Nature Conservation Index (NCI)

• India ranked 176th out of 180 countries in the 2024 Global Nature Conservation Index (NCI), with a score of 45.5 out of 100.
• This ranking places India among the bottom five countries globally, alongside Kiribati (180th), Turkey (179th), Iraq (178th), and Micronesia (177th).
• The NCI evaluates countries based on four major conservation parameters: Land Management, Threats to Biodiversity, Capacity and Governance, and Future Trends.

India’s performance across parameters

• Land Management: India ranked 154th, scoring 42/100. Approximately 53% of the country's land is converted for urban, industrial, and agricultural purposes, leading to deforestation and habitat fragmentation.
• Threats to Biodiversity: With a score of 54, India ranked 177th, indicating significant biodiversity risks. Between 2001 and 2019, 23,300 sq. km of tree cover was lost due to deforestation.
• Capacity and Governance: India scored 60, ranking 115th, reflecting moderate institutional effectiveness in conservation.
• Future Trends: India's score of 35 placed it 133rd, suggesting concerns about the sustainability of current conservation practices.

What is Nature Conservation Index (NCI)?

• The Nature Conservation Index (NCI) is an analytical framework or tool designed to evaluate, monitor, and rank the effectiveness of nature conservation efforts across various scales—local, national, regional, or global. 
• It provides a composite assessment based on a set of ecological, legal, and policy-based indicators related to the protection of biodiversity and natural ecosystems.

Purpose and Conceptual Foundation

• The main purpose of the NCI is to track how effectively countries, regions, or organizations are preserving natural ecosystems, species diversity, and overall environmental health. 
• It aims to quantify conservation success in a measurable way and to inform policy-making, guide environmental investments, and support the sustainable management of natural resources.
• Unlike some well-known indices such as the Human Development Index (HDI) or Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measure economic or social performance, the NCI is not universally standardized. 
• However, it is increasingly adopted by governments, research institutions, international bodies, and environmental NGOs to understand the status of biodiversity conservation.

Structure and Indicators

• The NCI is usually constructed using a range of qualitative and quantitative indicators. 
• These indicators help capture the multidimensional nature of conservation, including ecological integrity, legal frameworks, governance, and public participation. 
• Common components include:

Ecological Indicators

• Protected Areas Coverage: Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas legally designated as protected.
• Biodiversity Metrics: Number of endemic, endangered, and vulnerable species, and efforts made to preserve them.
• Forest Cover Change: Rate of deforestation, afforestation, and forest degradation.
• Ecosystem Health: Integrity of wetlands, freshwater bodies, coral reefs, and grasslands.
• Habitat Fragmentation: Extent to which natural habitats are divided by roads, agriculture, or urbanization.

Governance & Policy Indicators

• Implementation of Environmental Laws: Effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms and penalties for violations.
• International Commitments: Participation in treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), CITES, and Ramsar Convention.
• Budgetary Allocations: National funding dedicated to conservation programs and protected area management.

Socio-Economic and Community Indicators

• Community Involvement: Participation of indigenous and local communities in conservation decision-making.
• Environmental Education and Awareness: Public knowledge about biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Sustainable Resource Use: Extent to which renewable natural resources are harvested sustainably.
• These indicators are often normalized and weighted to produce a composite NCI score, typically on a scale from 0 to 100.

Interpreting the Scores

• Based on their NCI score, countries or regions can be categorized into performance levels:

High Conservation Performance (61–100):

• These areas exhibit strong environmental governance, high protected area coverage, effective species protection programs, and active community participation. 
• Examples include Costa Rica and Bhutan.

Moderate Conservation Performance (31–60):

• These regions have made progress but face ongoing challenges such as inconsistent law enforcement, limited funding, or growing threats from development.

Low Conservation Performance (0–30):

• This category reflects areas with widespread environmental degradation, habitat loss, low biodiversity protection, and weak policy frameworks. 
• Often, these countries face economic pressures, conflict, or lack of environmental awareness.

Comparison with Other Environmental Indices

• The NCI complements other global indices used to assess environmental and conservation outcomes:

Environmental Performance Index (EPI):

• Compiled by Yale and Columbia Universities, this index measures environmental health and ecosystem vitality in 180 countries.

Living Planet Index (LPI):

• Published by WWF and the Zoological Society of London, it tracks changes in the size of wildlife populations globally.

Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII):

• Measures the percentage of a region’s original biodiversity that remains intact compared to pre-industrial levels.

Forest Landscape Integrity Index:

• Assesses the degree of human modification in forest ecosystems and helps identify areas of high ecological value.
• Each of these tools offers unique insights, but the NCI is particularly valuable because it offers a holistic, conservation-focused perspective, integrating not just ecosystem health but also the policy and social dimensions of biodiversity management.

Support from International Organizations

• Numerous global organizations use or promote similar conservation metrics:

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):

• Supports global conservation assessments and environmental monitoring systems.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):

• Maintains the Red List of Threatened Species, one of the most authoritative resources for species conservation status.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF):

• Uses biodiversity indices to guide its global conservation strategies and advocate for better protection policies.
• These institutions play a vital role in data collection, capacity building, and standard setting, making the NCI and similar tools more reliable and actionable.

Role in Modern Conservation and Climate Action

• In today’s world, where climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, and overexploitation are driving a global biodiversity crisis, the NCI becomes a critical instrument for environmental accountability.

It enables countries to:

• Track progress toward global biodiversity targets, such as those in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (adopted at COP15).
• Identify high-priority conservation areas.
• Allocate resources where they are most needed.
• Raise awareness and educate citizens and stakeholders about biodiversity loss and ecosystem protection.

Applications and Benefits

The NCI serves multiple purposes:

• Policy-making and Planning: Helps governments align national strategies with international commitments.
• Academic Research: Provides data for ecological and social science studies.
• Public Accountability: Informs the public and stakeholders of progress and gaps in conservation.
• Conservation Funding: Guides donor organizations in prioritizing projects and regions.