India added 16,000 new plant, faunal species to its biodiversity in 10 years

Bengaluru: In the last 10 years, 8213 new plant species and 8188 faunal species have been discovered in India many of which are endemic to its different biogeographic zones, while the country stares at an increasing number of both species threatened by various factors, from habitat destruction to climate change.

The Union government disclosed India's biodiversity details in its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for 2024-2030. The total 55726 plant species and 104561 faunal species discovered till the end of 2023 "support essential ecosystem services vital for human livelihoods and ecological health", the government said.

The addition of new species means India is home to 9.24% of global plant species and 6.47% of world's faunal species. However, the data also noted that as many as 1663 plant species and 675 faunal species (animals and invertebrates) were in the threatened category as of 2022.  

Number of plant species discovered and described in India 2013-2023.

The government said there were several challenges in taxonomic research, starting with the lack of primary data.

"Insufficient system/mechanism to organise previous taxonomic knowledge or databases with regular updates, inadequate subject matter specialists/experts dealing with systematics of important and major taxonomic groups and inadequate financial and human resources for digitisation of existing specimens," were some of the constraints.

Number of faunal species discovered and described in India from 2013 to 2023.

Gaps in conservation

From establishment of protected areas to crop diversification, the government listed out various achievements aimed at conservation. At the same time, the gaps in measures to protect biodiversity were also highlighted.

The first gap, the government listed was the inadequate protection to grassland, inland wetlands, coastal and marine ecosystems. Besides insufficient knowledge and understanding of human impact on biodiversity, the lack of investments towards ecosystem management and ineffective community engagements were major issues that need to be addressed.

In the commitments made at the latest meeting of parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, India set 23 targets under the Kunming-Montreal Framework which will address many of the challenges to conservation. Among them, eight targets are aimed at reducing threats to biodiversity, five targets to meet people's needs through sustainable use and benefit sharing and 10 targets on the theme of tools and solutions for implementing actions for mainstreaming biodiversity.

"The updated NBSAP aims to support both national and global conservation agendas. It seeks to effectively address key national challenges such as water crises, food insecurity, unsustainable livelihoods, growing