Biosphere reserves of India
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The Indian government has established 18 Biosphere Reserves in India,[2] (categories roughly corresponding to IUCN Category V Protected areas), which protect larger areas of natural habitat (than a National Park or Animal Sanctuary), and often include one or more National Parks and/or preserves, along 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. Animals are protected and saved here.
World network
Nine 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.[2][3][4]
Name | States | Year |
---|---|---|
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve | Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka | 2000 |
Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve | Tamil Nadu | 2001 |
Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve | West Bengal | 2001 |
Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve | Uttarakhand | 2004 |
Nokrek Biosphere Reserve | Meghalaya | 2009 |
Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve | Madhya Pradesh | 2009 |
Simlipal Biosphere Reserve | Odisha | 2009 |
Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve | Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh | 2012[3] |
Nicobar Islands | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 2013[5] |
List of Biosphere Reserves
In 2009, India designated Cold Desert of Himachal Pradesh as a biosphere reserve. On September 20, 2010, the Ministry of Environment and Forests designated Seshachalam Hills as the 17th biosphere reserve. Panna (Madhya Pradesh) was scheduled to become the 18th on August 25, 2011.[2]
Year | Name | Location | State | Type | Key Fauna | Area (km²) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1986 | Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve | Part of Waynad, Nagarhole, Bandipur and Mudumalai, Nilambur, Silent Valley and Anaimalai Hills | Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka | Western Ghats | Nilgiri Tahr, Lion-tailed macaque | 5520 |
2 | 1988 | Nanda Devi National Park & Biosphere Reserve | Parts of Chamoli District, Pithoragarh District & Bageshwar District | Uttarakhand | Western Himalayas | 5860 | |
4 | 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 or Sea Cow | 10500 |
3 | 1988 | Nokrek | Part of Garo Hills | Meghalaya | East Himalayas | Red Panda | 820 |
5 | 1989 | Sundarbans | Part of delta of Ganges and Barahamaputra river system | West Bengal | Gangetic Delta | Royal Bengal Tiger | 9630 |
6 | 1989 | Manas | Part of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup and Darrang Districts | Assam | East Himalayas | Golden Langur, Red Panda | 2837 |
8 | 1994 | Simlipal | Part of Mayurbhanj district | Odisha | Deccan Peninsula | Gaur, Royal Bengal Tiger, Wild elephant | 4374 |
10 | 1998 | Dihang-Dibang | Part of Siang and Dibang Valley | Arunachal Pradesh | Eastern Himalaya | 5112 | |
11 | 1999 | Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve | Parts of Betul District, Hoshangabad District and Chhindwara District | Madhya Pradesh | Semi-Arid | Giant Squirrel, Flying Squirrel | 4981.72 |
14 | 2005 | Achanakamar - Amarkantak | Part of Annupur, Dindori and Bilaspur districts | Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh | Maikala Hills | 3835 | |
15 | 2008 | Great Rann of Kutch | Part of Kutch, Rajkot, Surendranagar and Patan Districts | Gujarat | Desert | Indian Wild Ass | 12454 |
16 | 2009 | Cold Desert | Pin Valley National Park and surroundings;Chandratal and Sarchu & Kibber Wildlife Sancturary | Himachal Pradesh | Western Himalayas | Snow Leopard | 7770 |
12 | 2000 | Khangchendzonga | Parts of Kanchanjunga Hills | Sikkim | East Himalayas | Snow Leopard, Red Panda | 2620 |
13 | 2001 | Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve | Neyyar, Peppara and Shenduruny Wildlife Sanctuary and their adjoining areas | Kerala, Tamil Nadu | Western ghats | Nilgiri Tahr, Elephants | 1828 |
7 | 1989 | Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve | Southern most islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Islands | Saltwater Crocodile | 885 |
9 | 1997 | Dibru-Saikhowa | Part of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts | Assam | East Himalayas | Golden Langur | 765 |
17 | 2010 | Seshachalam Hills | Seshachalam Hill Ranges covering parts of Chittoor and Kadapa districts | Andhra Pradesh | Eastern Ghats | 4755 | |
18 | 2011 | Panna | Part of Panna and Chattarpur Districts | Madhya Pradesh | catchment area of the Ken River | Tiger, Chital, Chinkara, Sambhar and Sloth bear | 543 |
Potential sites for Biosphere Reserves
Following is the list of potential sites for Biosphere Reserves as selected by Ministry of Forests and Environment:[6]
- Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh
- Thar Desert, Rajasthan
- Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat
- Kavalam, Assam
- Kanha, Madhya Pradesh
- North Islands of Andaman and Nicobar
- Abujmarh, Chhattisgarh
- Chintapalli, Andhra Pradesh
- Lakshadweep Islands, Lakshadweep
- Singhbhum
- Seshachallam
- Blue Mountain
- Tawang and West Kamang
References
- ↑ UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ministry of Environment and Forests: "Annual Report 2010-2011"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 UNESCO "20 new Biosphere Reserves added to UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme", 11 July 2012
- ↑ UNESCO, Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme list
- ↑ "Nicobar Islands declared as world biosphere reserve", 31 May 2013
- ↑ "Status of Bioshpere reserves in India" (PDF). ENVIRO NEWS, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Vol. 14. January–March 2008. p. 9. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Biosphere reserves of India. |
- Wildlife Institute of India webpage on India's Biosphere Reserves
- United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas: India (1993)
- Ministry of Environment and Forests
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