With a vision to create a just world that values and conserves nature, IUCN Species Survival Commission has partnered with Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) to set up the first-ever Center for Species Survival in South Asia. 

In this regard, an MoU has been signed between Prof. Jon Paul Rodríguez, Chair—IUCN SSC and Vivek Menon, Executive Director, Wildlife Trust of India to set up the first-ever regional Center for Species Survival (CSS) in India. This will be the 10th Centre for Species Survival in the world and the first of its kind in South Asia.

This collaborative effort aims to enhance conservation efforts by wildlife experts and specialist groups and safeguard the rich biodiversity of India.

Vision and purpose

The Center hopes to provide a platform for conservation practitioners to network and share best practices. It will also contribute to species status assessments using the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and amplify the impact of species recovery efforts across the country. The Centre will further act as a bridge between the national and international efforts to save species. 

With India being home to numerous iconic and endangered species, the need for such a center has become more crucial than ever. Possessing a tremendous diversity of climate and physical conditions, India has great variety of fauna, numbering 92,037 species, of which insects alone include 61,375 species. It is estimated that about two times that number of species still remain to be discovered in India alone.

Further, WTI's collaboration with IUCN for the Centre will enable various IUCN SSC members to coordinate work on species conservation. 

With the world experiencing dramatic changes to the climate and environment, its impact is heavily felt on the existing biodiversity. With several reports of species extinction, the proposed centre in South Asia will hep study the impact and also ways to conserve the species. 

Earth could lose more than a tenth of its plant and animal species by the end of the century on current trends, according to a research. Nature is in crisis and it is evident in forms of numerous disasters taking place. As species vanish at a rate not seen in 10 million years, more than 1 million species are currently on the brink.

The Center for Species Survival is designed to help in the conservation and recovery of species and seems to be in the right direction.