In the past ten years, India has included 16000 new plant and animal species, with 8,213 new plant species and 8,188 new faunal species discovered, many of which are native to its various biogeographic zones. At the same time, the nation faces an increasing number of species under threat from a multitude of factors, including habitat destruction and climate change. Details about India’s biodiversity were revealed by the Union government in its 2024–2030 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. According to the government, India included 16000 new plant and animal species, contributing to the total of 104,561 faunal species and 55,726 plant species found so far in 2023, which “support essential ecosystem services vital for human livelihoods and ecological health.” With the introduction of new species, India now hosts 6.47% of the world’s faunal species and 9.24% of its plant species. Nevertheless, the numbers also showed that as of 2022, 675 faunal (animals and invertebrates) and 1,663 plant species were classified as threatened.

Challenges in Taxonomic Research

The deficiency of primary data is the first of many challenges in taxonomy study, according to the government. “Insufficient system/mechanism to organize 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 digitization of existing specimens” were a few of the limitations.

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Gaps in Conservation and Financial Needs

The government claimed several conservation-related accomplishments, ranging from the creation of protected areas to crop diversification. The flaws in biodiversity protection efforts were also brought to light, emphasizing the urgent need to protect the 16000 new plant and animal species alongside those already classified as threatened. Inadequate protection of coastal and marine habitats, inland wetlands, and grasslands was the first gap the government identified. The lack of funding for ecosystem management and inefficient community interaction were significant problems that needed to be addressed, in addition to a lack of information and comprehension of how humans affect biodiversity.

India established 23 goals under the Kunming-Montreal Framework, which would address many of the conservation concerns as part of the pledges made at the most recent conference of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. These include ten aims on the topic of tools and solutions for putting activities for mainstreaming biodiversity into action, five targets to satisfy people’s needs via sustainable usage and benefit sharing, and eight targets to lessen threats to biodiversity.

Supporting national and international conservation goals is the goal of the revised National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). According to the NBSAP, it aims to successfully handle important national issues such as the water crisis, food shortages, unsustainable livelihoods, increasing human-wildlife interactions, pollution, new illnesses, the danger of disasters, and the general vulnerabilities of ecosystems and populations.

To achieve these goals, India also requires significant financial assistance. To map government spending on biodiversity-related programs, the nation has conducted national biodiversity expenditure review evaluations. From 2017–18 to 2021–22, the average annual attributable biodiversity expenditure was calculated to be Rs 32,207.13 crore. The expected yearly average cost to meet the goals throughout the 2024–2025 to 2029–2030 timeframe is Rs 81,664.88 crore.

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