According to the 2024 Global Nature Conservation Index (NCI) released on 24th October 2024, India ranked at 176th position among 180 countries across the world, with overall score of 45.5 out of 100. India’s low ranking in the index is mainly attributed to inefficient land management and rising threats to biodiversity.
- As per the Index, India is among the 5 worst performers alongside Kiribati (180th), Turkey (179th), Iraq (178th), and Micronesia (177th).
- Luxembourg has topped the index with overall score of 70.8, followed by Estonia (70.5) and Denmark (69.4) ranked at 2nd and 3rd position, respectively.
About 2024 NCI:
i.This is the inaugural edition of the index, developed by Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change (GSC)at Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negeve and BioDB.com, a non-profit web portal dedicated to maintaining biodiversity data.
ii.The index ranked countries based on their score on 25 parameters which are further classified into 4 main parameters: managing protected areas, addressing threats against biodiversity, nature and conservation governance, and future trends in a country’s natural resource management.
iii.It is a data-driven analysis evaluating the progress made by each country in balancing conservation and development, aimed to help governments, researchers, and organisations identify concerns and enhance conservation policies for long-term biodiversity protection.
Top 5 Best –Performing Countries: 2024 NCI
| Rank | Name of the Country | Overall NCI Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luxembourg | 70.8 |
| 2 | Estonia | 70.5 |
| 3 | Denmark | 69.4 |
| 4 | Finland | 66.6 |
| 5 | The United Kingdom (UK) | 65.9 |
Top 5 Worst-Performing Countries: 2024 NCI
| Rank | Name of the Country | Overall NCI Score |
|---|---|---|
| 180 | Kiribati | 41.2 |
| 179 | Turkey | 41.5 |
| 178 | Iraq | 43.3 |
| 177 | Micronesia | 43.8 |
| 176 | India | 45.5 |
Key Highlights:
i.Among the top 10 countries in 2024 NCI, 7 are from Europe region: Luxembourg, Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK) and Romania.
- While, Zimbabwe ranked at 6th position with overall score of 65.9, is the only country from Africa region featured among the top 10 countries in the index.
ii.Other Top 5 countries are: Australia (65.8), Switzerland (64.7), Romania (64.6) and Costa Rica (64.4) ranked at 7th , 8th, 9th and 10th position, respectively.
iii.China, the 2nd largest economy in the world and one of the mega-biodiverse countries, ranked at 164th position in the index with overall score of 48.34.
- Notably, Bhutan (15th) is the only country from Asia region ranked among top 15 countries globally in the index with overall NCI score of 63.1.
iv.Other South Asian countries like: Bangladesh (173rd),Myanmar (167th) Pakistan (151st), Sri Lanka (90th), Nepal (60th) ranked better than India in the index.
India’s Performance on 4 Main Parameters:
i.India ranked at 154th position on “Land Management” parameter with score of 42 out of 100.
ii.India ranked at 115th position on “Capacity and Governance” parameter with score of 60.
iii.India ranked at 133rd position on “Future Trends” parameter with score of 35.
iv.Among all the 4 main parameters, India ranked among bottom 3 countries in “Threats to Biodiversity” parameter and ranked at 177th position with score of 54.
Key Observations about Indian Biodiversity:
i.The index has outlined various threats to India’s biodiversity, including habitat loss and fragmentation caused by agriculture, urbanisation and infrastructure development, with climate change posing an additional risk.
ii.Despite 7.5% of India’s terrestrial area is protected improvements are required in marine Protected Areas (PAs), with only 0.2% of India’s national waterways covered by protected areas and none within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
iii.According to the index, sustainable land use techniques are important due to 53% rate of land conversion for urban, industrial, and agricultural purposes.
- The report revealed the high use of pesticides and has also cautioned against soil pollution.
iv.The index highlighted that deforestation between 2001 and 2019 led to the loss of 23,300 square kilometer (sq. km) of tree cover in India.
v.Although 40% of marine species and 65% of terrestrial species are located within PAs, the significant population decreases. Also, another 67.5% of marine species and 46.9% of terrestrial species continue to witness population decline.
- The key findings of the index are in line with concerns raised by the latest global progress report on Sustainable Development, which revealed that India faced major challenges in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
