a special event at Utkarsh Bhawan in Jaisalmer city.Once widely found across India’s grasslands and arid regions, the Great Indian Bustard has gradually disappeared from most of its traditional habitats due to habitat destruction, infrastructure expansion, and degradation of open grasslands. Over the decades, the situation continued to worsen.To create awareness and strengthen conservation efforts, Rajasthan had declared the bird as its State Bird on May 21, 1982. By 2011, the global population of the Great Indian Bustard had declined to fewer than 300 individuals, leading the IUCN to classify it as a “Critically Endangered” species. Continuous fragmentation of grasslands, collisions with high-tension power lines, rapid land-use changes, and increasing human pressure pushed the species to the brink of extinction. Eventually, Rajasthan, especially the Thar Desert, emerged as its last major stronghold.Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the Rajasthan Government formally launched “Project Great Indian Bustard (Godawan)” on June 5, 2013. Under the project, large-scale conservation measures were initiated to protect both the bird and its fragile grassland habitat. Local communities were made important stakeholders in conservation efforts. The Rajasthan Forest Department introduced several innovative initiatives, including community participation, training youth as nature guides, and strengthening grassroots conservation awareness.A major milestone in conservation efforts came in 2019, when a scientific conservation breeding programme was launched in the Sam region of Jaisalmer through a tripartite collaboration between the Rajasthan Forest Department, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). Today, this programme is considered the biggest hope for saving the species from extinction.Deputy Conservator of Forests (Desert National Park), B. M. Gupta, said preparations for the first Godawan Day celebrations have already begun in Jaisalmer. As part of the programme, quiz competitions, speech contests, painting competitions, and essay-writing events were organized at Utkarsh Jain Bhawan, Malka Prol, Jaisalmer under the direction of the Deputy Conservator of Forests (Wildlife).He said the Rajasthan Government had announced in the Assembly in March 2025 that May 21 would be observed annually as Godawan Day. However, last year’s celebrations could not be held due to Operation Sindoor. This year, the first state-level Godawan Day celebration will finally take place in Jaisalmer under the chief guestship of Forest Minister Sanjay Sharma.According to officials, the objective of celebrating Godawan Day is to increase awareness about the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard. The Godawan is considered the pride of Rajasthan and one of the rarest bird species in the world, making public participation crucial for its survival. The event will now be organized every year.Dr Sumit Dookia, Sr. Wildlife Biologist and Associate Professor, GGS Indraprastha University Delhi said the demand for a dedicated “Godawan Day” had existed among wildlife lovers for a long time. He expressed happiness that May 21 would finally be celebrated as Godawan Day.He stated that the ERDS Foundation had recently proposed the date with strong justification, as May 21, 1982, was the day the Great Indian Bustard was declared Rajasthan’s State Bird. At present, a good population of GIBs remains under protection through the joint conservation project of the Rajasthan Forest Department, WII, and MoEFCC. He emphasized that now all stakeholders must work together at the grassroots level to ensure the species survives.Dr. Dookia further said that as Rajasthan prepares to celebrate “Great Indian Bustard Day” on May 21, scientists, conservationists, and local communities are increasingly coming together to save one of India’s rarest birds. The day, celebrated in honour of Rajasthan’s State Bird, has now become a symbol of the broader struggle to protect India’s rapidly vanishing grassland ecosystems.He added that the combined efforts of the Conservation Breeding Project and the positive participation of local communities have strengthened hopes of saving the Great Indian Bustard from extinction. However, challenges remain severe. According to the Rajasthan Forest Department’s recent waterhole census, only 41 Great Indian Bustards were recorded in the wild, highlighting the species’ fragile future. Conservationists also continue to express concern over the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure and overhead power lines in desert regions, as collisions with these lines have become one of the leading causes of Godawan deaths.
