More than 700 km in length, the Aravalli landscape is one of India’s oldest and ecologically critical mountain ranges, spanning the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. The range is home to diverse floral and faunal species, including tigers, leopards, caracal, sloth bears, honey badger, Indian pangolin, and several endemic reptiles and birds, including the Great Indian Bustard.
The region is also socio-economically diverse, with Rajasthan and Gujarat hosting several tribal communities, including the Bhil and Garasia tribes, many of whom depend on forest produce, marginal agriculture, and livestock for sustenance. The landscape also has a high concentration of Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, and Other Backwards Class populations, especially among pastoral communities.
The Aravallis are severely threatened by illegal mining, deforestation, limited access to clean energy in rural pockets, linear infrastructure development (such as highways and windmills), and rapid urban expansion, making them a high-priority area for ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation.
Notable biodiversity areas include the Ranthambore National Park, Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary (Delhi, 32 km²), Sariska Tiger Reserve (Rajasthan, 881 km²), Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (Rajasthan, 610 km²), Khichan Ramsar Site, Kurja Conservation Reserve, and forested patches in southern Haryana and north Gujarat.
The Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s eight “hottest hotspots” of biodiversity, is a critical ecological zone supporting an extraordinary range of endemic flora and fauna. While the Western Ghats stretch over 1,600 km, SGP OP8 interventions will focus on selected districts in Goa – North and South Goa and Karnataka – Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada. These regions represent a rich mosaic of moist deciduous and evergreen forests, estuarine ecosystems, river basins, and marine habitats, forming a vital mountain-to-coast ecological continuum.
These habitats are home to the tiger, Indian bison, lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Malabar giant squirrel, king cobra, and over 300 species of birds, amphibians, and freshwater fish. Unique ecosystems such as the Myristica swamps, endemic to the Western Ghats, are also present along streambeds within the evergreen forests.
The region is marked by significant tribal populations, including the Kunbi, Velip, and Siddis, and fisher communities along the coast. Agriculture, fisheries, plantation crops (especially areca nut and coconut), and eco-tourism are important livelihood sources. However, the region is under pressure from unplanned urbanisation, mining, forest degradation, unsustainable tourism, and saline intrusion. Additionally, the coastal zones are highly vulnerable to sea-level rise, monsoon variability, and cyclonic disturbances. There is a growing need for establishing Early Warning Systems (EWS) for fisher communities and promoting climate resilience.
Recognising this, the projects will adopt an integrated mountain-coast, landscape-seascape approach to enhance ecosystem resilience, promote biodiversity-based livelihoods, and support climate adaptation in both forested uplands and vulnerable coastal communities. Specific thematic interventions will include community-led mangrove restoration, conservation of estuarine biodiversity, sustainable fisheries management, and strengthening of biodiversity governance across the forest–coast interface.
Major protected areas in this region include the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary (240 km²), Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa, along with Kudremukh National Park (600 km²), Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, and Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka.
Coastal
The eastern coastal seascape comprises the estuarine and deltaic coastal belts of Balasore and Bhadrak districts in Odisha, and the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal.
In Odisha, Bhitarkanika National Park, established on September 16, 1998, spans approximately 145 km² and is nested within the larger Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary (672 km²). It comprises India’s second-largest mangrove ecosystem, featuring dense mangrove networks intersected by creeks from the Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra, and Pathsala rivers. Chandipur, Dhamra estuary, and the Baitarani Delta form ecologically significant zones vulnerable to sea-level rise, cyclones, and saline intrusion. The Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha protects the world’s largest Olive Ridley turtle nesting site.
The Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Ramsar Site, is the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest (around 10,000 km² including India and Bangladesh), home to the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger, estuarine crocodiles, and hundreds of aquatic species. The Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve comprises the Sundarbans National Park, Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary, Lothian Island Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Haliday Island Wildlife Sanctuary.
Key mangrove and associated species include Sundari (Heritiera fomes), Avicennia species, Rhizophora species, and Bruguiera species. Key mammals include the Royal Bengal Tiger, Fishing Cat, and Smooth-coated Otter. The Saltwater Crocodile, Water Monitor Lizard and Irrawaddy Dolphin are also found here. The region is also home to rare aquatic species, like the Gangetic dolphin and the Ganges shark, while boasting a large variety of fish species, such as the Pondicherry shark, white-spotted shovelnose guitarfish, and bull shark, among others. The flora also includes salt-tolerant crop varieties, particularly traditional rice varieties adapted to brackish water conditions.
The Odisha and Sundarbans coasts host highly vulnerable populations, including Scheduled Tribes like the Lodhas and other marginalised fishing and farming communities, mainly from the Scheduled Caste communities. Poverty levels are high, and traditional livelihoods are under severe climate stress. In the Sundarbans, access to fresh water is limited, contributing to a range of health issues in an area already marked by inadequate health infrastructure. Development indicators are low, and traditional community-based governance systems have weakened, limiting adaptive capacities.
The SGP OP8 offers a strategic opportunity for scaling up community resilience through mangrove restoration, disaster risk reduction, salinity-resistant agriculture practices, and biodiversity-based value chains.
North-East
Part of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot region, the North-East Indian landscape is among the most biologically diverse and culturally rich regions of India. The projects will target the districts of South and West Garo Hills in Meghalaya; West Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh; and Sonitpur-Biswanath, Dhemaji-Lakhimpur, Chirang, and Tamulpur in Assam.
Important protected areas include Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary (West Kameng, 217 km²), Pakke Tiger Reserve, Balphakram National Park (220 km²), Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary, Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary and Nameri National Park. These areas are home to the Asian elephant, Hoolock gibbon, clouded leopard, Bengal slow loris, capped langur, Golden langur, and Indian pangolin. Hornbills (3 species), Bengal Florican, Ward’s Trogon, Satyr Tragopan, and Blood Pheasant are found here in addition to freshwater species such as the Assam Roofed Turtle and the Golden Mahseer. Medicinal and endemic plants such as Taxus wallichiana, Paris polyphylla, and Zanthoxylum species are also found here, along with endemic orchids and ferns.
Over recent years, the region has dealt with a 0.4% decrease in forest cover due to riverbank erosion, forest conversion, and expansion in agricultural areas. The ecosystem is also rapidly deteriorating due to increasing rates of deforestation, especially from coal and limestone mining, as well as pressure from monoculture plantations. Wildlife corridors are severely degraded, leading to rising human-wildlife conflict. Climate change has resulted in rising temperatures, erratic rainfall patterns, flash floods, and landslides during the monsoon, which in turn increases soil erosion and biodiversity stress.
The region is home to diverse tribal groups such as the Garo, Bodo, Nyishi, and Mishing, with more than 80% of the tribal population in the landscape covered by Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. However, despite rich resources, poverty rates remain high in many parts, exacerbated by geographical isolation, weak infrastructure, and climate vulnerability. Poverty rates in the landscape are over 35%. Access to reliable electricity remains limited in some areas, especially in remote parts of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Livelihoods are largely agrarian with a mix of shifting cultivation, forest produce collection, livestock, and eco-tourism, making them vulnerable to climate-related extreme events.
Himalayas
The Western Himalayas, part of the Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot region, represent a fragile high-altitude ecosystem spanning Ladakh (including Kargil) and the Gangotri-Govind landscape in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.
Biodiverse areas include the Govind Pashu Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary (958 sq. km), Gangotri National Park (2,390 sq. km), Hemis National Park in Ladakh (4,400 sq. km), Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary (5,000 sq. km), and Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary. These regions are characterised by glacial rivers, alpine meadows, and unique high-altitude biodiversity, including endangered species such as the Snow leopard, Himalayan wolf, Himalayan musk deer, Blue sheep (Bharal), Tibetan antelope, Bearded vulture, and Himalayan monal. Endemic high-altitude flora includes significant medicinal plants such as Picrorhiza kurroa, Aconitum heterophyllum, Nardostachys jatamansi, and Saussurea costus.
The areas face challenges such as glacial melt, erratic weather, overgrazing, and pressure from tourism. More than 60% of rangelands in Ladakh-Kargil show signs of moderate to severe degradation, while snow leopards, bharals, and marmot populations are threatened by habitat shrinkage, leading to conflicts with herders due to a declining wild prey base. 27% of the forest area in the Gangotri-Govind landscape is degraded or under open canopy cover, leading to frequent landslides in the monsoon. Further, overharvesting of high-altitude medicinal plants in the landscape has led to severe pressure on 15–20 species. Glaciers here are retreating at an average rate of 10–20 meters/year, due to which snowmelt-dependent streams show 30–40% reduced flow in summer.
As per NITI Aayog (2021), close to 25% of households in the landscape fall under multi-dimensional poverty. Harsh terrain, limited connectivity, and high-altitude climate result in poor access to health, education, and livelihoods. Close to 80% of the population in Ladakh-Kargil is tribal, belonging to the Brokpa, Bhotia, Balti, and Changpa groups, while Uttarkashi includes Bhotiya and Jaunsari communities. However, many forest-dependent communities are economically and socially marginalised, though not classified as tribal. Livelihoods include transhumance, medicinal plant collection, marginal farming, and spiritual tourism. Infrastructure and market access remain major challenges, contributing to economic vulnerability.
