Taxonomy, the science of discovering, describing and naming new species has become critically important in this era of declining biodiversity. Cataloguing species

is fundamental to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Taxonomy also forms the basis of elucidating evolutionary relationships among agricultural

crops, parasites, pathogens and insect pests. Many pharmaceutical products are based on plants and the indigenous systems of medicines are basedon our ability to accurately classify and describe living organisms. Thus taxonomy plays a vital role in the human

well-being

Kamaljit Bawa, S

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OPINION 
 
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 98, NO. 2, 25 JANUARY 2010 151
Cataloguing life in India: the taxonomic imperative 
 
Kamaljit S. Bawa 
 
Taxonomy, the science of discovering, 
describing and naming new species has 
become critically important in this era of 
declining biodiversity. Cataloguing spe-
cies is fundamental to conservation and 
sustainable use of biodiversity. Taxon-
omy also forms the basis of elucidating 
evolutionary relationships among agri-
cultural crops, parasites, pathogens and 
insect pests. Many pharmaceutical pro-
ducts are based on plants and the indi-
genous systems of medicines are based 
on our ability to accurately classify and 
describe living organisms. Thus taxo-
nomy plays a vital role in the human 
well-being.  
 India is tremendously rich in biodiver-
sity. It is one of the 17 mega-diversity 
countries. India’s land mass encompasses 
four global hotspots of biodiversity:  
the Western Ghats, the Himalayas,  
Indo-Burma (northeast India south of 
Brahmaputra) and Sundaland (Nicobar  
Islands). The hotspots are unusually rich 
in endemic species. India is also the cen-
tre of diversity for many agricultural and 
horticultural crops and their wild rela-
tives, and is well known for richness of 
medicinal plants. 
 The exact number of species in India 
is not known, but may be well over one 
million. The world is estimated to have 
12 million species of eukaryotic organ-
isms1. Among the three groups of eukar-
yotes, i.e. flowering plants, birds and 
mammals, India, respectively has about 
18,000, 1200 and 350 species, or 5%, 
13% and 7% of the world’s total. From 
these figures, we extrapolate that India 
may have 8% of the world’s eukaryotic 
species, assuming that species numbers 
of other groups at least at continental 
scales are correlated with species rich-
ness of these three groups. Insects, 
worldwide have not been well described, 
and in India, amphibians and reptiles too 
have been poorly explored especially in 
the Himalayas.  
 Recent explorations of relatively small 
areas in the Himalayas have revealed 
more than 300 new species of plants, 
vertebrates and invertebrates2. Many 
more are yet to be discovered. Clearly 
we do not know the upper limit to the 
number of species in India or the world.  
 Of the world’s estimated 12 million 
species of eukaryotes, less than 2 million 
have been described and given a scien-
tific name. The proportion of named spe-
cies for Indian organisms is likely to be 
less because many parts of the country 
have not been fully explored. Apparently 
then hundreds of thousands of species in 
India are yet to be described and named. 
The exact number of eukaryotic species 
that are being described every year from 
India is also not known, but is not likely 
to exceed 200. At this rate, it would take 
many millennia to catalogue the diversity 
of life in the country’s ecosystems.  
 Clearly taxonomy in India should be 
an active and vibrant field, but it is not, 
as indicated by many articles (see refer-
ences). Here I discuss taxonomic res-
earch hurdles in the country and suggest 
ways to overcome them. 
Taxonomic imperative  
Almost 15 years ago, T. N. Khoshoo3 
lamented on the state of taxonomy in  
India. According to Khoshoo, ‘all wis-
dom begins by calling all living (includ-
ing humans) and non living things by 
their proper names’. Khoshoo called for 
a country level review of the state of taxo-
nomy, and for revitalization of the field 
to meet current and future challenges. 
 Following Khoshoo’s pleas, both the 
Department of Biotechnology (DBT), 
and the Ministry of Environment and 
Forests (MoEF), Government of India 
undertook some initiatives to strengthen 
taxonomy. The DBT started a pro-
gramme on molecular taxonomy, funding 
a number of research projects on the  
application of molecular techniques to 
resolve taxonomic problems. The MoEF 
organized some workshops to highlight 
taxonomic research4. The impact of these 
initiatives is uncertain. There is little evi-
dence that efforts of government agencies 
have improved the state of taxonomy. In 
fact, one can argue that the practice of 
taxonomy may have declined since Kho-
shoo argued for its revitalization. 
 There are still no checklists for major 
groups and monographic work that forms 
the backbone of taxonomy is scarce. In-
deed, due to efforts of extraordinary in-
dividuals, we have outstanding volumes 
on groups of organisms being published in 
increasing numbers. Examples include 
accounts of snakes5, butterflies6, amphibi-
ans7, orchids8 and rhododendrons9, but 
such endeavours are not substitutes for 
serious monographic work, nor are they 
intended to be. 
 Collections in museums and herbaria 
form the foundation of taxonomic work, 
but collections in the herbaria of the Bo-
tanical Survey of India (BSI) or the mu-
seums of the Zoological Survey of India 
(ZSI) have remained stagnant in terms of 
numbers and curation. While collections 
all over the world are being digitized and 
organized, and databases are being made 
available on the web, such initiatives are 
largely lacking in India10,11. Thus scientists 
interested in taxonomy and who are not 
affiliated with BSI or ZSI have limited 
opportunities to expand the scope of their 
work. 
 More serious is the declining number 
of taxonomists at a time when more are 
required. Exact numbers are lacking, but 
it is evident from the profiles of universi-
ties and departments that although there 
is an overall increase in the number of 
scientists, this is not the case for taxo-
nomists. Taxonomy is a part of a cluster 
of biological sub-disciplines that consti-
tute environmental biology. As compared 
to cell and molecular biology, environ-
mental biology has not received much 
attention from those who make decisions 
about funding science in India.  
 However, India is not unique in being 
indifferent to taxonomy. Worldwide, fund-
ing for taxonomy, and support for muse-
ums and herbaria have been decreasing12. 
A recent article in Science notes the 
plight of taxonomy in China13. Neverthe-
less, because of growing interests in bio-
diversity conservation, there are signs of 
revival. Chinese scientists for example 
are collaborating with Western scientists 
to enhance their expertise as well as to 
improve the profile of taxonomy. 
Opportunities  
The opportunities for strengthening taxo-
nomy in India are greater now than ever 
OPINION 
 
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 98, NO. 2, 25 JANUARY 2010 152 
before due to several reasons. First, the 
government has been increasing its in-
vestment in science, and such increases 
are likely to continue. Furthermore there 
is more interest in basic science and bio-
diversity and this again should translate 
into larger investment in taxonomy. 
 Secondly, interest in natural history 
outside government agencies is increas-
ing, and this could revitalize the field. 
India has witnessed a strong growth in 
autonomous or independent, non-govern-
mental research centres in the field of 
environment and biodiversity. Examples 
include Foundation for Revitalization of 
Local Health Traditions, Nature Conser-
vation Foundation, M.S. Swaminathan 
Research Foundation, Bombay Natural 
History Society, The Energy and Re-
sources Institute, and the Ashoka Trust 
for Research in Ecology and the Envi-
ronment. These organizations have taken 
several initiatives to encourage explora-
tion and discovery of species. 
 Thirdly, individual entrepreneurship in 
exploration of flora and fauna because of 
increasing interest in the environment is 
rising. Individuals who are not affiliated 
with any university, BSI or ZSI, largely 
wrote the ‘monographs’ listed under ref-
erences. Easy access to collections and 
field sites and the recognition that such 
individuals do and can make significant 
contributions can propel taxonomy out of 
its current situation.  
 Finally, developments in information 
technologies and deployment of new 
tools in molecular biology – and India 
has considerable expertise in both – can 
accelerate the pace of discovery and 
cataloguing of life forms, dissemination 
of information, and involvement of ama-
teurs in advancing taxonomic knowledge. 
Misguided application of new technolo-
gies, as discussed here, can also derail 
progress and greater investments in taxo-
nomy. 
What needs to be done?  
Several steps need to be taken to streng-
then taxonomy in India. 
 First and foremost we must develop 
outstanding institutions to support taxo-
nomic work. BSI and ZSI do much of the 
taxonomic work in the country. It was 
perhaps a good idea at the time these in-
stitutions were set up to have separate 
agencies to catalogue India’s plants and 
animals. However, both institutions have 
suffered due to lack of linkages with 
academic institutions that are a source of 
new ideas and centres of conceptual and 
theoretical developments in not only  
taxonomy but also in fields such as  
systematics, biogeography, evolution, 
ecology and the new discipline of con-
servation science that underpin, support 
and enrich taxonomy. Museums and her-
baria, so vital for taxonomic work, have 
been under the control of BSI and ZSI 
and so have been the country’s  
investments in taxonomy. This focus on 
BSI and ZSI has led to the neglect of 
taxonomy as well as collections in aca-
demic institutions, curtailing opportuni-
ties for the growth of the discipline as 
well as training of new taxonomists. The 
BSI and ZSI have also suffered due to 
lack of strong scientific leadership, and 
excessive bureaucratic control, in the 
Ministry of Environment and Forests that 
oversees these agencies. Strong hierar-
chical structures within BSI and ZSI curb 
initiatives at lower levels. The govern-
ment must think of ways to develop BSI 
and ZSI into dynamic and effective insti-
tutions that have the capacity to usher the 
country into a new era of exploration and 
discovery, and cataloguing of our diverse 
life forms. 
 Apart from BSI and ZSI, other centres 
for taxonomic work in academic institu-
tions must be strengthened or created. 
Unless ways can be found to enable BSI 
and ZSI to become truly knowledge 
rather than information generating insti-
tutions, and intellectual centres of taxo-
nomy, academic institutions will remain 
as the only primary places for training of 
new taxonomists. Academic centres will 
require resources to enlarge their collec-
tions and libraries. Collections are parti-
cularly important. Museums, herbaria 
and botanical gardens associated with 
most major universities in the West are 
the most effective knowledge generating 
centres for taxonomy and systematics.  
 Taxonomy as a discipline must be 
strengthened in colleges and universities. 
With the rise of biotechnology there is 
increasing emphasis on molecular and 
cell biology. As a result, investments in 
such disciplines as evolution, ecology 
and systematics have declined. Hopefully, 
with anticipated increase in funding for 
basic sciences, it would be possible to 
pay special attention to environmental 
biology. 
 Training of a new breed of taxono-
mists well versed in modern concepts 
and application of latest technologies to 
advance taxonomy will be required. A 
fellowship programme that would allow 
taxonomists to spend one or two years at 
the world’s major museums, herbaria and 
botanical gardens can rapidly build a 
good cadre in a few years. Good herbaria 
or museums, libraries rich in taxonomic 
literature, and some knowledge of Latin 
are critical to learning taxonomy. Unfor-
tunately at this time only global centres 
can meet these requirements. Twenty Fel-
lows every year would cost less than  
Rs 5 crores per year, a relatively minor 
amount to build leadership in a vital 
field. 
 Taxonomists in India should enhance 
the use of emerging information tech-
nologies as well as new tools in molecu-
lar biology. Collections must be digitized 
and organized as electronic databases so 
that data are readily and widely avail-
able. A vast number of old type speci-
mens of Indian plant and animal species 
are outside the country and not accessi-
ble to Indian taxonomists. Collaboration 
with institutions holding these collec-
tions for digitization of specimens and 
development of databases would be nec-
essary for Indian taxonomists to use 
these collections. Environmental and bio-
diversity portals can further help in as-
sembling, organizing and disseminating 
databases, and advancing the field. Simi-
larly, molecular tools can rapidly eluci-
date evolutionary and bio-geographical 
relationships, but undue emphasis on ap-
proaches such as DNA bar coding can 
distract from other more pressing priori-
ties in taxonomy.  
 India has a rich body of traditional 
knowledge about plant and animal spe-
cies. This knowledge can be harnessed in 
a wide variety of ways to fasten the pace 
of discovery. Local communities and 
citizens everywhere can be involved in 
exploration and description of life forms. 
Similarly, the engagement of millions of 
students can enhance accumulation of  
information and data that can be directly 
fed into information portals (see for  
example, India NatureWatch: www. 
indianaturewatch.net).  
 The recent discovery of hundreds of 
species from the eastern Himalayas2 and 
continuous description of new species 
from other sites in India14 underscores 
the importance of exploration and field-
work. Many areas in India, particularly 
in the four biodiversity hotspots, remain 
poorly explored. The government agen-
OPINION 
 
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 98, NO. 2, 25 JANUARY 2010 153
cies that fund as well as regulate access 
to biodiversity should encourage new 
discoveries rather than place hurdles for 
scientists15–17. China is contemplating a 
national plan to catalogue all biodiver-
sity13. A similar initiative can be helpful 
in training taxonomists, involving citi-
zens and students in cataloguing biodi-
versity and meeting an urgent need in 
conservation planning. 
 Finally, India must end its isolation 
from global networks and collaborative 
with scientists abroad engaged in taxo-
nomy. Practice of taxonomy is a global 
enterprise. Plant and animal species do 
not respect political boundaries, and we 
share a vast majority of species with 
other countries. Furthermore, no single 
country, institution or scientist has the 
capability to deal with all major taxo-
nomic groups. That is why taxonomy, 
more than any other discipline, relies on 
continuous exchange of ideas, informa-
tion and specimens of organisms across 
the world. Moreover, many type speci-
mens of Indian plant and animal species 
are in the museums and herbaria outside 
the country, making exchanges critical 
for the advancement of the field. How-
ever, misplaced fears of bio-piracy have 
led Indian agencies to tighten regulations 
for exchange to such an extent that it has 
stifled taxonomy17,18. The government 
urgently needs to review regulations, and 
join international network not only to 
advance taxonomy in India, but also to 
influence regulations and decisions about 
biodiversity at the international level.  
 
Note added in the proof: After this 
manuscript was submitted for publica-
tion, a task force constituted by the  
Ministry of Environment and Forests 
(MoEF), Government of India to make 
recommendations to the Government for 
strengthening of Botanical and Zoologi-
cal Surveys of India was submitted. The 
report, available from MoEF, reinforces 
several suggestions made in this article. 
 
 
1. Agnarsson, A. and Kuntner, M., System. 
Biol., 2007, 56, 531–539. 
2. World Wildlife Fund, The Eastern Hima-
layas: Where Worlds Collide, 2009, p. 28. 
3. Khoshoo, T. N., Curr. Sci., 1995, 69, 14–
17. 
4. Chandra, V., Curr. Sci., 2008, 94, 1239–
1240. 
5. Whitaker, R., Snakes of India: The Field 
Guide, Draco Books, Chennai, 2004, p. 
479. 
6. Kunte, K., Butterflies of Peninsular In-
dia, Universities Press (India) Private 
Limited, Hyderabad, 2000, p. 254. 
7. Daniels, R., Amphibians of Peninsular 
India, Universities Press (India) Private 
Limited, Hyderabad, 2006, p. 268. 
8. Lucksom, S. Z., The Orchids of Sikkim 
and North East Himalaya, S. Z. Luck-
som Publisher, Gangtok, 2007, p. 984. 
9. Pradhan, U. C. and Lachungpa, T., Sik-
kim Himalayan Rhododendrons, Primu-
laceae Books, 1990, p. Xx. 
10. Balaram, P., Curr. Sci., 2009, 97, 465–
466. 
11. Datar, M. D. and Ghate, V. S., Curr. Sci., 
2009, 97, 470–471; 466. 
12. Wheeler, Q. D., Raven, P. H. and Wil-
son, E. O., Science, 2004, 303, 285. 
13. Jiao, L., Science, 2009, 325, 31. 
14. Aravind, N. A. et al., J. Biosci., 2007, 
32, 781–790. 
15. Bawa, K. S., Curr. Sci., 2006, 91, 1005. 
16. Madhusudan, M. D. et al., Curr. Sci., 
2006, 91, 1015–1019. 
17. Prathapan, K. D. et al., Curr. Sci., 2006, 
91, 1006–1007. 
18. Prathapan, K. D. et al., Curr. Sci., 2008, 
94, 170–171. 
 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. I thank Kanchi 
Gandhi, Peter Raven, R. Ganesan and K. N. 
Ganeshaiah for stimulating discussions and 
keeping alive my interest in taxonomy. I also 
thank Uttam Babu Shreestha, Gladwin Joseph, 
Priyan Dharmarajan, Krushnamegh Kunte, 
Sandesh Kadur, Kanchi Gandhi, R. Ganesan 
and D. D. Pratham for useful comments. 
 
 
 
Kamaljit S. Bawa is in the Department of 
Biology, University of Massachusetts, 
Boston, MA 02125; Sustainability Sci-
ence Program at Harvard University, 
Cambridge, MA 02138, and Ashoka 
Trust for Research in Ecology and the 
Environment, Jakkur Post, Bangalore 
560 064, India.  
e-mail: Kamal.bawa@umb.edu 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Cataloguing life in India: the taxonomic imperative

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Cataloguing life in India: the taxonomic imperative

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