This paper reports on a wide range of research that estimates the value of ecosystem services (ESS) in India, including those related to forests, grasslands, wetlands, mangroves, and coral reefs. Estimates for forest services are based on an extensive Indian Green Accounting study, from which the values of timber and non-timber (fodder, water recharge, prevention of soil erosion, etc.) have been taken. There is an added non-use value of forests as well as an update of the value for forest sequestration based on the latest estimates of trends in forest management. 

The total value of services from these ecosystems is estimated Rs.1.4 trillion (US$29 billion) in 2009 as a central estimate. This amounts to about 3.0 percent of the country’s GDP in that year. Of the total value, wetlands are the largest at 48 percent. Of the other services, coral reefs and forests each account for 22 percent; followed by grasslands at 7 percent, and mangroves at 2 percent.