From coastal mangroves to specialised Myristica swamps, Keralam’s natural habitats will be covered under the new Ecosystem Red List Assessment.
Thiruvananthapuram: As climate change, urban expansion and environmental degradation put increasing pressure on natural habitats, Keralam has taken a significant step towards strengthening ecosystem conservation. The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has launched India’s first comprehensive ecosystem Red List assessment, a scientific initiative aimed at identifying vulnerable habitats and evaluating their risk of ecological collapse.
The assessment will cover all 14 districts of the state, from the high-altitude landscapes of the Western Ghats to rivers, freshwater wetlands and coastal ecosystems. The project is expected to establish a scientific baseline for understanding the condition of these habitats and help policymakers determine where conservation measures and ecological restoration are most urgently needed.
What is the Ecosystem Red List Assessment?
The Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) is a framework developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to evaluate the risk of ecosystems collapsing. Unlike assessments that focus primarily on individual species facing extinction, this framework examines entire ecological systems and the threats that could fundamentally alter or destroy them.
An ecosystem includes living organisms, such as plants and animals, along with their physical surroundings and the interactions between them. Forests, grasslands, mangroves, rivers and wetlands are examples of ecosystems that provide essential services, including water regulation, carbon storage, soil protection and habitat for wildlife.
The IUCN framework uses five standardised criteria to assess ecosystem collapse risk. These consider factors such as the reduction in the geographical distribution of an ecosystem, restrictions in its distribution, environmental degradation, disruption of ecological processes and the likelihood of its collapse under future threats.
Which Ecosystems Will Be Covered?
The assessment will examine forests, rivers and coastal habitats across all 14 districts of Keralam. The state is home to a wide variety of ecological landscapes, many of which face growing pressure from development, changes in land use and climate-related disturbances.
Among the ecosystems of particular interest are tropical riparian evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats, high-altitude shola-grassland mosaics, coastal mangroves and Myristica swamps.
Myristica swamps are specialised freshwater wetland ecosystems found in parts of the Western Ghats. They are important for maintaining local hydrological conditions and supporting distinctive biodiversity.
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Why Has Keralam Started the Assessment?
One of the main reasons for the initiative is the growing need for systematic, science-based information about the condition of the state’s ecosystems.
According to reporting on the project, tropical riparian evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats have lost approximately 83% of their extent over the past century. These forests have been classified as Critically Endangered under the IUCN ecosystem assessment criteria, with potential collapse projected within the next 20 to 40 years.
Reported pressures include dam construction, invasive plantations and increasingly severe climate extremes. Other habitats face threats from expanding urban areas and rising sea levels.
The findings underline why ecosystem-level assessments are important. The loss of a forest or wetland can affect more than the plants and animals living there. It can also disrupt water flows, weaken natural protection against floods and landslides, and reduce the ability of landscapes to withstand climate-related shocks.
Who Is Implementing the Project?
The Kerala State Biodiversity Board is funding the initiative, which is being carried out jointly by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) and the Centre for Ecology, Taxonomy, Conservation and Climate Change at MES Asmabi College.
Researchers Dr Amitha Bachan K.H. and Dr Deepu Sivadas are leading the assessment. The initiative is scheduled to run for one year. Its findings are expected to provide a structured picture of ecosystem conditions across the state, including the scale of degradation and the pressures contributing to ecological decline.
Risk Register and Restoration Maps Planned
The assessment is expected to produce three important outputs: an official Risk Register, an Ecosystem Typology Atlas and maps identifying priorities for ecological restoration.
The Risk Register will help document ecosystems facing significant threats and identify the factors contributing to their vulnerability. The Ecosystem Typology Atlas will organise information about different ecosystem types, while restoration priority maps will help identify locations where conservation and rehabilitation efforts should be focused.
According to the project details, these outputs are expected to be integrated into state planning portals and made available to local Biodiversity Management Committees and panchayats.
