By Saurabh Purohit and YD Imran Khan
The latest season of popular Indian series, The Family Man, set primarily in the state of Nagaland, has drawn attention not only for its political intrigue but also for a quieter discomfort. Jaideep Ahlawat’s portrayal of the main antagonist, Rukma, is powerful and convincing, yet his casting in a storyline deeply rooted in the cultural, linguistic, and physical landscape of the Northeast feels mismatched. This is not a comment on talent, but on context. It is a reminder that place matters.
India’s ecosystems are confronting a similar problem—only with consequences that extend far beyond the screen.
Invasive species or Invasive Alien Species are often framed as ecological villains, but this framing misses the deeper point. These species are not inherently harmful. In their native ranges, they exist in balance, shaped by climate, predators, soils, and long co-evolved relationships with other species. The problem begins when they are introduced into landscapes that have not evolved with them. Freed from natural checks, their strengths—rapid growth, resilience, and adaptability—allow them to dominate, displacing native species and reshaping ecosystems.
India’s environmental history offers many such examples. Lantana camara, introduced during the colonial period as an ornamental plant, now dominates forest understoreys across vast parts of the country, suppressing native regeneration and intensifying fire risk. Prosopis juliflora, promoted in arid and semi-arid regions for fuelwood and soil stabilisation, has altered soil chemistry, depleted groundwater, and displaced native grasslands that pastoral communities depend upon.
The scale of the problem is growing rapidly. A recent study estimates that nearly 15,500 square kilometres of natural areas in India are invaded by alien plant species every year, signalling an accelerating ecological crisis. Species such as Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata, and Prosopis juliflora now dominate large portions of India’s landscapes, altering habitats and reducing the availability of forage for wildlife and livestock. Their spread is often amplified by land-use change, climate variability, biodiversity loss, and disturbances in natural ecosystems. Beyond ecological damage, these invasions affect millions of people who depend directly on natural resources for their livelihoods. Declining fodder availability, degraded soils, and reduced agricultural productivity are increasingly common consequences.
The economic burden is equally staggering. Studies estimate that invasive species have cost India over $127 billion between 1960 and 2020—a loss comparable to the entire fortune of one of the world’s richest people on the Forbes billionaire list, such as Mukesh Ambani.
These species thrive. But ecosystems suffer
Global scientific assessments reinforce just how serious this challenge has become. The IPBES Thematic Assessment on Invasive Alien Species reports that more than 37,000 alien species have been introduced worldwide through human activities, with over 3,500 known to cause harmful impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems. Invasive alien species are now recognised as one of the five major direct drivers of biodiversity loss globally, contributing to ecosystem degradation and even species extinctions. They have played a role in around 60 percent of recorded global extinctions, while their economic costs exceed $423 billion annually. Beyond biodiversity loss, these invasions threaten food security, water resources, human health, and livelihoods—particularly for communities that depend most directly on nature.
What global ecological understanding now makes clear is that these invasions rarely occur by accident. They often arise when ecological context is ignored—when decisions about planting, restoration, or land use prioritise speed, uniformity, or short-term utility over long-term ecological belonging. Many invasions began with good intentions: attempts to green landscapes, increase tree cover, stabilise soils, or restore degraded land quickly. Yet good intentions alone do not guarantee good outcomes.
This is where the principle of the 5R—particularly the idea of the “Right Species”—becomes critically important. A species that performs well in one ecosystem can become harmful in another. When species are introduced without understanding local ecological conditions, they may spread aggressively, outcompete native vegetation, and gradually transform entire landscapes. Many invasive species that dominate ecosystems today were originally introduced for forestry, fodder, erosion control, or ornamental planting. Once established, however, they can monopolise water, nutrients, and light, suppress native biodiversity, and alter ecological processes such as fire regimes and soil dynamics. The lesson is clear: selecting species based only on rapid growth or short-term benefits can unintentionally create long-term ecological problems.
If invasive species represent ecological miscasting, then responsible restoration begins with choosing the right species for the landscape. Every ecosystem has evolved with a particular community of plants that interact with its soils, climate, hydrology, wildlife, and microbial life. Introducing species that fall outside this ecological network can disrupt these relationships and gradually reshape the system in unintended ways. The “Right Species” principle, therefore, requires careful attention to local biodiversity, ecological function, and landscape history. Instead of prioritising quick greening or uniform tree cover, restoration efforts must prioritise species that support pollinators, soil organisms, native fauna, and natural regeneration processes. When species selection is guided by ecological understanding, restoration becomes an effort to rebuild living relationships within the landscape rather than simply adding vegetation.
The discomfort viewers feel when a character seems out of place in a story fade once the episode ends. Ecosystems, however, do not reset. When ecological context is ignored, the consequences accumulate quietly and persist for decades.
India’s challenge, therefore, is not simply about controlling invasive species after they spread, but about learning to recognise ecological belonging before intervention begins. At the heart of this lies the principle of selecting the Right Species, which forms the foundation of responsible restoration. Growth, greening, and climate action must acknowledge that landscapes are not empty stages awaiting actors, but living systems shaped by climate, soils, water, and biodiversity. Responsible restoration is not defined by how many trees are planted, but by whether the introduced species truly belong in the landscape.
Whether in cinema or in nature, even the strongest performance can alter the entire narrative if it does not belong to the setting. And in India’s ecosystems, that narrative shapes not just the scenery, but also the soil, water, livelihoods, and resilience for generations to come.
Further Readings
- Mungi, N.A., Jhala, Y.V., Svenning, JC. et al. Socioecological risks amplified by rising plant invasions in India. Nat Sustain 9, 130–141 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01690-x
- IPBES (2023). Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Roy, H. E., Pauchard, A., Stoett, P., and Renard Truong, T. (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7430682
