International Migration Outlook 2025

Context: The International Migration Outlook 2025 report by the OECD highlights that permanent migration to OECD countries declined by 4% in 2024 after post-pandemic peaks.

About International Migration Outlook

• Introduction: The International Migration Outlook is an annual publication that analyses migration trends, labour market integration of migrants, and evolving migration policies across member countries.
• Published By: It is released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which tracks global migration movements, asylum trends, and integration outcomes.
• Key Global Findings:
  • In 2024, OECD nations admitted 6.2 million permanent immigrants which is 15% above 2019 levels while labour migration fell and humanitarian migration rose; temporary work permits increased by 26%.
  • International student inflows dropped 13%, asylum applications hit a record 3 million, and EU border crossings fell 37%.

Findings on India

• Citizenship Acquisitions: In 2023, around 225,000 Indian citizens acquired nationality of OECD countries which is one of the highest among all non-member states.
• International Students: India and China together accounted for one-third of all international students in OECD countries, reflecting India’s growing global academic footprint.

State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2025

Context: The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2025 report  warns of a growing global crisis as human-driven land degradation undermines agricultural productivity, food security, and ecosystem resilience.

About SOFA 2025

• Publisher: Released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
• Purpose: The report examines human activities such as unsustainable farming, deforestation, and overgrazing which reduces land productivity and ecosystem functions which are vital for sustainable food systems.

Key Highlights of the Report

• Defined land degradation as a long-term decline in land’s ability to provide essential ecosystem services and agricultural productivity.
• Drivers: It is driven by both natural factors (soil erosion, salinization) and anthropogenic factors (deforestation, overgrazing, poor irrigation, and cropping practices).
• Scale of Impact: About 1.7 billion people face 10% yield losses due to human-induced degradation, with Asia being most affected due to dense populations and accumulated degradation debt.
• Productivity Decline: Total factor productivity growth which measures technological efficiency has slowed since the 2000s, especially in the Global South.
• Food Security Link: Around 47 million stunted children under five live in areas where severe yield losses coincide with food insecurity.
• Ecosystem Effects: Degradation weakens rangelands, reduces livestock productivity, and causes deforestation-driven biodiversity loss and climate disruption.

India’s Position

• High Yield Loss: India is among the worst-affected countries, with significant yield gaps from human-induced land degradation.
• Cropland Abandonment: Around 3.6 million hectares of cropland are abandoned annually due to degradation, threatening rural livelihoods.

Policy recommendation for Sustainable Land Use

• Regulatory Measures: Land-use zoning, deforestation bans, and soil conservation mandates.
• Incentive-Based Policies: Financial rewards for sustainable practices through payments for ecosystem services.
• Cross-Compliance Mechanisms:Linking government support to adherence to environmental standards.
• Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN): Adopt the “Avoid ,Reduce and Reverse”  to achieve sustainable land restoration and food system resilience.
  • LDN is a state where the amount and quality of land resources remain stable or increase to support ecosystem functions and enhance food security.

Pampadum Shola National Park

Context: Pampadum Shola National Park is witnessing a successful ecological restoration after decades of degradation caused by invasive Australian wattle plantations.

About Pampadum Shola National Park

• Pampadum Shola is Kerala’s smallest national park, located in Idukki district covering about 1,300 hectares of high-altitude terrain between 1,900–2,300 metres.
• Ecological Uniqueness: It represents the southernmost shola grassland mosaic of the Western Ghats, one of the world’s oldest mountain systems, predating the Himalayas.
  • The park harbours endemic species such as the Nilgiri marten, Kerala laughing thrush, and rare orchids, forming a vital biodiversity hotspot.
• Hydrological Importance: Pampadum’s grasslands act as natural sponges, storing rainfall and feeding headstreams of the Pambar and Vaigai rivers, crucial for Tamil Nadu’s plains.
• Introduction of Australian Wattle: Acacia mearnsii, commonly known as black wattle/ Australian Wattle , was introduced by the British in the early 1900s for its tannin-rich bark used in leather production.
  • It is an invasive species spreading aggressively across the Western Ghats, displacing native grasses, hardening soil, drying perennial streams, and severely reducing local biodiversity.
• Restoration Drive: A 2015 forest fire exposed the extent of degradation, prompting the Kerala Forest Department to begin large-scale wattle removal.
  • Between 2020 and 2024, 475 hectares were cleared through manual uprooting, contour bunding, and native grass reseeding.
• Ecological Impact of Restoration: Reappearing grass species improved soil moisture, boosted groundwater recharge, and revived lost streams.
  • Native fauna, including Nilgiri martens and grassland birds, have begun returning to restored zones.
• Policy and Community Participation: Kerala’s 2021 Eco-Restoration Policy prioritised removal of exotics like wattle and eucalyptus from high-altitude ecosystems.
  • Local communities, trained in ecological restoration techniques, now lead field operations, ensuring sustainable ecosystem recovery.

Cheetahs

Context: India will import another batch of eight cheetahs from Botswana by December 2025 under Project Cheetah, with the animals currently under quarantine in Botswana.

About Project Cheetah

• Project Cheetah, launched in 2022, is India’s initiative to reintroduce cheetahs to their historical range after the species became extinct in 1952.
• Monitored by: National Tiger Conservation Authority 
• Previous Relocations: Eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia in September 2022, followed by twelve from South Africa in February 2023, marking the world’s first intercontinental carnivore translocation.
• Protection: Imported cheetahs undergo a 2–3 month quarantine in Kuno National Park before release.
• Achievements: Despite initial setbacks, 16 cheetahs have been born in India, with a net population gain of seven since the project’s launch, reflecting gradual ecological adaptation..

About the Cheetah

• The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is the world’s fastest land animal, with the African subspecies (A. j. jubatus) being reintroduced into India.
• Total Population: India currently (as of November 2025) hosts 27 cheetahs with 24 in Kuno National Park and 3 in Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
• IUCN Status:
  • African Cheetah : Vulnerable 
  • Asiatic Cheetah: Critically Endangered

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