Kerala Launches India’s First Ecosystem Red List Assessment

On 14 October 2026, the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) launched India’s first Red List Assessment of Ecosystems (RLE) project in Kollam. The one-year assessment will examine ecosystem collapse risks across Kerala’s 14 districts, from high-altitude mountain summits to coastal areas.

Red List of Ecosystems

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Ecosystems framework assesses the risk of ecosystem collapse. Its assessment uses five standardised criteria and considers factors including historical ecosystem loss, habitat fragmentation and hydrological disruption. The framework classifies ecosystems according to their assessed risk, including the categories Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable.

KSBB funds the project, which is jointly carried out by the Kerala Forest Research Institute and the Centre for Ecology, Taxonomy, Conservation and Climate Change at MES Asmabi College. Researchers Dr. Amitha Bachan K.H. and Dr. Deepu Sivadas lead the assessment.

Assessment coverage and outputs

The project will assess forests, rivers and coastal habitats across all 14 districts. Its findings are expected to include an official Risk Register, an Ecosystem Typology Atlas and ecorestoration priority maps. These products are to be integrated into State planning portals and made available to local Biodiversity Management Committees and panchayats.

The assessment will document environmental degradation and identify climate-driven and human-induced threats. Its mapping will include ecosystem condition and risks of collapse, providing material for local planning and restoration decisions.

Kerala’s ecosystems and pressures

Kerala’s habitats include tropical riparian evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats, high-altitude shola-grassland mosaics, coastal mangroves and Myristica swamps. Tropical riparian evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats have lost 83% of their extent over the past century and are assessed as Critically Endangered under IUCN criteria, with potential collapse projected within 20 to 40 years.

Reported pressures on these forests include dam construction, invasive plantations and climate extremes. Urban expansion and rising sea levels also threaten other habitats in the State.

Important Facts for Exams

• The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems evaluates the risk of ecosystem collapse using five standardised criteria.
• The Western Ghats are a mountain range along the western side of peninsular India.
• Kerala has 14 districts, all included in the State ecosystem assessment.
• Myristica swamps are freshwater swamp ecosystems found in the Western Ghats region.

The assessment is funded by KSBB and scheduled to run for one year. Its planned outputs include an Ecosystem Typology Atlas and ecorestoration priority maps.