ICLEI South Asia has developed the City Biodiversity Index and Illustrated Natural Asset Map of Hyderabad under a project that assessed the biodiversity, tree population and green cover of the area under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The project was funded by the GHMC.

Hon’ble Shri K T Rama Rao, Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development of Telangana, released the map and the city biodiversity index at an event held on the 18^th of April 2023 in Hyderabad, which was also attended by Hon’ble Shri Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, Mayor of GHMC; Smt. Mothe Srilatha Shoban Reddy, Deputy Mayor; Shri Lokesh Kumar, Commissioner; and Shri Arvind Kumar, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, Urban Development,.

The City Biodiversity Index comprises  a profile of the city and 23 indicators that measure native biodiversity, ecosystem services provided by biodiversity, and the governance and management of biodiversity. Scores range between zero and four points for each indicator, with a maximum overall score of 92. The index allows the city to visualise its progress in conserving biodiversity with every application of the index. Hyderabad is the only city in India to have administered the index twice (2012 and 2023).