Sarus Crane Conservation Project

Project Animal(s) : Sarus Crane
Project Category : Birds
Project Region : Asia
Project Type : Conservation
Project URL : http://www.wti.org.in/projects/sarus-crane-conservation-project/
Project is timebound? : No

The Sarus Crane is able to dance for joy in the agricultural flatlands of eastern Uttar Pradesh is thanks in no small measure to the Sarus Crane Conservation Project, run across 10 districts of the state by WTI in collaboration with Tata Trusts and with support from the UP Forest Department. The project works through local volunteers (called ‘Sarus Mitra’ or Friends of the Sarus), Tata Trust partner NGOs working in the area, and Sarus Protection Committees (SPCs) formed from village communities that have, without financial inducement, stepped forward to conserve this iconic bird and the wetlands that sustain it.

Uttar Pradesh is a stronghold of the sarus crane, India’s only resident breeding crane and the world’s tallest flying bird. There is an estimated population of over 13,000 individuals here and the sarus has been designated the official State Bird. Yet most of this population, 73 per cent according to a Wildlife Institute of India survey, is concentrated in the western districts of Mainpuri, Etawah, Etah and Aligarh. As recently as five years ago eastern UP was totally off the radar as a region of conservation importance for the species.

Project Agency : Wildlife Trust of India

Project Agency Contact : http://www.wti.org.in/

Project Researcher : Samir Kumar Sinha

Project Researcher Contact : samir@wti.org.in