Kerala has launched India’s first state level Red List Assessment of Ecosystems (RLE) project to evaluate the health of entire habitats across all 14 districts. The project was launched by Environment Minister Sunny Joseph on 8 October 2026 and shifts focus from saving single species to managing whole landscapes in the Kerala Western Ghats, midlands and coast. Its trigger is stark, with studies reporting 83% loss of tropical riparian evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats over the past 100 years.
What Is an Ecosystem and What Are Ecosystem Services?
An ecosystem is a functional unit where plants, animals, microbes, soil, water and climate interact in a defined area. Kerala’s assessment covers forests, rivers, wetlands, mangroves and coasts. Ecosystem services are the benefits people get from these systems, such as clean water, flood control, fish breeding, pollination and carbon storage.
An ecosystem includes both living parts, called biota, and non living parts, such as geology, soil and rainfall. Scientists also track key processes like nutrient cycling, water flow and plant growth. When these processes break down, the system stops supporting its native plants and animals even if a few species still survive nearby.
Ecosystem services explain why this breakdown matters for daily life. Forests in the Kerala Western Ghats regulate monsoon rainfall, feed rivers and protect slopes from landslides. Riparian forests, the narrow evergreen strips along rivers, act as corridors for wildlife, breeding grounds for fish and natural buffers against floods. Mangroves and wetlands store carbon, filter water and shield the coast from storms.
Ecosystem restoration means helping a degraded system regain its structure and function. It can include replanting native riverside trees, restoring natural river flow below dams, removing invasive plants and protecting breeding habitats. Kerala plans to use restoration priority maps from the RLE project to guide such work instead of doing isolated plantations.
Kerala Western Ghats Landscape: Why the State Needs an Ecosystem Audit
The Kerala Western Ghats form part of a 1,600 kilometre mountain chain that runs parallel to India’s west coast through Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The chain covers about 140,000 square kilometres and is older than the Himalayas. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed the Western Ghats as a World Heritage Site in 2012 for its influence on the monsoon and its exceptional biodiversity.
The region is one of the world’s eight hottest hotspots of biological diversity. At least 325 globally threatened species occur here, including 229 plants, 31 mammals, 15 birds, 43 amphibians and several reptiles and fish. Endemism is very high. About 54% of tree species, 65% of amphibians and 62% of reptiles found in the Ghats occur nowhere else. Kerala’s share includes shola grassland mosaics on high summits, evergreen and moist deciduous forests, Myristica swamps, Periyar and Chalakudy river basins, Kole wetlands, Vembanad lake system and coastal mangroves.
This landscape now shows deep stress. Primary forest cover in Kerala fell sharply through the twentieth century as dams, plantations, roads, housing, mining and conversion of paddy fields and wetlands expanded. The Kerala State Biodiversity Board notes threats from land use change, urbanisation, invasive species, pollution and climate change. More frequent cloudbursts, floods and landslides have exposed how loss of forest and wetland buffers raises risks for people, dams, roads and farms.
The most documented warning comes from tropical riparian evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats. Mapping based on the Chalakudy river basin in Vazhachal forests shows only about 4.8 square kilometres of riparian vegetation remains, barely 1% of the natural vegetation of that forest division. The low elevation evergreen riparian patch is just 2.38 square kilometres. Researchers estimate 83.7% loss in 100 years, driven by six large dams that submerged about 60 kilometres of riverside forest and dried up nearly 29 kilometres downstream, plus plantations, reservoir operations, cyclonic rain events, agriculture, roads and fire. At the minimum observed rate of decline, scientists project collapse within 20 to 40 years.
What Is the Red List Assessment of Ecosystems Project Launched by Kerala?
The Kerala Red List Assessment of Ecosystems project is India’s first state level audit of ecosystem collapse risk. The Kerala State Biodiversity Board funds the one year study across all 14 districts. The Kerala Forest Research Institute and MES Asmabi College execute the work using IUCN criteria.
The formal title is the Comprehensive Red List Assessment of Ecosystems in Keralam. The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) sanctioned and funded the study and listed it under the state government’s 100 Days programme. The Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) leads execution with the Centre for Ecology, Taxonomy, Conservation and Climate Change at MES Asmabi College, with researchers Amitha Bachan K. H. and Deepu Sivadas steering field science. Environment Minister Sunny Joseph launched the project document on 8 October 2026.
The study spans mountain summits, midlands with dense settlements and the coastal belt. It covers shola grassland mosaics, evergreen and moist deciduous forests, rivers and riparian systems, floodplains, wetlands, mangroves, estuaries, beaches and dunes. A major gap it fills is classification. Researchers note that large systems like the Periyar river basin were never classified under international guidelines, so their collapse risk was never measured in a standard way.
Methods combine satellite and field science. The team uses Google Earth Engine, Sentinel satellite images, QGIS mapping and R based statistical analysis, along with vegetation plots, fish and bird surveys and hydrological data. The Kerala State Land Use Board supports the work with land use and land cover maps, administrative boundaries and data hosting. This tech backbone lets the team reconstruct historical loss, map fragmentation and track disruption of water flows.
Outputs are designed for direct policy use. The project will produce a Risk Register, an Ecosystem Typology Atlas linked to the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology, and ecorestoration priority maps. These layers will feed into state planning portals and local plans, so panchayats and Biodiversity Management Committees can decide where to protect natural flood barriers, where to guide construction and where to prioritise river restoration and ecological flow below dams.
How Does the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Work?
The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems is a global standard to measure the risk that an entire ecosystem will collapse. The International Union for Conservation of Nature manages the system using five criteria that track loss of area and loss of function. Each ecosystem is then placed in one of eight risk categories.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was founded on 5 October 1948 at Fontainebleau in France and is headquartered at Gland in Switzerland. It is a membership union of governments, civil society groups and experts. IUCN created the Red List of Threatened Species in 1964 to measure extinction risk for species. It adopted the Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria as a global standard in 2014, with the current guidance in Version 2.0 of 2024. The system is completed by the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology, adopted in 2020, which gives a common classification so assessments from different countries can be compared.
Ecosystem collapse does not mean species vanish from Earth. It means the system loses its defining plants, animals, water regime or structure and turns into a different system. The classic example is the Aral Sea in Central Asia, which shrank and salinised after water extraction, lost its aquatic life and became desert plain. Collapse is often hard to reverse, though restoration is theoretically possible if key components survive elsewhere.
Assessment uses five rule based criteria, labelled A to E. Two track space. Three track function and combined risk. The highest risk found under any single criterion decides the final category, following the precautionary principle.
| Criterion | What It Measures | Simple Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A: Reduction in geographic distribution | Loss of area over past 50 years, next 50 years, or any 50 year window including historical loss | How fast the ecosystem is shrinking |
| B: Restricted geographic distribution | Very small extent of occurrence, small area of occupancy, or very few threat defined locations, plus decline or threat | How vulnerable a small patch is to a single fire, dam or invasion |
| C: Environmental degradation | Decline in abiotic quality such as water, soil, salinity or climate over 50 year windows | Whether air, water and soil still suit native life |
| D: Disruption of biotic processes | Decline in species interactions such as pollination, food webs, recruitment or migration | Whether plants and animals still interact normally |
| E: Quantitative risk analysis | Modelled probability of collapse, with 50% in 50 years for Critically Endangered, 20% in 50 years for Endangered and 10% in 100 years for Vulnerable | Combined forecast from all threats |
The result is expressed in eight categories. Three categories mean threatened. The rest record lower risk, lack of data or no assessment yet.
| Category | Short Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Collapsed | CO | Defining features lost in all occurrences, characteristic native life no longer sustained |
| Critically Endangered | CR | Extremely high risk of collapse, broadly 80% decline in distribution or function in recent windows |
| Endangered | EN | Very high risk of collapse, broadly 50% decline in recent windows |
| Vulnerable | VU | High risk of collapse, broadly 30% decline in recent windows |
| Near Threatened | NT | Close to qualifying as threatened in the near future |
| Least Concern | LC | Evaluated and at low risk, widely distributed and relatively undegraded |
| Data Deficient | DD | Too little information to assess risk, not a statement of safety |
| Not Evaluated | NE | Not yet assessed against the criteria |
Kerala will apply Criteria A to E to each ecosystem type, from high altitude shola to coastal mangrove and river network. The southern Western Ghats riparian evergreen forest, with 83% historic loss, restricted low elevation patches and ongoing hydrological disruption, was earlier judged as Critically Endangered in a pilot study using Version 1.1. That finding shows how the state wide project can move many Kerala habitats from Not Evaluated to a formal risk status for the first time.
Red Data Book, Red List of Species and Red List of Ecosystems: How They Differ
The Red Data Book is a document that lists rare and threatened plants and animals with details on distribution, population and threats. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the global system that assigns species to extinction risk categories using standard criteria. The Red List of Ecosystems applies a parallel logic to whole habitats to judge collapse risk.
Many readers mix up these tools because names overlap. The table below keeps the distinction clear.
| Feature | Red Data Book | IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | IUCN Red List of Ecosystems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit assessed | Individual species documented in a book format | Individual species of animals, fungi and plants | Entire ecosystem types such as riparian forest, mangrove or shola grassland |
| Question asked | Which species are rare and where are they found | How close is a species to extinction in the wild | How close is a habitat to losing its defining features and function |
| End point | Extinction of last individual | Extinct, Extinct in the Wild | Collapsed, where the system becomes a different ecosystem |
| Categories | Varies by country edition, often based on IUCN labels | Nine labels from Not Evaluated to Extinct, including Vulnerable, Endangered and Critically Endangered | Eight labels from Not Evaluated to Collapsed, including Vulnerable, Endangered and Critically Endangered |
| Example from Kerala context | Hornbill or endemic riparian tree listed as threatened | Great Hornbill nesting at 180 metres in Vazhachal assessed for extinction risk | Low elevation riparian evergreen forest assessed as Critically Endangered for collapse risk |
The shift matters for action. Saving a hornbill nest protects one species. Grading its riverside forest as Critically Endangered protects nesting trees, fish breeding pools, water flow and flood buffers at once. Kerala’s project makes that landscape logic the basis for budgets, permits and restoration.
A related comparison often appears in policy notes. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) controls cross border trade in listed species through permits and bans. IUCN Red Lists only assess risk and do not regulate trade. Kerala’s RLE will therefore inform Indian laws and plans rather than create trade bans by itself.
Institutions Behind the Project: Biodiversity Board, Forest Research Institute and Local Committees
The Kerala State Biodiversity Board funds and anchors the Kerala RLE project under India’s biodiversity law. The Kerala Forest Research Institute and MES Asmabi College provide the science. Local Biodiversity Management Committees will carry the results into village and town plans.
The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) started functioning on 28 February 2005 with headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram. It was set up under Section 22 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, read with the Biological Diversity Rules of 2004 and the Kerala Biological Diversity Rules of 2008. The Act gives effect to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and creates a three tier system with the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), set up in 2003 and headquartered at Chennai, at the national level, State Boards at the state level and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local body level. KSBB advises the state government on conservation, regulates commercial use of biological resources by Indian entities, supports People’s Biodiversity Registers and Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans, and aligns state work with the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) was established in 1975 and is based at Peechi in Thrissur district. It functions under the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment and marks 50 years of work in 2025. KFRI brings expertise in forest ecology, remote sensing, geographic information systems and restoration. Its partner, MES Asmabi College, hosts research on taxonomy, ecology and climate change. Together they bring long field knowledge of rivers like Chalakudy and Periyar, where KFRI scientists documented dam impacts, loss of climax evergreen species, rise of disturbance loving plants and the biodiversity value of just a few square kilometres of riverside forest that shelter 696 angiosperms, 254 endemics, 196 bird species and rich fish, butterfly and odonate life.
Local institutions complete the chain. Every local body has a BMC that prepares People’s Biodiversity Registers and local action plans. The RLE outputs will be hosted with spatial support from the Kerala State Land Use Board and linked to state planning portals. This lets a panchayat see whether its stretch of river, wetland or hill is rated Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered, and then choose setbacks for construction, sites for native replanting and stretches where dam releases must mimic natural flow. The design directly supports Kerala’s stated goal of becoming India’s most biodiversity friendly state through community led restoration and climate resilience.
The Way Forward: Risk Register, Restoration Maps and Planning Use
The Kerala RLE project will be judged by whether maps change decisions on the ground. Kerala faces recurring floods, landslides and coastal erosion, and its 44 rivers carry heavy dam, diversion and settlement pressure. A public Risk Register can steer roads, housing, tourism and plantation approvals away from the most fragile patches.
Practical use will show in river management. Ecological flow below dams can be reset to match natural seasonal patterns, a step studies on the Chalakudy link directly to survival of evergreen riverside trees and fish migration. Encroached riparian strips held by state and private plantations can be restored with native species that provide shade, bank stability and wildlife corridors, while continuous monitoring with satellite images and field plots can update risk categories and feed into State and Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans.
Limits remain. A one year baseline cannot capture long term climate shifts, and many freshwater and marine systems have thin historic data and may initially fall in Data Deficient. Success will depend on open data, repeat assessments every few years and trained BMCs that can read and apply the atlas. If Kerala sustains that cycle, the state will offer a working model for other states to move from species lists to ecosystem health as the core of conservation.
Key Takeaways
- Kerala launched India’s first state level Red List Assessment of Ecosystems on 8 October 2026 to assess collapse risk across all 14 districts.
- The Kerala State Biodiversity Board funds the 1 year project, executed by the Kerala Forest Research Institute with MES Asmabi College.
- The trigger study reports 83% loss in 100 years of tropical riparian evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats, now judged Critically Endangered.
- Assessment uses the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems five criteria (A to E) and eight categories from Collapsed to Not Evaluated.
- Outputs include a Risk Register, Ecosystem Typology Atlas and ecorestoration priority maps for use by panchayats and Biodiversity Management Committees.
