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Key Message <p>Urban institutional campuses may offer strong OECM potential by supporting tree diversity, tree-related microhabitats, and urban biodiversity conservation, while also contributing to India’s broader 30 × 30 and SDG-aligned goals.</p> Abstract <p>Urbanisation plays a major role in the global decline of biodiversity, leading to habitat fragmentation, ecosystem disturbances, and the proliferation of invasive species. While protected areas (PAs) are crucial for conservation, they alone cannot counter biodiversity loss amid rapid urban expansion. Complimenting PAs, Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) offer alternative strategies, encompassing conserved landscapes such as indigenous territories, sacred groves, community forests, and, notably, urban institutional campuses. This research identifies and evaluates the large and historically protected urban campuses in India as a potential OECM within local, national, and global biodiversity frameworks. The present study highlights the case of the large CSIR-NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), Nagpur campus covering 46 hectares, having 83 tree species supporting diverse tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) and other ecosystem services. The systematic sampling of tree species and microhabitats has been shown to provide significant ecological value, structural complexity, and resilience, thus making the campus a real biodiversity reservoir and an ecological link in the face of an urban environment. The study highlights how institutional campuses can meet key OECM criteria, supporting secure tenure, low disturbance, governance capacity, long-term monitoring, and the fusion of conservation with the educational and research missions. Identifying such urban green spaces as OECMs provides cost-effective measures to extend conservation endeavours, meet the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30 × 30 target, and advance Sustainable Development Goals (11,13,14 &amp; 15). Our findings advocate for the strategic inclusion of institutional campuses in Indian conservation policies to foster resilient, biodiverse, and sustainable urban environments.</p>

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Conservation beyond protected areas: endorsing OECM potential of Urban institutional campus in India

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月21日

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  • S Saraniya,
  • Manu Thomas,
  • Radhika Sood,
  • Rupali Nayal,
  • Shalini Dhyani

摘要

Key Message

Urban institutional campuses may offer strong OECM potential by supporting tree diversity, tree-related microhabitats, and urban biodiversity conservation, while also contributing to India’s broader 30 × 30 and SDG-aligned goals.

Abstract

Urbanisation plays a major role in the global decline of biodiversity, leading to habitat fragmentation, ecosystem disturbances, and the proliferation of invasive species. While protected areas (PAs) are crucial for conservation, they alone cannot counter biodiversity loss amid rapid urban expansion. Complimenting PAs, Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) offer alternative strategies, encompassing conserved landscapes such as indigenous territories, sacred groves, community forests, and, notably, urban institutional campuses. This research identifies and evaluates the large and historically protected urban campuses in India as a potential OECM within local, national, and global biodiversity frameworks. The present study highlights the case of the large CSIR-NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), Nagpur campus covering 46 hectares, having 83 tree species supporting diverse tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) and other ecosystem services. The systematic sampling of tree species and microhabitats has been shown to provide significant ecological value, structural complexity, and resilience, thus making the campus a real biodiversity reservoir and an ecological link in the face of an urban environment. The study highlights how institutional campuses can meet key OECM criteria, supporting secure tenure, low disturbance, governance capacity, long-term monitoring, and the fusion of conservation with the educational and research missions. Identifying such urban green spaces as OECMs provides cost-effective measures to extend conservation endeavours, meet the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30 × 30 target, and advance Sustainable Development Goals (11,13,14 & 15). Our findings advocate for the strategic inclusion of institutional campuses in Indian conservation policies to foster resilient, biodiverse, and sustainable urban environments.