India has launched its first-ever comprehensive Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs), marking a significant step towards recognising and conserving ecosystems that have often received less attention than forests.
The guide was launched on August 17, 2026, at the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The publication brings together information on India’s diverse grasslands, savannas, deserts, scrublands, ravines and other open natural ecosystems, highlighting their ecological, social and economic importance.
The launch places India’s open natural ecosystems at the centre of discussions on biodiversity conservation, land restoration, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods.
Recognising Ecosystems Beyond Forests
Speaking through a special video message at the event, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav highlighted the importance of changing the way grasslands and other open ecosystems are understood.
The Minister noted that grasslands, scrublands and ravines have often been judged by the absence of trees, leading to some of these landscapes being incorrectly regarded as wastelands. He stressed that these ecosystems support unique biodiversity, contribute to the livelihoods of communities and play an important role in strengthening climate resilience.
Yadav also spoke about his personal connection with such landscapes, recalling his childhood in Ajmer, Rajasthan, where grazing lands and desert scrub were often described as wasteland.
He referred to traditional community-protected landscapes such as Orans and gauchars, where local communities historically managed land and grazing resources. These traditional practices, he said, reflected an understanding of the close relationship between land, livestock and community livelihoods.
The Minister described the new Guide as an important step towards recognising India’s open natural ecosystems and emphasised that their conservation should be guided by science and given appropriate attention alongside forests.
India’s Diverse Open Natural Ecosystems
India’s open natural ecosystems cover a remarkable range of landscapes and ecological conditions.
The new Guide documents ecosystems ranging from Himalayan and Terai grasslands to the Thar Desert and Banni landscapes. It also covers Deccan savannas, rocky plateaus, ravines, scrublands, coastal ecosystems and other desert landscapes.
Although these ecosystems may appear very different from one another, they perform important ecological functions. They support diverse plant and animal species, contribute to soil and water processes and store significant amounts of carbon in their soils.
These landscapes are also closely connected to human livelihoods. Pastoral communities, livestock-dependent populations and agricultural communities rely on many of these ecosystems for grazing, food production and other resources.
The Guide brings together information on their geographical settings, ecological characteristics, biodiversity and the communities and tribes associated with them.
Focus on Conservation and Land Restoration
The publication also includes thematic sections focusing on pastoralism, fire ecology and carbon sequestration.
These subjects are particularly important for understanding how open ecosystems function and how they can be managed sustainably. Appropriate fire management, for example, can be an important part of maintaining certain grassland ecosystems, while sustainable pastoral practices can help balance livestock needs with ecosystem health.
The launch also highlighted the role that restoration of grasslands and other open ecosystems can play in India’s efforts towards Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
Participants at the event emphasised the need for stronger scientific knowledge, improved assessment of land degradation and landscape-level planning. Rather than viewing individual ecosystems in isolation, experts highlighted the importance of managing entire landscapes while considering biodiversity, local communities and long-term environmental sustainability.
International Platform at UNCCD COP17
The Guide was launched during an official UNCCD COP17 side event held under the guidance of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.
The publication and event were organised by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management (CoE-SLM), Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) and Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO.
The event brought together representatives from government departments, scientific and research institutions, international organisations and civil society.
Presentations and discussions focused on the diversity and distribution of India’s grasslands and other open natural ecosystems, their ecological importance and the role of restoration in achieving land degradation targets.
Communities at the Centre of Conservation
A key theme of the discussions was the relationship between ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.
The event featured two fireside discussions involving national and international experts, scientific institutions, civil society organisations and community-focused groups. The conversations examined grassland and dryland conservation, restoration strategies, people-centred rangeland governance and climate resilience.
Experts also discussed the institutional, scientific and policy measures required to support conservation at a landscape scale.
The emphasis on people-centred approaches reflects the importance of including communities in decisions concerning landscapes that support pastoralism, livestock-based livelihoods and other traditional economic activities.
Strengthening India’s Land Restoration Efforts
The launch of the Guide reinforces India’s stated commitment to a science-informed and landscape-based approach to land restoration and sustainable land management.
It also highlights the need to bring grasslands, rangelands and other open natural ecosystems into mainstream conversations around biodiversity, climate change and land degradation.
For policymakers and conservation practitioners, better documentation of these ecosystems can help improve planning and management. For researchers, the Guide provides a consolidated resource on the ecological characteristics and distribution of India’s diverse open landscapes.
The publication is also expected to support development agencies and communities working on restoration and sustainable management.
A New Resource for Conservation
India’s first-ever Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems provides a broader understanding of landscapes that are essential to both nature and people.
Its launch at UNCCD COP17 gives India an international platform to showcase the diversity of its open ecosystems and draw greater attention to their conservation and restoration.
More importantly, the Guide reinforces a growing recognition that healthy landscapes cannot be measured simply by the number of trees they contain. Grasslands, savannas, scrublands, deserts, ravines and other open ecosystems have their own ecological value and support biodiversity, livelihoods, soil health and climate resilience.
By documenting these ecosystems and bringing their importance into global discussions on land restoration and Land Degradation Neutrality, India has taken an important step towards ensuring that open natural ecosystems receive greater scientific, policy and conservation attention.
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