'Unsustainable' development: Gujarat's Flamingo City is grievously threatened, says UK conservation affiliate

Lesser flamingos: Near threatened

Counterview Desk
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), an affiliate of the UK-based BirdLife International – a global conservation organization – has identified the Flamingo City in Kutch district of Gujarat as one of the ten important bird areas (IBAs) in India, which are in danger because of “unsustainable developmental policies” and “rising insensitivity towards nature.” Topping the list of ten, the BNHS believes that the situation is particularly precarious for the Flamingo City, because it is “a potential Ramsar site.”
According to Raju Kasambe and Siddhesh Surve of the BNHS, who analysed the situation in Flamingo City in a study “IBAs in Danger”, “In 1945, Sálim Ali estimated that half a million Greater and Lesser Flamingos congregated here. It is possibly the only flamingo breeding ground of this magnitude in Asia.” Part of the Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, the first signs of danger to the Flamingo City arose in 2011, when the Gujarat roads and buildings department "submitted a proposal wanting diversion of 79.474 hectares of forest land for construction of a road passing through the sanctuary", they add.
Pointing out the direction the road was to take – “Gaduli to Hajipur-Odma-Khavda-Kunariya- Dholavira-Maovana-Gadakbet-Santalpur road” -- the environmentalists say, “It was claimed that the proposed road would facilitate movement of the Border Security Force (BSF) in this region that falls on the Indo-Pakistan border. However, other sources claim that this project is nothing but a cover for promoting and expanding tourism in the region.”

Rajy Kosambe and Siddhesh Surve

Saying that the “BSF already has a frontier road”, the BNHS experts say, “A highway through the area will not only jeopardise flamingos, but also other species including the Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur), Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), and Caracal (Caracal caracal).” They add, “In September 2011, a three-member expert team from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) assessed the potential ecological impact of the project.”
The expert team said, “The proposed road would in all probability result in the abandonment of this only breeding site of flamingos, which in turn could spell doom to the population of these birds in the Indian subcontinent.” It recommended the rejection of the road proposal and an alternative alignment of the road, which would spare this fragile ecosystem from devastation, while serving the purpose of the BSF if needed.”
Other IBAs which the BNHS says are in danger include the Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary, Solapur/Ahmednagar, Maharashtra; Sewri-Mahul Creek, Mumbai, Maharashtra; Sailana Kharmor Sanctuary, Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh; Tillangchong, Andaman-Nicobar; Dihaila Jheel, Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh; Karera Wildlife Sanctuary, Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh; Basai, Gurgaon, Haryana; Sardarpur Florican Sanctuary, Dhar, Madhya Pradesh; and Ranebennur, Haveri, Karnataka.
The BNHS has identified several “major reasons” behind the loss of biodiversity and habitat in these and other areas, which include

Destruction/disturbance due to infrastructure development,
Wrong anti-people conservation policies,
Indiscriminate livestock grazing beyond traditional pastoral lands, 4) Industrial and sewage pollution,
Indiscriminate agricultural expansion including use of pesticides,
Rapid urbanization and
Poaching.

Commenting on the issue, Kasambe, who is project manager, IBA Programme, BNHS, said, “Unfortunately in India, nearly 50% of the IBAs are not getting any sort official recognition from the government agencies. These are the areas which need utmost and urgent protection, if we are really serious about saving the threatened species of birds in India. Our future generations will never pardon us for destroying the important habitats of birds in such a callous manner.”

Comments

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Search This Blog