India ranked 176 in the first Global Nature Conservation Index, 2024

India has been ranked as one of the five worst performer countries in the recently released first Global Nature Conservation Index, 2024. India was ranked 176th among 180 countries in terms of their commitment to nature conservation. The tiny European country of Luxembourg was ranked as the top-ranked country. In contrast, the Pacific island country of Kiribati was ranked at the bottom of the Global Nature Conservation Index.

Who Prepares The Global Nature Conservation Index?

Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel and the non-profit website BioDB.com have jointly prepared and released the first Global Nature Conservation Nature Index.

The first Global Nature Conservation Nature Index was released in October 2024.

About the Global Nature Conservation Index

The Nature Conservation Index shows how countries are protecting their environments and natural resources. While ranking countries, the index evaluates a range of factors, such as the number of plant and animal species at risk in the country, the size and quality of the protected areas, the health of habitats, and the effectiveness of the country's conservation programs.

The countries were ranked on four key pillars;

• Land Management,
• Threats to Biodiversity
• Capacity and Governance, and
• Future Trends. 

These pillars were assessed using 25 performance indicators. The data for the Index has been from the World Bank and the IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Status of India 

India, with a combined score of 45.5 out of 100, was ranked 176th among the 180 countries.. India has been ranked low due to its inefficient land management and rising threats to biodiversity. 

India, with a score of 42, has been ranked 154 in the Land Management category,

177 in the Threat to Biodiversity category, with a score of 54. India has been ranked 115 in the Capacity and Governance category with a score of 60 and a rank of 133 in the Future Trends with a score of 35.

Best/Worst Performing Countries on the Index

The following are the best and worst performing countries in the Global Nature Conservation Nature Index.

Best Performing Countries 

1. Luxembourg -score of 70.8 
2. Estonia-70.5
3. Denmark- 69
4. Finland-66.9
5. United Kingdom- 66.6
6. Zimbabwe-65.9
7. Australia-65.8 
8. Switzerland-64.7 
9. Romania-64.6
10. Costa Rica-64.4

Worst performing countries on the Index

180. Kiribati- score of 41.2

179. Türkiye- 41.5

178.Iraq-43.3

177.Micronesia-43.8

176.India-45.5

175.Togo-45.8

174.Bahrain-45.9

173.Bangladesh-46.14

172.Lebanon-46.15

171.Marshall Islands-46.6