‘STUDY BY WII, NCBS, AARHUS VARSITY’ India losing 15k sqkm forest area to invasive species each yr’

Invasive species are spreading at an annual rate of 15,000 square kilometres in forest areas and nearly two-thirds of India’s natural ecosystems now harbour 11 major invasive species, according to a new study published on Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal, Nature Sustainability.

- Chetan Chauhan

The species, including Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata and Prosopis juliflora, are spreading across India at some of the fastest rates recorded globally, said the analysis of a million vegetation records from the National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) assessments between 2006 and 2022.

The study by scientists from the Denmark's Aarhus University, Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) found that every year, a new alien plant invades 6,000 square km of tiger range and 11,700 square km of wild herbivore habitat.

It identified 243 subdistricts (tehsils) and 167 protected areas as high-risk zones and added that by 2022, invasive plants have exposed 144 million people, 2.8 million livestock, and 0.2 million square km of smallholder farmland to its devastating impact.