Biodiversity Hotspots & Species Recovery — India's Conservation Success

Biodiversity Hotspot — Concept and Criteria

The concept of biodiversity hotspots was introduced by British ecologist Norman Myers in two articles in The Environmentalist in 1988 and 1990. The concept was refined and formalised in the landmark paper published in Nature in 2000.

Myers' Two Strict Criteria

To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet both criteria:

1. Endemism: Must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics (representing more than 0.5% of the world's total vascular plant species)
2. Habitat loss: Must have already lost at least 70% of its primary (original) vegetation

The rationale: conservation resources are limited — they should be focused on areas that are both extraordinarily rich in endemic species and under severe threat.

Global Status

• Total global biodiversity hotspots: 36 (as currently recognised by Conservation International)
• These 36 hotspots cover only 2.4% of Earth's land surface
• Yet they support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species — with a large proportion of those species as endemics

India's Four Biodiversity Hotspots

India is one of the world's 17 mega-diverse countries. It is represented in 4 of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots:

1. Western Ghats & Sri Lanka
2. Eastern Himalayas (Himalayas Hotspot)
3. Indo-Burma
4. Sundaland (Andaman & Nicobar Islands component)

1. Western Ghats & Sri Lanka

The Western Ghats run parallel to India's western coast for about 1,600 km through Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.

Key Features

Key Fauna

• Lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Nilgiri tahr
• Malabar large-spotted civet (critically endangered)
• Purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) — a living fossil
• Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Periyar Tiger Reserve, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

Threats

• Infrastructure development (roads, dams, mines — Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel "Gadgil Report" 2011)
• Encroachment, plantation monocultures (eucalyptus, rubber, coffee)
• Climate change — monsoon pattern disruption

2. Eastern Himalayas (Himalayas Hotspot)

Covers Bhutan, northeastern India (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Assam), and parts of Nepal and southern China.

Key Features

Key Fauna

• Red panda, snow leopard, Takin, Black-necked crane
• One-horned rhinoceros (Kaziranga National Park, Assam)
• Hoolock gibbon (India's only ape)

Significance

• Contains the headwaters of major rivers — the Brahmaputra, Ganga tributaries
• Critical for regional water security
• One of the most biologically diverse mountain systems on Earth

3. Indo-Burma Hotspot

Covers northeastern India (Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, and parts of Assam), Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and southern China.

Key Features

• Approximately 13,500 endemic plant species
• High freshwater biodiversity — harbours 1,260 freshwater fish species
• Contains many species discovered recently (late discovery rate — a sign of under-exploration)
• Key threatened species: Irrawaddy dolphin, Asian elephant, tigers, gibbons

India's portion

• Dzukou Valley, Loktak Lake (only floating national park — Keibul Lamjao NP), Namdapha National Park (Arunachal Pradesh — India's largest national park in Northeast)

4. Sundaland

The global Sundaland hotspot covers the western half of the Indo-Malayan Archipelago — Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and other islands. India's contribution is the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (part of the Sundaland biogeographic zone).

India's Nicobar Component

Project Tiger

Launched: 1973 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Governing body: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), established under Wildlife Protection Act (Amendment) 2006 Legal basis: Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (as amended)

Tiger Population Trend

India holds ~75% of the world's wild tiger population. The 2022 census used camera traps and recorded 3,080 unique individuals photographed, with a minimum population estimate of 3,682.

Tiger Reserves — Current Count

As of 2025, India has 58 tiger reserves across 18 states. Recent additions:

• 54th: Dholpur-Karauli (Rajasthan) — 2023
• 55th-58th: Added in 2024-25, including Ratapani (Madhya Pradesh) and others

Core-Buffer Zone Structure

Each tiger reserve has:

• Core/Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH): Inviolate area — no human habitation or resource extraction allowed
• Buffer zone: Allows co-existence of human use with conservation (eco-tourism, regulated NTFP collection)

NTCA Functions

• Prepare tiger conservation plan
• Ensure inviolacy of core areas
• Commission independent audits
• Submit report to Parliament
• Address human-wildlife conflict

Project Elephant

Launched: 1992 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Objective: Protect elephants and their habitats, address human-elephant conflict, and manage captive elephants

Elephant Reserves: As of 2023, 33 Elephant Reserves (ERs) notified across 14 states, covering approximately 80,778 sq km

Key states: Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu

"Gaj Yatra": A public outreach campaign for elephant conservation

Estimated elephant population (2017 census): ~29,964 — India holds the largest Asian elephant population in the world

Key Threats

• Habitat fragmentation due to railways, highways, and human settlements
• Electrocution by illegal electric fences
• Poaching for ivory (males only have tusks)
• Human-elephant conflict — crop raiding, retaliatory killings

Snow Leopard Conservation

Range: Snow leopards are found in 12 countries across Central and South Asia.

India's 5 range states/UTs: Jammu & Kashmir (including Ladakh), Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh

India's snow leopard population: The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI 2019–2023) — India's first nationwide survey — recorded 718 snow leopards across six Himalayan states, covering 70% of potential habitat. (Ladakh, which was included as a UT in this census, accounts for the highest share.)

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

National programme: India is part of the Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme (launched 2013) — a 12-country partnership.

Threats: Poaching, retaliatory killing (by herders whose livestock are attacked), habitat loss, climate change (upward shift of prey base and human settlements)

Vulture Conservation

India's vulture population collapsed catastrophically in the 1990s–2000s — one of the fastest population declines in bird history.

The Diclofenac Crisis

Cause: Veterinary use of diclofenac (an NSAID anti-inflammatory drug used in cattle) was found to cause visceral gout and acute kidney failure in vultures that fed on carcasses of treated cattle.

Population decline: White-backed vulture population fell by 99.9% between 1993 and 2007.

India's response: Veterinary diclofenac was banned in 2006. Additional NSAIDs toxic to vultures (aceclofenac, ketoprofen) were banned in 2023.

Species and Status

India has 9 species of vultures:

• Gyps species (White-backed, Long-billed, Slender-billed, Himalayan, Egyptian) — IUCN Critically Endangered / Endangered
• King vulture, Red-headed vulture, Bearded vulture, Cinereous vulture

Breeding centres: Established in Pinjore (Haryana), Rani (Assam), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), and Hyderabad for ex-situ conservation.

Vulture-safe zones: Areas in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh designated vulture-safe by banning harmful drugs.

Vulture Action Plan 2020–25: Recommends ban on additional vulture-toxic drugs, establishment of more "Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centres", and community-based monitoring.

Great Indian Bustard (GIB) Recovery

Status: Critically Endangered (IUCN); listed on Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

Population: Approximately 150 individuals remain in the wild (as of 2024-25), primarily in Rajasthan (Desert National Park) and Gujarat.

Threats:

• Overhead power lines (birds collide — their forward-facing eyes cannot detect lines)
• Habitat loss to agriculture, wind energy farms, fencing
• Egg and chick predation

Supreme Court intervention: In M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2021), the Supreme Court initially ordered underground cabling of power lines in GIB habitat. The order was later modified given energy transition concerns — a special committee was formed to identify priority zones for undergrounding.

Conservation Breeding Programme: MoEF&CC established India's first GIB conservation breeding facility at Sam Conservation Centre, Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) in 2019 in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC). The first captive-born chick was successfully raised in 2025 — a major milestone.

Project Great Indian Bustard: State government initiative in Rajasthan to protect the remaining habitat.

Gangetic River Dolphin

Status: India's National Aquatic Animal (declared 2009)

Species: Platanista gangetica gangetica — a freshwater dolphin, functionally blind, uses echolocation

Population: Estimated 3,000–4,000 individuals across the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system

Threats: River pollution, overfishing of prey species, entanglement in fishing nets, siltation, river barriers (dams, barrages), boat traffic

Conservation: Protected under Schedule I of WPA 1972; Project Dolphin launched by PM Modi in 2020

Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH) and Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ)

Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH):

• The inviolate core area of a tiger reserve
• Notified under Section 38V of the Wildlife Protection Act
• No human habitation or resource extraction allowed
• Provides safe breeding grounds

Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ):

• Buffer areas around Protected Areas (PAs) notified under Environment Protection Act, 1986
• Regulate activities that could negatively impact the PA
• The Supreme Court ruled (2022) that a mandatory ESZ of at least 1 km around every PA must be maintained unless a higher limit is notified

Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Prelims

1. (UPSC Prelims 2021) Consider the following: 1) Biodiversity hotspots 2) Eco-Sensitive Zones 3) Elephant Corridors. Which of the above are considered while determining the eco-sensitive zones? (Tests knowledge of ESZ criteria)

2. (UPSC Prelims 2018) Which one of the following is a part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot? — (Manipur) — Tests knowledge of India's coverage of Indo-Burma hotspot

3. (UPSC Prelims 2014) "Project Tiger" was launched in 1973 primarily with the objective of: — (Protecting tigers from poaching and preserving their natural habitats)

Mains

1. (GS3, 2020) How is biodiversity different at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels? Examine the role of biodiversity hotspots in conservation.

2. (GS3, 2019) What is the significance of biodiversity to India's economy? Discuss the threats to biodiversity and the steps taken for its conservation.

3. (GS3, 2015) What is a biodiversity hotspot? Explain the key criteria used to designate an area as a hotspot and list the hotspots in India.

Exam Strategy

For Prelims: Memorise India's 4 hotspots, Norman Myers' two criteria (1500 endemic plants + 70% habitat loss), and key stats (58 tiger reserves, tiger population 3,682 in 2022, 33 elephant reserves).

For Mains GS3:

• Use the criteria → India's hotspots → species recovery programmes structure
• Connect biodiversity loss to climate change (additional pressure on already-threatened ecosystems)
• Mention specific court interventions (GIB, ESZ rulings)
• Discuss tension between development and conservation — infrastructure, renewable energy vs habitat preservation

Key facts for answer enrichment:

• India = 2.4% of world's land area but harbours 7-8% of all recorded species; 91,212 animal species and 45,500 plant species recorded
• India is a mega-diverse country (one of 17 globally)
• 36 global hotspots on 2.4% of Earth's surface support 60% of terrestrial species
• Tiger recovery: 1,411 (2006) → 3,682 (2022) — a conservation success story

Do not confuse:

• Western Ghats & Sri Lanka hotspot ≠ just Western Ghats (Sri Lanka is included but it's a separate country)
• Indo-Burma hotspot includes northeast India (NOT south/central India)
• Sundaland = Andaman & Nicobar component in India (NOT the entire A&N archipelago)
• Project Tiger launched 1973; NTCA set up under WPA Amendment 2006