What are Open Natural Ecosystems? Discuss why grasslands have historically been neglected in India's conservation policy.

Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs) are naturally treeless or sparsely-treed landscapes — grasslands, savannas, scrublands, deserts and rocky plateaus — that are ancient ecosystems in their own right, not degraded forests. India's first-ever Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems, released at UNCCD CoP17, marks belated official recognition of this distinction [1].

Understanding ONEs in the Indian context

• Spread: Himalayan and Terai grasslands, the Thar and Banni landscapes, Deccan savannas, ravines, scrublands and coastal ecosystems [1].
• Functions: soil carbon sequestration, fire ecology, groundwater recharge, and habitat for endemic fauna such as the Great Indian Bustard, blackbuck and wolf.
• Livelihoods: they sustain pastoralism — Rabaris, Dhangars, Maldharis — a link underlined by the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, 2026 [1].

Why grasslands were historically neglected

• Colonial "wasteland" framing: revenue-driven land settlement treated non-forest, non-cultivated commons as unproductive, a lens that outlived colonial rule.
• Statistical invisibility: the Wastelands Atlas of India classifies grasslands, scrub, ravines and pastures as "wastelands", making them prime candidates for plantations, solar parks and industry [2].
• Forest-centric law: the Indian Forest Act and Wildlife (Protection) Act protect forests and species, but recognise no distinct legal category for grasslands; India has no dedicated grassland conservation policy.
• Tree-centric restoration metrics: success measured as green cover led compensatory afforestation and plantation drives onto open lands, converting savannas rather than restoring them.
• Ecological misdiagnosis: natural openness was read as degradation; grazing and fire were seen as damage rather than as ecological processes, marginalising pastoralists' claims.

The neglect is now being corrected: the Supreme Court in M.K. Ranjitsinh (2024) directed that remaining grasslands not be classed as wastelands and called for grassland and grazing policies [3]. Aligning restoration accounting with ecosystem type — rather than tree count — would let India meet its pledge to restore 26 million hectares by 2030 [4] without sacrificing its open ecosystems.