The World Economic Forum Global risk view 2025 Unveiled geopolitical, social, technological and ecological challenges that endanger the stability and progress of the world. While geopolitical conflicts for 2025 were the most urgent direct risks, environmental risks seem to dominate long -term prospects. Extreme weather conditions, loss of biodiversity and the ecosystem collapse the riskyanking. While the fast urban expansion projects that aim at economic development were at the center of government policy, these guidelines and projects for ecology and marginalized communities that live in these areas are significantly cost.
“Save Dol Ka Badh” campaign for Jaipur’s last remaining forest
On June 1, 2025, protests in Jaipur began against the Fundfelling of around 2,500 trees which are distributed over the 100 hectare country in Dol Ka Badh Forest. In cooperation with the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (Riico), the state government is planning together with a fintech park and hotels in this country, which, according to social activists and other demonstrators, can significantly reduce the green coverage in the region, and leads to ecological imbalance and environmental concerns.
Source: the statesman
The demonstrators reject the move and explain that if the government had decided to use a scope to use 30 hectares of the 100 hectare country with a low tree density for this ambitious project. According to them, such a large development project should not be at the expense of the disturbance of the balance of this decisive ecological zone, the damage to the biological diversity and the deterioration of the already poor air quality of Jaipur.
Dol Ka Badh is an important hotspot for biological diversity – a sanctuary for more than 100 species. The Unity Mall project can seriously influence the ecology of the region under the guise of a project for economic development.
It is estimated for the shopping center alone that around 600 to 700 trees are felled. This area is a dense forest plaster that is also the natural habitat of different birds and animal species. Activists call the forest a rare green space between Jaipur and the desert. The protests are not against the development project, but against the ecological damage it contains. The demonstrators have continuously called for the development project to be postponed to another location so as not to damage the green cover that this forest offers.
Large development projects are a threat to ecology
Dol Ka Badh is an important hotspot for biological diversity – a sanctuary for more than 100 species. The Unity Mall project can seriously influence the ecology of the region under the guise of a project for economic development. According to environmentalists, alternative locations for the development could be determined that would not affect the valuable ecosystem of Dar the daver Forest.
Source: Letjaipurbreathemovement/Instagram
These projects lead under the guise of strengthening the economy and accelerating urbanization, ruthless gentrification and the loss of biological diversity, while they significantly damage ecology by suppressing the organisms in these areas by designing and an imbalance in the natural habitat of the region.
It is also important to note that this is not the only project that the authorities have committed, which proves to be a threat to the natural habitat and the ecology of these defined regions. In March, the Campus of the University of Hyderabad In Telangana, the auction of 400 acres of land became a conflict zone – an urban forest in Kancha Gachibowli -dorf. The students protested against the auction, the felling of the tree and the forecast destruction of green forest protection in the country, which once belonged to the university. The peacefully protesting students were charged lathically and the police were used inside and outside the campus, which suppressed the protesting students.
In March, the Campus of the University of Hyderabad In Telangana, the auction of 400 acres of land became a conflict zone – an urban forest in Kancha Gachibowli -dorf. The students protested against the auction, the felling of the tree and the forecast destruction of green forest protection in the country, which once belonged to the university.
The Aravalli Safari project is an initiative by the Haryana government to develop a huge wild animal -safari park -an attempt to promote ecotourism, the generation of employment and maintaining biological diversity. This project has also received significant support for its initiative to preserve biological diversity and at the same time promotes tourism. However, environmentalists believe that the development of the Safari Park can threaten the fragile ecosystem of it, the oldest mountain chain. While the project aims to promote preservation, the construction of the park can disturb the natural habitat of many types and at the same time trigger the design and loss of biological diversity.
Source: Facebook / DOL in two halves
The union of Indian primaryologists (AIP) emphasized the threat in a recently carried out press release that The big nicobar project– A mega infrastructure project worth 81,000 billion GBP – entry into the fragile ecology of Great NicoBar Island. In the press release, AIP found that “no nature conservation plan for wildlife-not-not once the report presented by the supporters of this project is to alleviate the proposed changes and changes in the situation through the project.” This project includes the production of a million trees and can have irrevocable effects on the habitat of the Nikobar long-tail makers and at the same time the ecology and indigenous population of the island are very destructive.
The ecological consequences of urbanization and gentrification
The infrastructure built up for upscale urban development projects is not without ecological consequences. These constructions require a considerable amount of energy, water and materials. According to the United Nations environmental program, the construction sector is responsible for 38% of global CO₂ emissions in connection with energy supply. The enormous amount of carbon emissions in cities also reduces appreciation at the same time Carbon sinks. In addition, these constructions lead to the shift of local species through the destruction and fragmentation of habitats and at the same time increase the presence of non -local species in the region.
The infrastructure built up for upscale urban development projects is not without ecological consequences. These constructions require a considerable amount of energy, water and materials.
It was estimated that The world has lost at least a third of its forests Due to the increased agricultural production and urbanization. Since these forests continue to shrink due to increasing urbanization, it naturally increases both ecological and social effects. When the temperatures all over the world rise, it ultimately leads to a natural loss of the habitat and the biological diversity.
Urbanization, gentrification and shift in local communities
Development projects and urbanization, while threatening the ecology of the region, also triggers gentrification – a process that changes the character of a poor urban area as wealthy people and use the current residents of this region. The gentrification revitalizes urban areas through investments and innovations, since bad urban regions are revived in order to gain wealthy residents and companies in these areas and increase real estate values. This in turn displaces the indigenous and local residents of the country who cannot keep up with the increasing living costs in this region.
The Urban Wildlife Institute carried out a study To understand biodiversity and reduce conflicts of human life in cities. The results provided the effects of gentrification on animals and also provided indications that nature is often not accessible to marginalized urban communities.
The increasing number of government projects that aim to promote economic development does not recognize the challenges and burdens of which ecology and local communities living in these regions face up. These projects uproot the communities and aggravate the inequality that significantly impair the biological diversity of the area and leads to loss, fragmentation and deterioration of habitats. These projects do not take into account that the shift of residents with low incomes can disrupt the culture of historically marginalized communities and change the overall make-up of a area.
Source: Letjaipurbreathemovement
The separation of socio -economic justice from ecological justice cannot lead to the creation of sustainable cities and urban areas. While upscale development projects such as City Malls can increase real estate values, you can strongly disturb the region’s ecology by displacing the residents and concentrating the environmental advantages in elite areas. The Ministry of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (2018) warned that the not checked urban growth intensifies resource shortage and loss of biological diversity. It is also important to understand that climate stability – from the deforestation for fast urban expansion and upscale projects – arises – the economic inequality deteriorates.
Gentrification And urbanization could lead to an economic development, improve infrastructure and increase the economic possibilities, but development must be based on ecological ethics and just access, which ensures that the biological diversity is neither injured nor limited to narrow -minded enclaves. This is crucial for the creation of urban ecosystems that are environmentally friendly.
Reeba Khan is a student of political science at the University of Delhi. As a writer and student journalist, she has a great interest in questions of identity, conflict and belonging. She writes to remember and resist