Why in the News?

The IUCN’s World Heritage Outlook 4 has downgraded India’s Western Ghats, Manas, and Sundarbans National Parks to “Significant Concern” due to climate change, tourism, invasive species, and road expansion.

About IUCN World Heritage Outlook:

• Overview: Launched in 2014 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to evaluate the long-term conservation prospects of all natural and mixed UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• Cycle & Methodology: Conducted every three years (2014, 2017, 2020, 2025) using scientific data, field reports, remote-sensing, and expert review to assess retention of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).
• Coverage: The 2025 edition (World Heritage Outlook 4) assesses 200+ sites worldwide, measuring their state, threats, and management effectiveness.
• Assessment Categories:
  1. Good – Values secure.
  2. Good with Some Concerns – Moderate threats.
  3. Significant Concern – Serious pressures.
  4. Critical – Imminent loss of key values.

Key Findings World Heritage Outlook 4:

• Global Trends: “Positive outlook” sites fell from 63 % (2020) to 57 % (2025); ≈40 % of sites now face significant or critical challenges.
• Dominant Threats: Climate change has overtaken hunting and logging as the leading pressure, joined by tourism overload, invasive species, and infrastructure expansion.
• Management Gaps: Only half of sites effectively funded or staffed; weak law enforcement and community participation slow recovery.
• Positive Models: China (Mt Wuyi, Mt Huangshan) and Sri Lanka (Sinharaja) show improvement through youth involvement and sustainable tourism.
• Policy Relevance: Serves as a “litmus test for global conservation”, informing the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022) and supporting the 30×30 goal.

Key Findings on India’s Western Ghats:

• UNESCO Status: Inscribed in 2012 as a serial World Heritage Site; one of the world’s eight hottest biodiversity hotspots across six states (Gujarat → Tamil Nadu).
• 2025 Outlook Rating: Classified as “Significant Concern” due to rising ecological stress and habitat fragmentation.
• Biodiversity: Home to 325 globally threatened species; endemics include Nilgiri tahr, Malabar civet, Lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri flycatcher.
• Major Threats:
  1. Hydropower & Infrastructure – e.g., ₹ 5,843 crore Sillahalla Pumped Storage Project (1,000 MW) altering river systems.
  2. Unregulated Tourism – garbage, wildlife disturbance, elephant conflicts.
  3. Monoculture Expansion – tea, coffee, rubber replacing native forests.
  4. Climate Shift – upslope migration of species like the Black-and-Orange Flycatcher.
  5. Invasive Flora – eucalyptus and acacia reducing soil fertility.
• Conservation Imperatives: Strengthen eco-sensitive zone rules, restore corridors, and expand community-based initiatives (Eco-Development Committees, MGNREGS).
• Regional Significance: Regulates South India’s monsoon and river systems (Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri) sustaining 245 million people.
• Outlook Note: Despite threats, recovery is achievable through landscape-level management, sustainable tourism, and native vegetation restoration.

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