Govt to evaluate extinction risk of 11K species by 2030

India has announced an ambitious plan to assess the extinction risk of around 11,000 species—comprising 7,000 plant species and 4,000 animal species—by 2030 as part of a nationwide biodiversity initiative.

Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh revealed the plan during the launch of India’s National Red List Roadmap at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

He noted that 28 per cent of India’s plant species and 30 per cent of its animal species are endemic to the country. The National Red List Assessment will be the first of its kind national effort, led by the Union Environment Ministry, with the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) serving as nodal agencies. Similar initiatives have previously been undertaken by other Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China.

“India, one of the 17 megadiverse countries, hosts four of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots — the Himalayas, Western Ghats, Indo-Burma and Sundaland. Although covering just 2.4 per cent of the world’s land area, it harbours nearly 8 per cent of global flora and 7.5 per cent of fauna, with over 28 per cent of endemic flora and 30 per cent of endemic fauna,” stated the National Red List Roadmap Vision 2030.

With an estimated budget of Rs 95 crore, around Rs 80 crore will be allocated to the BSI and ZSI through their annual research programmes to support staff salaries, training and capacity-building initiatives.