Biodiversity & Conservation

GS Paper: GS Paper III | Subject: Environment | Last updated: 2026-06-26

Prelims

(Key facts, data, schemes, laws, organizations — MCQ-ready points)

Captive-Breeding Saves Parakeets from Extinction (Indian Express, 04-06-2026)

Feature: two parakeet species are "doing the heavy lifting" against extinction via captive-breeding ("super-breeder") programmes that release birds back into the wild
Illustrates ex-situ conservation (captive breeding) as a recovery tool for critically endangered birds, paired with habitat protection

First Global Map of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) Fungi (The Hindu, 15-06-2026)

A Science study mapped soil arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi using machine learning + 16,000+ soil cores: topsoils hold ~110 quadrillion km of fungal hyphae and ~300 Mt of carbon
Via symbiosis with 70% of plant species (nutrients-for-carbon), AM networks sequester ~4 bn tonnes CO₂-eq/year (~11% of human emissions)
Grassland hotspots — South Sudan, the Tibetan plateau, and India's Banni grasslands — hold 40% of AM networks; cropland has ~50% lower fungal density, and grasslands are being converted to farmland 4× faster than forests
Mapped by SPUN (Society for the Protection of Underground Networks)

CSIR 'Smart Village' & AI Wildlife Alerts (The Hindu, 15-06-2026)

CSIR is piloting an AI-enabled wild-animal detection & alert system at Kusunpur (Kendrapara, Odisha) — among India's worst human–crocodile conflict zones (20+ deaths in 4 years) — under a 'Smart Village' / "lab-to-land" plan (also green-livelihood tech, waste-plastic & cold-mix roads)

Aravallis — Demand to Reconstitute SC Panel & Declare a "Critical Ecological Zone" (The Hindu, 17-06-2026)

The Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan (AVJA) — a coalition of environmentalists — wrote to the CJI raising "grave concerns" over the SC-constituted committee examining the definition of the Aravalli range; it demanded that neither the Chairperson nor Member-Secretary be a serving MoEF&CC officer, but an independent domain expert
It urged scrapping the "regressive" uniform definition of the Aravallis accepted in the SC order of 20 Nov 2025, and declaring what remains of the ~700-km Aravalli range a "Critical Ecological Zone"
Submitted on the eve of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (17 June) — the Aravallis act as a green barrier against the eastward spread of the Thar Desert

Similipal's Black Tigers & India's First Inter-State Tiger Translocation (The Hindu, 21-06-2026)

Zeenat, a tigress translocated from Maharashtra's Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve to Odisha's Similipal Tiger Reserve (Nov 2024), has given birth to four cubs (mated with resident T45) — hailed as India's first successful inter-State tiger translocation from a surplus reserve to a low-density one. A second tigress, Jamuna, was released earlier (Oct 2024)
Why it was needed — the "black tiger" problem: Similipal is the world's only home of pseudo-melanistic ("black") tigers — a rare variant where a mutation in the Taqpep gene widens/merges the black stripes. Caused by a small, isolated, inbred population (a "founder effect"): pseudo-melanism rose from ~20% (2014 AITE, just 5 tigers) → 37.5% (2018) → 43.75% (2022) → 59.37% (2024 AITE); a 2021 PNAS study (NCBS's Uma Ramakrishnan) put it at ~37% and warned low genetic variation raises extinction & disease risk
Translocation history: Sariska (Rajasthan) 2008 = India's first successful tiger reintroduction (after local extinction); Panna (MP) 2009; both used within-State tigers. Odisha's 2018 Satkosia attempt failed (one tiger poached, the other returned amid local resistance). Maharashtra agreed to part with 9 tigers (7 females, 2 males) over 5 years; remaining 7 await a high-level committee decision
Significance: addresses genetic diversity and habitat connectivity (Zeenat famously traversed 3 States — Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal); led by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) + Wildlife Institute of India (WII); ~25% of Similipal cubs now carry a more diverse gene pool

Golden Langur Trafficking Bust (The Hindu, 21-06-2026)

Assam Police STF arrested 9 wildlife traffickers (incl. a Bangladeshi national) in Chirang district; recovered 8 golden langurs (one dead) bound for the international black market via West Bengal
The golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) is an endangered primate of western Assam/Bhutan foothills, listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (highest protection); black-market value ~₹16 lakh — see also [border-organized-crime]

Coral Reefs That Can Survive the Climate Crisis (The Hindu, 17-06-2026)

Scientists identified ~1,66,000 sq km (64,000 sq miles) of coral reefs capable of surviving and recovering from climate change — three times more than previously estimated
Significant for reef-conservation targeting (protecting climate-resilient "refugia") as corals face severe bleaching stress from warming seas

Community-Led Biodiversity Survey — Kiraksal, Satara (The Hindu, 26-06-2026)

A community-led survey in Kiraksal, a hilly village in the drought-prone Mandesh region (Satara, Maharashtra), documented 606 species — 212 birds, 160 vascular plants, 34 herpetofauna, 18 mammals — using camera traps + GIS mapping; confirmed it as a breeding stronghold for the Indian grey wolf, striped hyena, Bengal fox and golden jackal
Run under the Kiraksal Conservation Project (since 2023, funded by WWF India); village youth (many former hunters) were trained to install/monitor cameras — "the locals are the guardians"
Key reframing: areas classified as "wastelands" under colonial revenue terminology are actually vital "open natural ecosystems" (~25.6% of the district); a proposal seeks to declare 23 villages (4,793 ha) the Mandesh Conservation Reserve
The community enforces a self-imposed "tri-system" of bans: kurhad bandi (no tree-felling), shikar bandi (hunting ban), vanva bandi (forest-fire ban) — a model of community conservation of grassland/scrub ecosystems (cf. the AM-fungi/Banni grassland theme above)

Mains

(Analysis, dimensions, significance, critique, policy angles — for 10/15 mark answers)

Reclaiming "Wastelands" as Open Natural Ecosystems (The Hindu, 26-06-2026)

The "wasteland" misnomer: India's grasslands, scrub and savanna — long branded "wastelands" in colonial-era revenue records — are biodiversity-rich open natural ecosystems (ONEs) harbouring apex predators (wolf, hyena) and huge soil-carbon stocks (cf. AM-fungi map). Mis-classification fuels their diversion to farming, plantations and "afforestation" drives that destroy native habitat
Community conservation as a model: Kiraksal shows local custodianship (ex-hunters turned protectors, self-imposed bans, food-chain awareness) can deliver low-cost, durable conservation — aligning with the Conservation/Community Reserve category of the WPA-1972 and CBD's emphasis on OECMs (Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures) toward the 30×30 target
Policy ask: formal recognition (Conservation Reserve status), corridor protection, and a revision of the "wasteland" land-classification so ONEs are valued for ecosystem services, not treated as land "awaiting" conversion
UPSC angle: open natural ecosystems/grassland conservation, community/conservation reserves (WPA 1972), OECMs & 30×30, "wasteland" land-use classification, human–wildlife coexistence, lesser-known species (Indian grey wolf, striped hyena)

Ex-situ Conservation — Promise & Limits (Indian Express, 04-06-2026)

Captive breeding works as a bridge, not a cure: a few prolific breeders can rebuild a population, but long-term survival needs habitat restoration + threat removal (in-situ), else released birds have nowhere safe to live
Genetic-diversity risk: Small founder populations → inbreeding; programmes must manage studbooks and avoid behavioural de-skilling of captive-raised animals
India parallels: Relevant to India's recovery programmes — Great Indian Bustard (Sam, Rajasthan), gharial, vulture (Jatayu) breeding centres, cheetah translocation — same ex-situ + in-situ balance
UPSC angle: In-situ vs ex-situ conservation, captive breeding, IUCN Red List categories, species recovery programmes

Soil Fungi as Climate Infrastructure (The Hindu, 15-06-2026)

The AM-fungi map reframes soil microbiomes as "living infrastructure" central to the carbon cycle — yet agricultural expansion, especially of under-valued grasslands (like Banni), degrades them, eroding a free ~11%-of-emissions carbon sink. Strengthens the case for protecting grasslands / Open Natural Ecosystems (long mis-classified as "wastelands" in Indian policy) and soil-conserving farming
UPSC angle: soil carbon & biodiversity, mycorrhizae/ecosystem services, grassland (Banni) conservation, nature-based climate solutions, human–wildlife conflict mitigation via tech

"Genetic Rescue" & the Limits of Numbers (The Hindu, 21-06-2026)

Conservation success ≠ headcount alone: Similipal shows a population can grow yet head toward "genetic collapse" through inbreeding (rising pseudo-melanism is the visible symptom). Genetic rescue — introducing unrelated individuals from a surplus reserve — restores diversity, which is "the bedrock for the long-term survival of a species"
Habitat connectivity is the deeper fix: isolated reserves breed isolated gene pools; Zeenat crossing three States exposed how fragmented corridors force such interventions. Argues for protecting wildlife corridors alongside Project Tiger's numerical gains, and for scientific, consent-based translocation (contrast the failed 2018 Satkosia attempt — local resistance, poaching)
UPSC angle: Project Tiger/NTCA, in-situ vs ex-situ + genetic rescue, founder effect & inbreeding, habitat fragmentation & corridors, AITE methodology, WPA 1972 schedules