Current Affairs

Kerala launches India's first Red List of Ecosystems assessment

14-10-2026 · English

Kerala launches India's first Red List of Ecosystems assessment

Topics: Environment · 14 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) launched India's first sub-national ecosystem risk assessment under the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) framework at Kollam on 14 Oct 2026. Implemented by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI, Peechi) and others, it will assess shola-grasslands, riparian evergreen forests, Myristica swamps, coastal mangroves and river systems. Riparian evergreen forests of the southern Western Ghats are noted to have lost 83% of their area in about 100 years.

Key facts

Launch14 Oct 2026, Kollam – Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB)
ImplementingKerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi; MES Asmabi College research centre
EcosystemsShola–grassland, riparian evergreen forest, Myristica swamp, mangroves, estuaries, rivers
OutputsRisk register, ecosystem typology atlas, restoration-priority maps
RLE categories (8)Collapsed (CO), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (LC), Data Deficient (DD), Not Evaluated (NE)

Background

  • IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature: founded 5 Oct 1948 at Fontainebleau (France); HQ Gland (Switzerland). The Red List of Threatened Species dates from 1964; the Red List of Ecosystems was adopted by IUCN in 2014.
  • RLE criteria A–E: A – decline in area; B – restricted distribution; C – degradation of the abiotic environment; D – disruption of biotic processes; E – quantitative risk analysis. The 'Collapsed' category is specific to the RLE.
  • Myristica swamps – rare, ancient freshwater swamp forests of the Western Ghats, often called 'living fossils'.

Tamil Nadu link: Tamil Nadu has the same ecosystem types – shola-grasslands of the Nilgiris, Anamalai and Palani hills, and mangroves at Pichavaram (Cuddalore district) and Muthupet (Tiruvarur district). The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (1986, India's first) spans Tamil Nadu, Keralam and Karnataka.

Source: GKToday, IASPoint, GSTimes, 14 Oct 2026; IUCN; Wikipedia

Join our UPSC classroom or online batch: UPSC coaching in Coimbatore · Fees · Call 99941 46662.

Share with friends & study groups
Link to this page from your website / blog (HTML code)

BANK Achievers

  • N. NARMADHA

    BANK BANK