Invasive alien species pose a serious threat to India's biodiversity hotspots. Critically examine the regulatory and ecological challenges, with reference to Prosopis juliflora in the Banni grasslands.

Q. Invasive alien species pose a serious threat to India's biodiversity hotspots. Critically examine the regulatory and ecological challenges, with reference to Prosopis juliflora in the Banni grasslands. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

The IPBES assessment (2023) records over 37,000 alien species worldwide, of which 3,500-plus are invasive, costing more than $423 billion annually [3]. Prosopis juliflora — listed among IUCN's 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species [2] and planted in Kutch's Banni in 1961 to check the advancing Rann — shows that the challenge is as much regulatory as ecological.

Ecological challenges - Allelopathy and habitat conversion: the shrub's root exudates suppress native grasses; over half of Banni's ~2,600 sq km savanna has turned to thorn scrub, shrinking fodder for Maldhari pastoralists. - Restoration is not automatic: the Forest Department's working plan before the NGT records that roughly 70% of Banni's soils are saline-alkaline, so clearing alone need not revive native grass [5]. - Persistence: deep taproots and livestock-borne seed dispersal cause vigorous regrowth after mechanical cutting. - Critically, eradication is not costless — Prosopis now sustains a local charcoal and fuelwood economy, so blanket removal carries livelihood trade-offs.

Regulatory challenges - India has no dedicated invasive species law; the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 inserted Section 62A, empowering the Centre to regulate import, trade, possession and proliferation of invasive alien species [4] — a welcome first, but confined to threats to wildlife and habitat, with limited notified lists and enforcement capacity. - Institutional fragmentation: MoEFCC, state forest departments and biodiversity boards act separately; the same department that introduced the species now leads removal. - Tenure friction: Banni's 1955 Protected Forest status with unsettled community rights complicates coordinated restoration.

Banni's experience argues for a shift from ad-hoc clearing to science-led, use-based management — community forest management committees, a phased Prosopis working circle [5], and value chains such as Deendayal Port's green methanol initiative, where MoPSW targets about 500 KTPA of e-methanol by 2028-29 [1], converting weed biomass into marine fuel. A statutory risk-assessment framework before introduction, coupled with such problem-to-resource models, would align invasive species control with India's biodiversity and net-zero commitments.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. Kandla Port Advances Methanol Bunkering, Marks Key Step Toward Green Maritime Transition — PIB, Government of India — Deendayal Port methanol bunkering trial and ~500 KTPA e-methanol target for 2028-29 2. IUCN GISD, "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species" — listing of Prosopis juliflora 3. IPBES Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control (2023) — 37,000 alien species; $423 billion annual global cost 4. The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 (PRS Legislative Research) — Section 62A on invasive alien species 5. NGT, O.A. No. 184/2024, News item titled "How Banni Grasslands…" v. PCCF, order dated 6 February 2025 — Gujarat working plan, Prosopis working circle, ~70% saline-alkaline soils