Biodiversity: Hotspots, Corridors, and Key Species

5.1 Biodiversity Hotspots in/near Rajasthan

Rajasthan itself is not a global biodiversity hotspot as classified by Conservation International (only 36 hotspots globally; India has 4 — Eastern Himalayas, Western Ghats, Sundaland, Indo-Burma). However, two hotspot-adjacent zones influence Rajasthan's biodiversity:

• Aravalli Range: Functions as a biodiversity island in the northwest Indian plains. The southern Aravalli (Udaipur, Sirohi, Banswara districts) contains the highest plant species richness in Rajasthan — over 2,500 plant species recorded.
• Mount Abu (Sirohi): A distinct micro-hotspot within Rajasthan. The Wildlife Sanctuary (288 sq km) around Mount Abu has distinct subtropical forests, 700+ plant species (including rare orchids), and species not found elsewhere in Rajasthan (e.g., leopard cat, Indian porcupine, tropical forest birds).

5.2 The Aravalli Biodiversity Corridor

The Aravalli Biodiversity Corridor is India's most important biodiversity linkage in the northwest subcontinent. It connects:

• Sariska Tiger Reserve (Alwar, Rajasthan/Haryana border)
• Through Aravalli ridge forests of Haryana and Delhi
• South through Rajasthan's Aravalli districts
• To Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in the south-east
• And west toward Kumbhalgarh sanctuary

The corridor covers 800+ km of fragmented landscape. Its conservation is threatened by: road widening (NH-8, NH-11), mining on Aravalli ridges (Supreme Court orders 2018 banned mining in Haryana-Rajasthan Aravallis), urban sprawl (Gurugram–Alwar–Jaipur corridor), and agricultural conversion. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has mapped the corridor using camera trap and GPS collar data on tigers and leopards.

Sariska-Ranthambhore Connectivity: In 2019, the first confirmed camera trap image of a tiger moving between Sariska and Ranthambhore through the corridor validated the corridor's functional importance. Maintaining this landscape connectivity is central to Rajasthan's tiger population viability.

5.3 Critically Endangered Species — Focus on GIB

Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is the defining conservation crisis of Rajasthan's wildlife:

• Global population: Fewer than 150 birds as of 2024; estimated 90–100 in Rajasthan
• IUCN Status: Critically Endangered (CR)
• Primary threat: Overhead power transmission lines — GIB flies at low altitude (under 30 m) and cannot avoid lines; collisions are the #1 documented cause of recent mortality
• Habitat: Desert National Park (Jaisalmer), open grasslands of Pokhran, Barmer, and Jodhpur
• Supreme Court order (April 2021): A bench led by CJI S.A. Bobde directed that all overhead power lines in the "Priority Area" (10,000 sq km in Rajasthan and Gujarat) be converted to underground cables; the order was challenged by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) citing ₹21,000 crore cost — ongoing legal contestation
• CZA-approved captive breeding: The Wildlife Institute of India, in collaboration with the International Fund for Houbara Conservation, operates a captive breeding center at Sudasari, Jaisalmer. Three eggs hatched in 2024 — a critical milestone
• CRESEP project (JICA): ₹1,774.30 crore, 19 districts; dedicated GIB habitat improvement, Sevan grass restoration, Oran conservation

Threat	Status/Data
Power line collisions	Primary mortality cause; 8–10 birds/year estimated to die
Habitat loss to solar/wind farms	Desert National Park periphery has 5+ GW of sanctioned renewable projects
Invasive Prosopis juliflora	Degrading Sevan grassland habitat
Low reproductive rate	One egg per nest per year; slow population recovery

Source: WII GIB Survey 2023; Supreme Court of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 838/2019

Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus): Listed Critically Endangered globally; Chambal River is one of the world's last viable populations. The National Chambal Sanctuary (tri-state: Rajasthan, MP, UP) protects approximately 1,500–1,800 gharials in the Chambal's clean, fast-flowing waters.

Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes): A scattered but established population in Rajasthan's Kumbhalgarh region and Marwar plains. India's wolf is genetically distinct from Eurasian wolves and is considered a separate subspecies.

5.4 The IGNP Greening Effect on the Thar

The Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana (IGNP), bringing Himalayan waters via the Rajasthan Canal from Harike barrage (Punjab), has transformed vegetation in the formerly hyperarid areas of Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer districts. Since the canal's first phase (1975) and further extension into Jaisalmer (1987+), the area shows:

• Spread of tree cover (Eucalyptus, Acacia, Shisham) along canal banks
• Agricultural expansion displacing natural thorn forest and Sevan grassland
• Net gain in green cover but loss of natural desert ecosystem
• Increased water tables benefiting some wildlife (waterfowl) while displacing others (GIB, which prefers dry open habitat undisturbed by agricultural activity)

The IGNP greening is thus ecologically double-edged: it increases total biomass but fragments and degrades pristine desert habitat. This is a nuanced analytical point that RPSC has tested in 10-mark questions.

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