NEW DELHI: The Centre told the Parliament that the global Nature Conservation Index (NCI) report that placed India at the 176th position undermined the country’s efforts in land and biodiversity management.
Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirit Vardhan Singh told Parliament that NCI has ignored India’s leadership role in forming international environmental forums, such as International Big Cat Alliance, Mission LiFE, International Solar Alliance and Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure, advocating for global cooperation on biodiversity conservation as well as its leadership role on global climate change agenda.
With a score of 45.5 out of 100, India ranked 176 out of 180 countries in the report released by the Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, in October. It was placed just above Kiribati which ranked 180, Turkey (179), Iraq (178) and Micronesia (177). India’s low ranking was primarily attributed to rising threats to biodiversity and the inefficient management of land.
Singh said that in recent years, India has taken several measures in areas of land management and threats to its biodiversity which have not been taken into account while deriving NCI. Citing the example of the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, the minister said that the Act aims to conserve biodiversity and threatened species.
He added that the total forest cover has increased from 21.23 per cent in 2013 to 21.71 per cent in 2021.
“India’s leopard population is estimated at 13,874 individuals, representing a stable population in comparison to the similar area being sampled in 2018 with 12,852 individuals. There are 55 tiger reserves in India and tiger population has increased from 2,226 in 2014 to 3,682 in 2022,” Singh said.
He added that India has already submitted its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan on October 31, 2024, during the recently concluded Convention on Biological Diversity in Cali, Colombia.
“The action plan envisages protecting terrestrial and marine areas, restoring degraded ecosystems and reducing biodiversity threats through pollution control as also invasive species management. India emphasises species conservation, sustainable resource use, wildlife corridors to reduce fragmentation, and community engagement in biodiversity governance,” Singh said.