‘Not even 5% of India’s grasslands protected’ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/not-even-5-of-indias-grasslands-protected/articleshow/84935596.cms Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar / TNN / Aug 1, 2021
Grasslands, scrub, and desert ecosystems make up 10% of the country’s total land area — or 319,674 sq km — but less than 5% of this habitat is under protection, a new study shows. A major portion of that protected area lies in just five parks
“India has failed to recognise grasslands as a habitat,” says Vanak, a researcher with the Ashoka Trust for Ecology and the Environment. He notes that some of these open habitats are classified as “wastelands” in official records. “There’s a mistaken notion that anything without trees is barren,” he said.
Such misconceptions make these ecosystems especially vulnerable to being converted to other uses, researchers said.