India

India borders the Indian Ocean at the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, in Southeast Asia. The Himalaya mountains cross India’s north, while deserts cover the west. It is also home to the source of the Ganges River and most of its range. In India, most of the country is used for human activities, in its majority by rainfed agriculture. India has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates at a global scale. When analysed as single taxons, the rarity of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles is also high. The rarity of marine fish and mammals is also high. Challenges to biodiversity include deforestation; soil erosion and desertification; air pollution; water pollution; and population growth.