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India Launches National Red List Assessment to Protect 11,000 Species by 2030
10 Oct
Summary
- India to document extinction risks of 11,000 species by 2030
- Aims to establish a nationally coordinated red-listing system
- Goal to publish National Red Data Books for flora and fauna
On October 10, 2025, India's Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, announced the country's Vision 2025-2030 for the National Red List Assessment (NRLA). The plan aims to document and assess the extinction risks of approximately 11,000 species, including 7,000 species of flora and 4,000 species of fauna, across India's diverse ecosystems.
The framework for this assessment has been prepared by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), in collaboration with IUCN-India and the Centre for Species Survival, India. The minister stated that this initiative will establish a nationally coordinated, inclusive, and science-based system to assess and monitor the conservation status of India's species.
India, one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, is home to four of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. Despite occupying only 2.4% of the world's land area, India harbors nearly 8% of the global flora and 7.5% of global fauna, with 28% of the plants and over 30% of the animals being endemic. The country has robust legal frameworks in place, including the recently amended Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, to protect its biodiversity.
The goal of this project is to publish National Red Data Books for both flora and fauna by 2030, providing evidence-based guidance for conservation, development planning, and threat mitigation. The minister emphasized the important role of documenting traditional knowledge in biodiversity conservation efforts.
