Across the world, scientists, governments and communities are bringing plants and animals back from the brink of extinction. In India, a Great Indian Bustard chick has hatched in Kutch , Gujarat, after a decade, bringing fresh hope for this critically endangered bird. The return of the scimitar-horned oryx to the wild in Chad, Africa, and the saiga antelope’s recovery in Kazakhstan offer further proof of what determined action can achieve.
In Spain and Portugal, restoring habitat and prey, breeding lynx and returning them to the wild helped the Iberian lynx grow from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022. During Wildlife Week (October 2-8), we can celebrate these gains while asking what it will take to sustain them.
States are mandated to undertake research, habitat improvement, protection and community participation. The species span India’s landscapes: the great Indian bustard in Rajasthan’s grasslands , the Sangai in Manipur’s wetlands, the dugong in coastal seagrass meadows and the hangul in Kashmir’s forests. The list is a starting point; India’s National Red List Assessment can show where focused efforts are needed next.
The Government of India’s Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme supports recovery action for 24 identified species and their habitats.
The National Red List Assessment can help close that gap and direct recovery efforts where they are needed most. India launched its National Red List Roadmap at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi in 2025; the aim was to produce National Red Data Books for plants and animals by 2030. India occupies just 2.4% of the world’s land area, yet supports nearly 8% of its flora and 7.5% of its fauna. It is one of 17 megadiverse countries and contains parts of four of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots. Around 28% of its plants and more than 30% of its animals are found nowhere else. Of the 7,516 Indian animal species assessed for the IUCN Red List, 1,012 are threatened, which includes Vulnerable, Endangered and Critically Endangered species. These assessments cover only 7.2% of India’s documented animal species. The figure of 1,012 tells us what is known so far, not the full extent of the threat.
In Tamil Nadu, Project Nilgiri Tahr combines population surveys, radio-collaring, habitat assessment and mapping across Tamil Nadu and Keralam to conserve the tahr, which is the State animal of Tamil Nadu. Working with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) and other partners, the project is strengthening the scientific understanding needed to secure the tahr’s future. Vulture conservation is an example of how sustained action through conservation breeding, safer habitats, monitoring and public awareness can help reverse a devastating decline. India’s ban on the veterinary use of diclofenac, which had caused catastrophic losses in vulture populations, was a crucial step in this effort. At Pinjore, the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, run by the Haryana Forest Department and the Bombay Natural History Society, works with white-rumped, long-billed and slender-billed vultures. Tamil Nadu’s Segur Plateau remains an important habitat. Tamil Nadu’s raptor conservation work and synchronised surveys across Tamil Nadu, Keralam and Karnataka track these birds, which include breeding populations in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Much depends on the commitment of State governments. Political leadership is crucial in prioritising the recovery of species, bringing government departments together and, most importantly sustaining action through successive budgets. Transferring that commitment into land use, infrastructure and livelihood decisions are what will help recovery plans being implemented. State forest teams have to turn plans into work on the ground. Recovery requires lasting cooperation with communities, scientists and national agencies. Results may take years, and setbacks require programmes to adapt. This would require clear goals, steady investment and careful monitoring. For India, a national picture of risk can guide priorities; States, scientists and communities can translate them into plans with mapped habitats, clear timelines and measurable outcomes. The bustard, vulture, tahr and dugong show that species recover in different ways. But their survival depends on sustained effort — to learn, to act and to stay with a species long enough for its future to change.
Surveys recorded 1,303 tahrs in 2025 and 1,364 in 2026. Madhya Pradesh’s 2025 census recorded 12,981 vultures, up from 8,397 in 2019.
