🌿 Biodiversity Loss in India – Why Protecting Nature Means Protecting Ourselves

Have you ever thought of nature as the world’s hidden power grid?

Think about it nature is what runs our lives every single day, though we hardly notice. It’s the food on our plates, the water in our glass, the air we breathe. It quietly works behind the scenes, much like electricity. And, just like the electricity in our homes, we only realize how much we rely on it when something goes wrong when the power goes out, or when nature breaks down.

That breakdown? It’s already happening, all around us.

Around the world, scientists warn that we are in the middle of a sixth mass extinction a collapse of life on Earth happening faster than anything since the age of the dinosaurs. It is now 89 seconds to midnight, according to the dooms day clock. We usually hear a lot about climate change, but biodiversity loss is just as big a threat if not bigger. It is the silent emergency that could switch off nature’s entire power grid.

But what exactly is biodiversity?

It’s the astonishing variety of all living things animals, plants, fungi, microbes, even humans. It includes diversity within species, between species, and across ecosystems. It is the tiger prowling through a forest, the fish darting in the ocean, the bees visiting flowers, the microbes enriching our soils. It is the relationships between them predators, pollinators, decomposers, protectors weaving together a web of life that keeps everything in balance.

When that web frays, everything unravels.

Why should biodiversity matter to you and me?

Here’s why:

Food security Three out of every four bites we eat rely on pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds. 

Water security 75% of the world’s fresh water is filtered by ecosystems like mountains, forests, and wetlands. 

Health Close to 70% of modern medicines are derived from nature, from antibiotics to cancer treatments. 

Climate resilience Forests, oceans, wetlands, and even wildlife help store enormous amounts of carbon, slowing climate change. 

Culture & livelihoods Hundreds of millions of people, including in India, depend on healthy biodiversity for their daily survival and cultural heritage.

Yet this vital web is under enormous pressure.

In India alone, we have lost more than 90% of our forests and biodiversity baselines in just the last century. Globally, wildlife populations have crashed by 73% in recent decades. These are not abstract numbers they are urgent signals.

A Cautionary Tale: The Vulture Crisis In India

Here’s one stark example. Back in 1995, India had around 5 crore (50 million) vultures. They were nature’s cleanup crew, quietly disposing of animal carcasses and stopping disease from spreading. Then a veterinary painkiller called diclofenac poisoned them. Within just 10–15 years, 99% of India’s vultures were wiped out.

The consequences were shocking:

• Dead animals rotted in the open, spreading disease.

• Wild dog populations exploded, driving up rabies cases.

• Communities dumped carcasses in rivers, contaminating drinking water.

• An estimated half a million additional human deaths were linked to this collapse.

• The economic cost? Around $69 billion over a decade.

One missing link in nature triggered a deadly domino effect because everything is connected.

What happens if we keep ignoring biodiversity loss ?

• 2 out of every 5 people worldwide are affected by land and water degradation.

• Potential 5.7% GDP Decline in India by 2030 Due to Biodiversity Loss

• India’s sovereign risk could rise by 29%, making loans more expensive and hurting growth.

• Food insecurity, water crises, and rising conflict over resources will only worsen.

Yet despite these enormous stakes, India allocates only around 1.6% of its government budget to nature. Less than 2% of CSR funding goes toward biodiversity. Philanthropy is even lower!

So where do we go from here?

There is hope!

Across India, local organizations are restoring wetlands, reviving grasslands, and rebuilding healthy forests not just by planting trees, but by involving communities, protecting wildlife, and creating green livelihoods.

This is what experts call nature-based solutions: healing nature, so nature can heal us in return.

At Ekaimpact, we believe these solutions deserve more support. Protecting biodiversity is not a luxury it is our shared survival.

If you’ve ever wondered why this matters, look around you. The next meal, the next breath, the next sip of water they all depend on nature’s quiet, powerful systems working behind the scenes.

Let’s make sure they stay switched on.

Promoting Nature Conservation

Mitesh Damania, Co-founder of Naturefuture, addressed this important topic during the Knowledge session. Click here to watch more.

References

• Carbon Brief (2024): COP16: Key outcomes agreed at the UN biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia 

• Convention on Biological Diversity: CBD Article 2: Biodiversity definitions

• FAO (2024): Biodiversity and agrifood systems

• Down To Earth (2024): India ranked 176 out of 180 in global nature conservation index

• New Indian Express (2024): India will be global hotspot for human–wildlife conflict by 2070

• Mongabay India (2025): Vulture conservation needs more than drug bans

• Smithsonian Magazine (2024): When vultures nearly disappeared in India, half a million people died too

• Times of India (2023): India lost 2 out of 5 wetlands in last 30 years

• EGU Blogs (2024): Bengaluru’s water crisis and its degraded lake system

• World Economic Forum (2024): India’s economy relies on nature

• Down To Earth (2022): Biodiversity loss to raise India’s bankruptcy risk 29%

• PRS Legislative Research (2025): Demand for Grants 2025-26: Environment, Forests and Climate Change

• UNDP/BIOFIN (2024): India Biodiversity Finance

• UNEP (2024): Nature-based solutions can generate up to 32 million new jobs by 2030