Biosphere reserves of India
The Indian government has established 18 biosphere reserves[1] (categories roughly correspondingly to IUCN Category V Protected areas) to protect larger areas of natural habitat than a typical national park or animal sanctuary, and that often include one or more national parks or preserves, along with buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these regions, and their ways of life.
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Organisations
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World network
Eleven of the eighteen biosphere reserves are a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, based on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme list.[1][2][3]
# | Name | States/ UT | Year |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve | Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka | 2000 |
2 | Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve | Tamil Nadu | 2001 |
3 | Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve | West Bengal | 2001 |
4 | Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve | Uttarakhand | 2004 |
5 | Nokrek Biosphere Reserve | Meghalaya | 2009 |
6 | Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve | Madhya Pradesh | 2009 |
7 | Simlipal Biosphere Reserve | Odisha | 2009 |
8 | Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 2013 |
9 | Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve | Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh | 2012[2] |
10 | Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve | Kerala and Tamil Nadu | 2016[4] |
11 | Khangchendzonga National Park | Sikkim | 2018[5] |
List of biosphere reserves in India
Year | Name | Location | State | Type | Key fauna | Area (km2) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1986 | Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve | Part of Waynad, Nagarhole, Bandipur and Mudumalai, Nilambur, Silent Valley | Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka | Western Ghats | Nilgiri tahr, tiger, lion-tailed macaque | 5520 |
2 | 1988 | Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve | Parts of Chamoli District, Pithoragarh District & Bageshwar District | Uttarakhand | Western Himalayas | Snow leopard, Himalayan black bear | 5860 |
3 | 1989 | Gulf of Mannar | Indian part of Gulf of Mannar extending from Rameswaram island in the north to Kanyakumari in the south of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka | Tamil Nadu | Coasts | Dugong | 10500 |
4 | 1988 | Nokrek | In west Garo Hills | Meghalaya | Eastern hills | Red panda | 820.00 |
5 | 1989 | Sundarbans | Part of delta of Ganges and Brahmaputra river system | West Bengal | Gangetic Delta | Royal Bengal tiger | 9630 |
6 | 1989 | Manas | Part of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup and Darrang Districts | Assam | Eastern Hills | Asiatic elephant, tiger, Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur, pygmy hog | 2837 |
7 | 1994 | Simlipal | Part of Mayurbhanj district | Odisha | Deccan Peninsula | Gaur, royal Bengal tiger, Asian elephant | 4374 |
8 | 1998 | Dihang-Dibang | Part of Siang and Dibang Valley | Arunachal Pradesh | Eastern Himalaya | Mishmi takin, musk deer | 5112 |
9 | 1999 | Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve | Parts of Betul District, Hoshangabad District and Chhindwara District | Madhya Pradesh | Semi-Arid | Giant squirrel, flying squirrel | 4981.72 |
10 | 2005 | Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve | Part of Annupur, Dindori and Bilaspur districts | Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh | Maikala Hills | Four-horned antelope, Indian wild dog, sarus crane, white-rumped vulture, sacred grove bush frog | 3835 |
11 | 2008 | Great Rann of Kutch | Part of Kutch, Morbi, Surendranagar and Patan districts; the largest biosphere reserve in India. | Gujarat | Desert | Indian wild ass | 12454 |
12 | 2009 | Cold Desert | Pin Valley National Park and surroundings; Chandratal and Sarchu & Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary | Himachal Pradesh | Western Himalayas | Snow leopard | 7770 |
13 | 2000 | Khangchendzonga | Parts of Kangchenjunga | Sikkim | East Himalayas | Snow leopard, red panda | 2620 |
14 | 2001 | Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve | Neyyar, Peppara and Shenduruny Wildlife Sanctuary and their adjoining areas | Kerala, Tamil Nadu | Western Ghats | Nilgiri tahr, Asian elephant | 3500.08 |
15 | 1989 | Great Nicobar | Southernmost of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Islands | Saltwater crocodile | 885 |
16 | 1997 | Dibru-Saikhowa | Part of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts | Assam | Eastern Hills | White-winged wood duck, water buffalo, black-breasted parrotbill, tiger, capped langur | 765 |
17 | 2010 | Seshachalam Hills | Seshachalam Hill Ranges covering parts of Chittoor and Kadapa districts | Andhra Pradesh | Eastern Ghats | Slender loris | 4755 |
18 | 2011 | Panna | Part of Panna District and Chhatarpur District | Madhya Pradesh | Catchment Area of the Ken River | Tiger, chital, chinkara, sambhar and sloth bear | 2998.98 |
Potential sites
The following is a list of potential sites for Biosphere Reserves as selected by Ministry of Forests and Environment:[6]
- Abujmarh, Chhattisgarh
- Andaman and Nicobar, North Islands
- Chintapalli, Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh
- Kanha, Madhya Pradesh
- Kovalam, Kerala
- Lakshadweep Islands, Lakshadweep
- Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat
- Phawngpui (Blue Mountain), Mizoram
- Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh
- Singhbhum, Jharkhand
- Tawang and West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh
- Thar Desert, Rajasthan
- Tadoba National Park and Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Maharashtra
References
- "Biosphere Reserves in India" (PDF). Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- "20 new Biosphere Reserves added to UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme". UNESCO. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- "Man and the Biosphere Programme". UNESCO. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- "20 sites added to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves". UNESCO. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- Mohan, Vishwa (8 August 2018). "Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve gets entry into the UNESCO's global list". The Economic Times (India). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- "Status of Biosphere reserves in India" (PDF). ENVIRO NEWS, Ministry of Environment and Forests. January–March 2008. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Biosphere reserves of India. |
- Wildlife Institute of India webpage on India's Biosphere Reserves at Archive.today (archived 9 May 2004)
- United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas: India (1993) at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 25 November 2001)
- Ministry of Environment and Forests