Why has IUCN red-flagged the Western Ghats? | Explained

The story so far: The vast Western Ghats and two national parks in India (Assam’s Manas national park and West Bengal’s Sundarbans national park) are classified as “of significant concern” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of natural World Heritage sites in Asia.

Why survey?

The IUCN’s World Heritage Outlook 4 report, published earlier this month, considers the four biggest threats to habitat and species loss in South Asia: climate change, tourism activities, invasive alien species and roads. The report classifies natural areas as “good”, “good with some concerns”, “significant concern” and “critical”.

“Each of these categories not only demonstrates the potential for preserving the values ​​and essential features of an area, but also demonstrates the urgency of measures that need to be taken to improve the conservation outlook and ensure the long-term protection of all areas,” the report says.

The IUCN assessment of more than 200 natural and mixed World Heritage sites “offers the most in-depth analyzes of the threats facing natural World Heritage worldwide and the status of their conservation and management,” says IUCN director general Grethel Aguilar in the report’s introduction.

The report uses four conservation assessment cycles conducted since 2014.

“A key finding is that almost 40% of areas face conservation concerns, and climate change remains the most prevalent threat,” says Aguilar. The report notes that “the percentage of areas with a positive outlook on conservation has decreased significantly for the first time.”

Do we have ‘good’ protected areas?

Of the 228 areas assessed since 2014, approximately 63% had a positive outlook in 2014, 2017 and 2020; “but the IUCN World Heritage Outlook 4 shows that only 57% of these sites have a positive conservation outlook in 2025.”

Threats are also evolving at natural World Heritage sites in Asia. While climate change was the most common threat in 2025, it was hunting in 2020. Then comes tourism. Invasive alien species are now the third biggest threat.

“It is also noteworthy that roads and railways are now among the top five threats to natural World Heritage in Asia, whereas this was not the case in 2020.”

Protected areas in South Asia are rapidly being encroached upon and natural habitats are being destroyed. Other threats include forest fires, hunting, roadkill, waste disposal, encroachment, illegal logging and road construction, according to the report.

Of the 32 Asian sites classified as “good with some concerns,” four are located in India: the Great Himalayan National Park Reserve, Kaziranga National Park, Keoladeo National Park, and Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks. Khangchendzonga National Park in Sikkim was rated ‘good’ for its conservation outlook and valued for its ‘attributes’ [that] “They are currently in good condition and are likely to remain protected for the foreseeable future, provided current conservation measures are maintained.”

The Western Ghats, a mosaic of forests and grasslands, are older than the Himalayas and have exceptionally high levels of biodiversity and endemism; It is the habitat of approximately 325 species of flora, fauna, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish that, according to UNESCO, are globally threatened (included in the IUCN Red List). This includes the Nilgiri tahr, a stocky, agile goat found nowhere else in the world.

What makes the Western Ghats vulnerable?

However, the Western Ghats are in grave danger from hundreds of hydropower projects such as the proposed Rs 5.843 billion Sillahalla Pumped Storage Hydropower project in the Nilgiris, which involves building dams along the Sillahalla River and Kundah River, aimed at generating 1,000 MW of power for the Tamil Nadu plains.

Tourism causes garbage problems and exacerbates conflicts, often consumed by wild animals such as elephants. Plantations are replacing natural ecosystems. Climate change has forced fauna such as the Nilgiri flycatcher and black and orange flycatcher to adapt by redistributing from rapidly warming lower altitudes to higher altitudes. Exotic species are colonizing native forests, such as eucalyptus and acacia (both originally from Australia) brought here during the colonial period.

As for the Sundarbans mangroves where tigers swim; salinity, heavy metal pollution and unsustainable resource extraction threaten the ecosystem; The report states that sea level rise and frequent storm waves reduce mangrove biodiversity.

Is there hope yet?

Apart from India, seven sites in China, including the Badain Jaran Desert-Sand and Lake Towers, Chengjiang Fossil Site and Huangshan Mountain, have been declared “best protected and managed protected areas”.

Natural World Heritage sites make up less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, but support more than 20% of mapped global species richness. “This includes more than 75,000 plant species and more than 30,000 species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians,” the report says.

This report is timely. “The world has agreed to halt biodiversity loss through the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the UNESCO World Heritage Convention is uniquely positioned to tackle these challenges by bridging the gap between nature and culture and protecting places with outstanding biodiversity, functional habitats and high ecosystem integrity,” the report says.

The report analyzes the conservation outlook for natural and mixed World Heritage sites over the past 10 years, providing a “litmus test of conservation action.”

“This report is more than a health check. It is a guide to action,” says Aguilar.

There is still hope. For example, the report says many World Heritage sites in Asia, such as Mount Wuyi in China and the Sinharaja Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka, offer “examples of good practice” by involving younger generations and local communities in conservation efforts.