UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 30th March 2025

Home UPSC Current Affairs Largely depleted’: IUCN’s new Green Status assessment for the lion in Africa and India

Largely depleted’: IUCN’s new Green Status assessment for the lion in Africa and India

Why in News?

On March 27, 2025, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released the first-ever Green Status assessment for the lion (Panthera leo), assigning it the classification of “Largely Depleted.” While lions remain classified as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Green Status assessment provides a more comprehensive picture, indicating that lions have lost much of their ecological functionality and are far from recovery across their historical range.

What is the IUCN Green Status of Species?

The IUCN Green Status, introduced in 2021, is a complementary tool to the Red List. It does not merely assess extinction risk but focuses on a species’ progress toward recovery and its ecological functionality. The framework aims to narrate a species’ full conservation story—from decline and survival to potential restoration.

The Green Status assessment categorizes species into nine categories ranging from “Fully Recovered” to “Extinct,” with intermediate classifications such as Slightly Depleted, Moderately Depleted, Largely Depleted, and Critically Depleted. This status allows policymakers, conservationists, and the global community to measure the success of conservation efforts and identify what more needs to be done.

Key Findings of the Lion Assessment

According to the IUCN, the lion has been classified as “Largely Depleted,” which means that although conservation measures have prevented its extinction in some regions, the species remains ecologically non-functional across large parts of its original range.

Lions have gone extinct in North Africa and Southwest Asia.
They are surviving primarily in West and Central Africa, South Africa, and India.
The Asiatic lion, found only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, is one of the few surviving subpopulations outside Africa.
Human impacts—including habitat destruction, retaliatory killings, and expansion of settlements—are cited as the major barrier to full recovery.

Current Population Estimates

Based on the 2023 IUCN data:

The population of lions in Africa is estimated at approximately 23,000 adult and subadult individuals.
The population of Asiatic lions in India is estimated at around 670 individuals, concentrated entirely in and around Gir National Park.

Taxonomic Update

The IUCN now recognises two main groups of lions:

Panthera leo leo – Found in Central and West Africa and Asia (includes the Asiatic lion in India)
Panthera leo melanochaita – Found in Southern and East Africa

This classification replaces the earlier division between African and Asiatic lions.

What Does “Largely Depleted” Mean?

The status of “Largely Depleted” indicates that although lions still exist in the wild, they are no longer playing their historical ecological roles across most of their range. This points to a disconnect between survival and recovery:

The lion may not be at immediate risk of extinction, but its functional role as an apex predator—controlling prey populations and maintaining ecological balance—has been compromised.
Ecological absence in areas where the lion once thrived contributes to trophic cascades, which can disrupt entire ecosystems.
The lion’s recovery is geographically uneven, with some areas seeing stable populations and others experiencing local extinctions.

Implications for Conservation Strategy

Conservation Success vs. Ecological Recovery
- Traditional metrics of success, such as halting decline or stabilizing populations, are no longer sufficient.
- Conservation must now aim for restoring ecosystem functionality, where species like the lion actively shape their environment.
Human-Wildlife Conflict Remains a Core Challenge
- As human settlements expand, especially in Africa and India, conflict with lions intensifies.
- Retaliatory killings, habitat fragmentation, and poaching are major threats.
- Community-based conservation and effective compensation schemes are essential to ensure local support.
India’s Unique Role and Responsibility
- India is the only country outside Africa with a wild lion population.
- The Gir Forest population has rebounded from a historic low of about 20 individuals in the early 20th century to around 670 today, largely due to state-led protection measures.
- However, concentration in a single habitat poses a major risk:
  - Epidemics
  - Natural disasters
  - Genetic bottleneck due to inbreeding
- Despite recommendations, India has not yet established a second habitat, such as the proposed Kuno-Palpur sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

Why the Green Status Matters Globally?

The Green Status helps shift the global conservation narrative from extinction prevention to ecosystem restoration.
It encourages policymakers to take a longer-term, more nuanced view of conservation goals.
It fosters accountability and allows nations to track conservation investments over time.