BIOSPHERE RESERVES OF INDIA UPSC

Introduction

Biosphere reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.
They are internationally recognized, nominated by national governments and remain under sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located.
Biosphere Reserves involve local communities and all interested stakeholders in planning and management. They integrate three main "functions":

Conservation of biodiversity and cultural diversity
Economic development that is socio-culturally and environmentally sustainable
Logistic support, underpinning development through research, monitoring, education and training
These three functions are pursued through the Biosphere Reserves' three main zones

Core Areas

It comprises a strictly protected zone that contributes to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation

Buffer Zones

It surrounds or adjoins the core area(s), and is used for activities compatible with sound ecological practices that can reinforce scientific research, monitoring, training and education.

Transition Area

The transition area is where communities foster socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable economic and human activities.

The Indian government has established 18 biosphere reserves (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 reserves, 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.

UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme list

Twelve 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.

	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
10	Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve	Kerala and Tamil Nadu	2016
11	Khangchendzonga National Park	Sikkim	2018
12	Panna Biosphere Reserve	Madhya Pradesh	2020

List of biosphere reserves in India

S. No.	Name	Location	State	Type	Key fauna
1	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
2	Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve	Parts of Chamoli District, Pithoragarh District & Bageshwar District	Uttarakhand	Western Himalayas	Snow leopard, Himalayan black bear
3	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
4	Nokrek	In west Garo Hills	Meghalaya	Eastern hills	Red panda
5	Sundarbans	Part of delta of Ganges and Brahmaputra river system	West Bengal	Gangetic Delta	Royal Bengal tiger
6	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
7	Simlipal	Part of Mayurbhanj district	Odisha	Deccan Peninsula	Gaur, royal Bengal tiger, Asian elephant
8	Dihang-Dibang	Part of Siang and Dibang Valley	Arunachal Pradesh	Eastern Himalaya	Mishmi takin, musk deer
9	Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve	Parts of Betul District, Hoshangabad District and Chhindwara District	Madhya Pradesh	Semi-Arid	Giant squirrel, flying squirrel
10	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
11	Great Rann of Kutch	Part of Kutch, Morbi, Surendranagar and Patan districts; the largest biosphere reserve in India.	Gujarat	Desert	Indian wild ass
12	Cold Desert	Pin Valley National Park and surroundings; Chandratal and Sarchu & Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary	Himachal Pradesh	Western Himalayas	Snow leopard
13	Khangchendzonga National Park	Parts of Kangchenjunga	Sikkim	East Himalayas	Snow leopard, red panda
14	Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve	Neyyar, Peppara and Shenduruny Wildlife Sanctuary and their adjoining areas	Kerala, Tamil Nadu	Western Ghats	Nilgiri tahr, Asian elephant
15	Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve	Southernmost of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Islands	Saltwater crocodile
16	Dibru-Saikhowa	Part of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts	Assam	Eastern Hills	White-winged wood duck, water buffalo, black-breasted parrotbill, tiger, capped langur
17	Seshachalam Hills	Seshachalam Hill Ranges covering parts of Chittoor and Kadapa districts	Andhra Pradesh	Eastern Hills	Slender loris
18	Panna	Part of Panna and Chhattarpur districts in Madhya Pradesh	Madhya Pradesh

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