India’s Biodiversity: Unique Species and Conservation Needs

India occupies just 2.4% of the world’s land area, yet it shelters around 7-8% of all recorded species on the planet. That single fact captures why the country is counted among the world’s 17 “megadiverse” nations. From snow leopards prowling cold Himalayan deserts to corals fringing the Andaman coastline, the range of life packed into one country is staggering. Understanding what lives here, where it survives, and why it needs protection is the first step toward keeping this natural wealth intact.

India’s rich flora and fauna
Globally important populations: the Bengal tiger
The last refuge of the Asiatic lion
Biodiversity hotspots
The Western Ghats
The Eastern Himalaya
Biogeographic zones and species distribution
The ten zones in brief
Why the zone system aids conservation
The pressures and the path ahead

India’s rich flora and fauna

India’s biodiversity is best understood through numbers. The country is home to roughly 91,000 species of animals and 45,500 species of plants that have been documented across its varied landscapes. Insects alone account for tens of thousands of these species, followed by fish, birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians. The variety exists because India contains nearly every major habitat type on Earth, from desert and high mountain to tropical rainforest, mangrove swamp, grassland, and island archipelago.

What makes this diversity globally significant is the high level of endemism, meaning species found nowhere else in the world. A large share of India’s reptiles, amphibians, and flowering plants are endemic. According to the India Biodiversity Portal, around 45.8% of reptiles, 55.8% of amphibians, and 33% of Indian plants are endemic. These species evolved in isolation over long periods, often confined to a single mountain range or island group, which also makes them especially vulnerable to extinction if their habitat is lost.

Globally important populations: the Bengal tiger

India is the single most important country for wild tigers. The latest All India Tiger Estimation recorded a population that has risen to 3,682 tigers in 2022, compared with 2,967 in 2018. This represents roughly 70% of the global wild tiger population, a remarkable concentration in one nation. The recovery has been driven by Project Tiger, launched in 1973, which now operates through 58 notified tiger reserves covering nearly 2.5% of the country’s geographical area.

The story is not entirely without concern. Tiger numbers have grown steadily, but the same census period recorded poaching and human-wildlife conflict as continuing threats. The growth in numbers means tigers increasingly move through corridors between reserves, where they are exposed to traffic accidents and territorial conflicts. Conservation, in other words, is an ongoing task rather than a finished achievement.

The last refuge of the Asiatic lion

The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) survives in the wild in only one place on Earth: the Gir landscape of Gujarat. This makes India’s lion population uniquely precious. The 16th Asiatic Lion Census of 2025 recorded 891 lions, a 32.2% rise from 674 in 2020. The growth has been supported by Project Lion, which focuses on habitat restoration, strengthening the prey base, and reducing conflict between lions and nearby communities.

One striking finding from the recent census is that lions are no longer confined to protected forests. A growing share now lives in non-forested areas and agricultural landscapes, with the population spreading into satellite zones and wildlife corridors. While this expansion signals a healthy, growing population, it also raises the challenge of helping people and large predators share the same space safely.

Biodiversity hotspots

Not all biodiversity is spread evenly. Some regions are exceptionally rich in unique species while also facing severe threats. These are called biodiversity hotspots, a concept introduced by ecologist Norman Myers in 1988. To qualify, a region must have at least 1,500 endemic species of vascular plants and must have lost at least 70% of its original natural habitat. The combination of irreplaceable life and intense pressure makes these areas the highest priority for conservation worldwide.

India contains parts of four of the world’s biodiversity hotspots: the Himalaya, the Western Ghats, the Indo-Burma region, and Sundaland (represented through the Nicobar Islands). Two of these stand out as especially important within the country’s own borders.

The Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, also called the Sahyadri Hills, run parallel to the western coast for about 1,600 kilometres from Gujarat down to Tamil Nadu. Despite covering a relatively narrow strip of land, the range packs in an extraordinary variety of habitats. The altitude climbs from near sea level to over 2,500 metres, creating a gradient from tropical lowland forests to high-elevation grasslands. This region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is recognised among the world’s most threatened hotspots.

The Ghats are exceptionally rich in endemic plants, amphibians, reptiles, and freshwater fish. Iconic animals such as the lion-tailed macaque and the Nilgiri tahr live here and nowhere else. Beyond wildlife, the range plays a critical role in the lives of millions of people. By intercepting the southwest monsoon, the Western Ghats feed several major rivers of peninsular India, making them essential for water supply, agriculture, and hydroelectric power.

The Eastern Himalaya

The Eastern Himalaya covers the northeastern Indian states of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh, extending into Nepal, Bhutan, and beyond. Its defining feature is the dramatic change in elevation over short distances. As the mountains rise abruptly, ecosystems shift from subtropical broadleaf forests in the foothills to temperate forests, mixed conifer forests, and finally alpine meadows above the tree line. Vascular plants have been recorded at altitudes above 6,000 metres.

This topographic complexity has produced a mosaic of habitats and a center of plant diversity. The northeast is also home to species adapted to cold, high-altitude conditions, including the red panda and musk deer. Like the Western Ghats, the region faces pressure from habitat fragmentation, making the protection of wildlife corridors a conservation priority.

Biogeographic zones and species distribution

To plan conservation across such a varied country, scientists needed a way to divide it into meaningful natural units. In 1988, Rodgers and Panwar of the Wildlife Institute of India proposed a classification that splits the country into 10 biogeographic zones, each further subdivided into biogeographic provinces. A biogeographic zone is a geographic area defined by its own environmental conditions and a distinct community of plants and animals adapted to it.

This framework matters because it captures patterns that political boundaries miss. Factors such as altitude, rainfall, temperature, and natural barriers like river valleys and mountain ranges shape where species can live. By organising the country along these natural lines, planners can identify which ecosystems are well protected and which are underrepresented in the network of national parks and sanctuaries.

The ten zones in brief

The ten biogeographic zones span the full sweep of Indian landscapes. They are the Trans-Himalaya, a cold, high-altitude desert in Ladakh and the Spiti region; the Himalaya, with its forested gradient from temperate to alpine; the Indian Desert, dominated by the arid Thar; and the Semi-Arid zone, a transition belt between desert and richer lands. Continuing south and east, they include the Western Ghats, the Deccan Peninsula, the Gangetic Plain, North-East India, the Islands of the Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep groups, and the Coasts.

Each zone supports its own characteristic wildlife. The Trans-Himalaya shelters the snow leopard and Tibetan antelope, while the Thar Desert is one of the last strongholds of the Great Indian Bustard. The largest of all is the Deccan Peninsula, which covers around 42% of India’s land area and holds some of the country’s finest deciduous forests across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha. This zone forms the catchment for major rivers such as the Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi, and Godavari.

Why the zone system aids conservation

The real value of the biogeographic classification lies in conservation planning. Studies analysing where endemic species occur have found that the distribution of protected areas does not always match the patterns of endemism. In other words, some of the most species-rich and unique regions may have relatively weak protection, while large areas of protected land may cover less critical habitats. Research published in scientific journals has shown that elevation is strongly correlated with endemism, followed by rainfall, temperature, and land cover.

By mapping species against zones, conservationists can spot these gaps and direct resources where they matter most. This is why protection increasingly aims to move beyond isolated parks toward a landscape approach. Securing wildlife corridors between reserves, recognising community-managed forests and sacred groves, and embedding biodiversity safeguards in infrastructure planning all help maintain the connections that species need to survive in a changing climate.

The pressures and the path ahead

India’s natural wealth faces real and mounting threats. Habitat loss from agriculture and infrastructure, deforestation, pollution, the spread of invasive species, and human-wildlife conflict all chip away at ecosystems. Climate change adds another layer, shifting the altitudinal bands that mountain species depend on. The success stories of the tiger and the lion show that recovery is possible, but they also depend on sustained effort, scientific monitoring, and the cooperation of communities who live alongside wildlife.

The encouraging lesson is that targeted conservation works. Dedicated programmes, modern monitoring technology such as camera traps and radio-collaring, and the involvement of local people have together turned around the fortunes of some of the country’s most threatened species. Extending that approach across all ten biogeographic zones, rather than focusing only on a few flagship animals, is the challenge for the decades ahead.

What do you think? If a region is rich in unique species but also under heavy human pressure, how should we balance the needs of growing communities with the urgency of protecting irreplaceable wildlife? And looking at the recovery of the tiger and the Asiatic lion, what do you believe made the difference between species that rebound and those that continue to decline?

References

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Table of Contents

India’s rich flora and fauna 🔗

Globally important populations: the Bengal tiger 🔗

The last refuge of the Asiatic lion 🔗

Biodiversity hotspots 🔗

The Western Ghats 🔗

The Eastern Himalaya 🔗

Biogeographic zones and species distribution 🔗

The ten zones in brief 🔗

Why the zone system aids conservation 🔗

The pressures and the path ahead 🔗