Environment › Protected areas and habitats
Forests, grasslands and mountain ecosystems
Forests, grasslands, deserts, islands and mountain ranges as ecosystems: how forest cover is measured, forest fires, grasslands mistaken for wasteland, and the ecological protection of the Western Ghats, the Aravalli and the Himalaya. Prelims has ranked States by forest cover and asked what the Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports proposed for the Western Ghats.
UPSC has asked
- Prelims 2019: ranking States by percentage of forest cover to State area
Showing 1 of 3 subjects, those that changed from 16 to 31 August 2026.Show all
Open natural ecosystems
Copy link to Open natural ecosystemsPrelims and Mains
- India's open natural ecosystems, its grasslands, savannas, scrub, ravines and deserts, are still recorded in many places as wastelands, and lose out in land use decisions accordingly.
- India launched its first Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems at COP17.
The barren land fallacy
A grassland is not an unfinished forest, and the species that live on open ground cannot live under a canopy.
- Ecologists warn that planting trees on grassland is not restoration but the barren land fallacy.
What changed
26 Aug 2026
PIB, 26 Aug 2026: India's second Bonn Challenge progress report and restoration finance at COP17 (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 26 Aug 2026: UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia focuses on drought resilience (opens in a new tab)
24 Aug 2026
The Hindu, 24 Aug 2026: What is the barren land fallacy? (opens in a new tab)
Background reading: PIB, 17 Aug 2026: India at UNCCD COP17: guide to grasslands, Bonn Challenge progress and drought resilience (opens in a new tab)