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Picture Courtesy: The Hindu

Context:

UN has declared 2026 as the International Year for Rangelands and Pastoralists. Global debate on forest-centric climate policies ignoring grasslands and savannahs. COP30 (Belém, Brazil) again focused largely on forests, sidelining other biomes.

What are Grasslands?

Grasslands are terrestrial ecosystems dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, with few or no trees, occurring in regions where rainfall is moderate but insufficient to support dense forests. 

Key characteristics:

• Vegetation: Grasslands are dominated by grasses, sedges, and herbaceous plants, while trees are sparse or completely absent due to climatic and ecological constraints. 

• Climate: Grasslands typically occur in regions receiving moderate and seasonal rainfall, generally ranging between 250 and 750 mm annually, which is insufficient to sustain dense forests. 

• Soil: Grassland soils are usually deep and fertile, enriched with organic matter and storing a large amount of soil carbon in root systems. 

• Fire and Grazing: Grasslands are naturally adapted to periodic fires and grazing, which help maintain open landscapes and prevent excessive woody plant growth. 

• Carbon Storage: A significant proportion of carbon in grasslands is stored below ground in roots and soils, making them relatively resilient carbon sinks.

Types of Grasslands:

Tropical Grasslands (Savannas): These grasslands occur mainly between forests and deserts in tropical regions and are characterised by grasses with scattered trees, such as the African savanna and the Brazilian Cerrado.

Temperate Grasslands: Found in mid-latitude regions, these grasslands include the Prairies of North America, the Steppes of Eurasia, and the Pampas of South America, and are known for extensive grass cover and fertile soils.

Montane and Alpine Grasslands: These grasslands occur at high altitudes and cold climates, such as the Himalayan alpine meadows and the Shola grasslands of the Western Ghats, and support specialised flora and fauna. 

Current status of grasslands in India:

• Grasslands cover a significant portion of India’s land area, estimated between 16–18 % of the geographical area depending on classification criteria, yet they are poorly understood and mapped as distinct ecosystems.
• A very low proportion of grassland habitats fall within legally protected areas such as sanctuaries or national parks; studies indicate less than 5 % protection coverage of open grasslands and scrub ecosystems.
• Indian grasslands support unique biodiversity including bustards, marsh birds, herbivores, and many endemic species. They also provide critical grazing grounds for livestock and livelihoods for pastoral communities.

Grassland in India:

Tropical and Semi-Arid Grasslands: These grasslands occur in regions with low to moderate rainfall and are widespread across western, central, and peninsular India, particularly in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, supporting pastoral livelihoods and species like the Great Indian Bustard.

Savanna-type Grasslands: Savanna grasslands with scattered trees are found in parts of central India and the Deccan Plateau, where seasonal rainfall and grazing maintain open grassy landscapes interspersed with shrubs and trees.

Alluvial Floodplain Grasslands: These grasslands develop along major river systems such as the Ganga–Brahmaputra plains, especially in Assam and northern Bihar, and include the tall wet grasslands of Kaziranga and Manas, which are crucial for rhinoceros, elephants, and swamp deer. 

Montane Grasslands: Montane grasslands occur at higher elevations in the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, and parts of central India, often forming mosaics with forests and playing an important role in water regulation. 

Alpine Grasslands: Alpine grasslands are found above the tree line in the Himalayas—including Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh—and are characterised by short grasses, herbs, and seasonal flowering meadows. 

Shola Grasslands: Shola grasslands are unique montane grassland–forest mosaics of the upper Western Ghats (Nilgiris, Anamalai, Palani hills), where rolling grasslands alternate with patches of evergreen shola forests. 

Desert Grasslands: Desert grasslands occur in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat, dominated by drought-resistant grasses and shrubs, and are adapted to extreme aridity and temperature variations. 

Significance of Grasslands:

• Biodiversity Conservation: Grasslands in India support highly specialised biodiversity, including iconic and threatened species such as the Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican, Blackbuck, Indian Wolf, and Bengal Florican, with studies showing that over 50% of India’s grassland bird species are in decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation. 

• Carbon Sequestration and Climate Regulation: Grasslands are significant yet under-recognised carbon sinks, storing nearly 70–90% of their carbon below ground in roots and soils, making them more stable carbon reservoirs than forests, which store most carbon above ground and are vulnerable to fires and logging.

• Soil Conservation and Land Degradation Control: Grasslands possess dense root networks that bind soil particles, reduce erosion by wind and water, and help combat desertification, especially in India’s semi-arid and arid regions, which constitute nearly 30% of the country’s land area. 

• Hydrological Regulation: Grasslands enhance rainwater infiltration and groundwater recharge, reduce surface runoff, and regulate stream flows, playing a crucial role in flood moderation and drought resilience, particularly in riverine grasslands of the Ganga–Brahmaputra plains.
• Ecosystem Connectivity: Grasslands act as ecological corridors, linking forests, wetlands, and protected areas, thereby enabling wildlife movement and maintaining genetic diversity across landscapes.

Key concerns in grassland conservation:

Legal gaps: Grasslands in India lack a clear legal definition as distinct ecosystems and are often misclassified as “wastelands”, resulting in their diversion for afforestation, agriculture, infrastructure, and industrial use. 

Low protection coverage: Less than 5% of India’s grasslands fall within legally protected areas, compared to forests which receive the bulk of conservation funding and legal safeguards, leaving most grasslands vulnerable to conversion and degradation. 

Forest-centric conservation approach: National climate and conservation policies remain forest-biased, with grasslands often targeted for tree plantations under carbon sequestration and afforestation schemes, despite scientific evidence that such actions degrade native grassland biodiversity and soil carbon. 

Institutional fragmentation: Grasslands fall under the jurisdiction of multiple ministries and departments (around 18 in India)—including environment, agriculture, rural development, and animal husbandry—leading to overlapping mandates, policy conflicts, and weak coordination. 

Weak data, mapping, and monitoring: India lacks high-resolution, nationwide mapping and long-term ecological monitoring of grasslands, resulting in poor baseline data on grassland extent, health, carbon stocks, and biodiversity trends. 

Neglect of indigenous and pastoral knowledge: Traditional grazing systems and controlled burning practices of pastoral and indigenous communities are often restricted or criminalised, despite evidence that such practices historically maintained grassland productivity and ecological balance. 

Land-use change and development pressures: Rapid conversion of grasslands for agriculture, solar and wind energy parks, mining, roads, and urban expansion has led to widespread habitat fragmentation, particularly affecting grassland-dependent species. 

Invasive species and poor management: Invasive species such as Prosopis juliflora and Lantana camara have spread across Indian grasslands, while limited resources and technical capacity hinder effective restoration and invasive control. 

Climate policy exclusion: Grasslands are largely absent from India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and national climate strategies, despite their potential role in soil carbon sequestration, drought resilience, and adaptation. 

Biodiversity blind spot: Conservation prioritisation tends to favour charismatic forest species, while grassland specialists—such as bustards and floricans—receive limited attention, even though over half of India’s grassland birds are declining. 

Measures to strengthen Grassland Conservation in India:

• Legal recognition of grasslands: Grasslands must be formally recognised as distinct ecosystems rather than wastelands, since they account for nearly 16–18% of India’s land area, and this can be achieved by revising the Wasteland Atlas of India and operationalising the ecological intent of the Draft National Forest Policy, 2018, which acknowledges grasslands and deserts as important ecosystems. 

• Expansion of legal protection: As less than 5% of India’s grasslands fall under protected areas, greater use of provisions under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to declare Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves, supported by the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) scheme, is essential for landscape-level protection.  

• Reform of afforestation and plantation policies: Afforestation drives under the Green India Mission and the National Afforestation Programme should adopt an ecosystem-based approach, avoiding tree plantations in natural grasslands, as such plantations reduce native biodiversity and degrade soil carbon. 

• Integration into climate policy and NDCs: Grasslands should be explicitly incorporated into India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), given that 70–90% of grassland carbon is stored below ground, making them stable long-term carbon sinks. 

• Strengthening inter-ministerial coordination: With grasslands governed by around 18 ministries and departments, creating a national coordination mechanism aligned with the National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) would help harmonise conservation, pastoral livelihoods, and development priorities. 

• Securing pastoral and community rights: Recognising grazing rights, seasonal mobility, and traditional management practices of pastoral communities through the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and aligning them with the National Livestock Mission, is critical for sustaining grassland ecology and livelihoods. 

• Restoration of degraded grasslands: Ecological restoration using native grasses, soil recovery techniques, and water conservation measures should be scaled up in semi-arid regions covering nearly 30% of India’s land area, supported by the National Action Programme to Combat Desertification (NAPCD) and the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP). 

• Species-focused conservation: Grassland-dependent species such as the Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican, Indian Wolf, and Blackbuck should be prioritised under the Species Recovery Programme and habitat protection initiatives supported by Project Tiger and Project Elephant in grassland–forest mosaics. 

• Mainstreaming grasslands in development planning: Grasslands must be integrated into land-use planning and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification process to ensure renewable energy projects, mining, and infrastructure development avoid ecologically sensitive grassland landscapes. 

Conclusion:

Strengthening grassland conservation in India requires legal recognition, ecosystem-appropriate policies, effective use of existing government initiatives, and active involvement of pastoral communities to safeguard biodiversity, livelihoods, and climate resilience.

Source: The Hindu