Wildlife Institute of India to submit plan to protect fauna around Jewar airport

The Wildlife Institute of India has decided to draw up and submit a conservation plan that will aim at protecting wildlife species and their natural habitat that

The Wildlife Institute of India has decided to draw up and submit a conservation plan that will aim at protecting wildlife species and their natural habitat that will be affected due to the upcoming Noida International Greenfield Airport at Jewar.

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The conservation plan will have proposals on individual species — mainly on Sarus crane, blackbucks and Nilgai, due to their abundance — that exist in and around the proposed 5,000 acres site for the airport. These species rely on a number of wetlands around the proposed site for food and water for their survival and the plan will aim at mitigating the impact, scientists said.

“There is a small population of blackbucks, Nilgai and Sarus cranes in the area. The conservation plan that we will be submitting in the next ten days has been made to protect the wildlife species that will be affected due to the airport project. The plan will minimise the impact on the species and will be shared with all the concerned departments,” said Bilal Habib, scientist of WII who is also the head of the conservation plan team.

He points out that a number of species live on agriculture fields and not in the protected area or the notified forest land. The report will also consider aspects like flight safety, given the risk of birds coming inside the operational area of the airport and damaging aircrafts.

“We have worked on all aspects keeping individual species in mind. The idea is not just to reduce the impact on the wildlife, but also on human lives. The plan thus will include all options be it relocation or rehabilitation or conservation of a particular species within that area,’ said Habib.

The Noida International Greenfield airport project is spread across 5,000 hectares that falls in 39 villages near Jewar along Yamuna Expressway— that connects Greater Noida with Agra. Earlier the project’s nodal agency, Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), has signed a memorandum of understating with WII on August 30, 2019, for the preparation of a conservation plan that is crucial for obtaining environment clearance. The clearance for the project has already been granted, but the WII has been tasked to chalk out a mitigation plan to reduce impact on wildlife and the ecology , especially in a 10-km radius or the area of influence of the project site.

An inception report by WII last year observed several herds of blackbucks, Nilgai and flocks of Sarus crane around the proposed site. During the inception report, several herds of blackbucks —with the largest having 29 members — along with other mammals, including jackal and jungle cats, several flocks of Sarus cranes, and over 60 other bird species including endangered Egyptian vulture and Indian peafowls were observed.

The blackbuck, an antelope species, is listed under Schedule-1 of Wildlife Protection Act-1972, while the Nilgai, also an antelope, is protected under schedule-3 of WPA-1972.

The sarus crane (schedule-4 of WPA) is categorised as a vulnerable species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification. It is the state bird of UP and parts of western UP, especially areas around Etawah and Mainpuri, are among the bird’s largest habitat in the world. Surajpur and Dhanauri are two rich wetlands close to Jewar and both are unprotected.