India submitted its 7th National Biodiversity Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in December 2025, revealing a stark gap between commitments and on-ground reality. The report, prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), found that only 2 out of 23 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) targets are currently on track — a deeply concerning finding ahead of the 2030 deadline.
The Kunming-Montreal GBF, adopted at COP15 in December 2022, set 23 action targets for 2030, including the landmark 30x30 commitment — protecting 30% of the planet's land and oceans by 2030. India's current protected area coverage stands at approximately 5.03% of geographic area, far short of the 30x30 target.
One of the most alarming findings in the report concerns forest diversion. At a decade-high rate of approximately 29,000 hectares diverted in the reporting period, India's forest land conversion for development projects — roads, mining, linear infrastructure — is accelerating rather than slowing. This runs counter to the CBD targets that call for halting biodiversity loss by 2030.
The two targets India is on track for relate to freshwater quality monitoring and the reduction of certain invasive alien species under controlled programmes. In areas such as species recovery plans, wetland conservation, forest diversion, and mainstreaming biodiversity into production sectors, India's progress is classified as either insufficient or off-track.
Environmental experts and civil society groups noted that without stronger legal safeguards against forest diversion and a significantly expanded protected area network, India risks failing most GBF targets by 2030. The 30x30 commitment will require India to nearly triple its protected land coverage within five years — a challenge requiring fundamental policy shifts in land use governance.