Why Keralam has launched India’s first ecosystem Red List assessment

Driven by dam construction, invasive plantations, and escalating climate extremes, Keralam’s tropical riparian evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats have suffered a devastating 83% loss over the past century. This alarming decline places these vital natural habitats on a path toward potential collapse within the next 20 to 40 years, earning them a Critically Endangered status status under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria.

Other irreplaceable habitats across the State, including delicate myristica swamps, high-altitude shola-grassland mosaics, and coastal mangroves, face similar existential threats from rapid urban expansion and rising sea levels.

In response to this crisis, the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB), has launched a pioneering Red List Assessment of Ecosystems (RLE) project. This initiative marks a first for any Indian State, aiming to transition conservation efforts from isolated species preservation to proactive, landscape-wide ecosystem management.

Funded by KSBB, the one-year project is being jointly executed by the Kerala Forest Research Institute and the Centre for Ecology, Taxonomy, Conservation and Climate Change at MES Asmabi College, led by researchers Dr. Amitha Bachan K.H. and Dr. Deepu Sivadas.

Systematic evaluation

The scientific initiative systematically evaluates ecosystem collapse risks across all 14 districts, spanning high-altitude mountain summits, densely populated midlands, and vulnerable coastal stretches.

Dr. N. Anil Kumar, chairperson, KSBB, says the goal is to build strong empirical evidence of environmental degradation through a comprehensive, year-long scientific study. By examining natural habitats across the State from forests and rivers to coastal belts, the project will pinpoint both climate-driven and human-induced threats.

“Ultimately, this research powers nature-based climate adaptation by repairing fragmented landscapes, analysing historical loss, and safeguarding natural resilience. True resilience demands that we restore our ecosystems in their entirety, which is why we are simultaneously assessing the red list of species alongside this initiative,” he says

According to Dr. Amitha Bachan, major landscapes like Periyar river basin have never been properly classified according to international guidelines, nor have their specific risks of collapse been formally measured. “By evaluating core habitats against the five standardized criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Ecosystems framework, the team aims to establish the State’s first standardised baseline documentation of historical loss, habitat fragmentation, and hydrological disruption. The project addresses this long-standing research gap by identifying risks of collapse and the factors governing it,” he says.

The findings will yield an official Risk Register, an Ecosystem Typology Atlas, and ecorestoration priority maps, all of which will be integrated directly into State planning portals. By placing this actionable spatial intelligence into the hands of local Biodiversity Management Committees and panchayats, the project aims to empower grassroots decision-makers. Armed with detailed mapping, local authorities can strengthen natural barriers against floods and landslides, guide sustainable development, and implement nature-based climate adaptation strategies tailored to their specific landscapes.

This initiative also gives scientific structure to Keralam’s vision of becoming India’s most biodiversity-friendly State by guiding community-led restoration and climate resilience across all major ecosystems.