Biosphere reserves of India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MAB Biosphere Reserves in India[1] The Indian government has established 17 Biosphere Reserves of India, (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. Seven of the seventeen biosphere reserves are a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, based on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme list[2]. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, 2000 Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, 2001 Sundarbans national park, 2001 Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, 2004 Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, 2009 Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve, 2009 Simlipal Biosphere Reserve, 2009

The above two along with Manas Biosphere Reserve are among the 22 new sites recently added by UNESCO to its World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Their inclusion raises the number of Indian sites on the World list to seven, from a total of 15 Biosphere Reserves across the subcontinent. In 2009, India designated Cold Desert of Himachal Pradesh as a Biosphere Reserve. And on September 20th, 2010, Ministry of Environment and Forests designated Seshachalam Hills as another Biosphere Reserve taking the count to number of such designated areas to 17. Now, India has 17 Biosphere reserves.[3]

Contents
[hide]

1 List of Biosphere Reserves 2 Potential Sites for Biosphere Reserves 3 See also 4 References

[edit] List of Biosphere Reserves

Biosphere reserves of India (area wise) Year 1 2008 2 1989 3 1989 Name Great Rann of Kutch Location State Gujarat Tamil Nadu West Bengal Himachal Pradesh Type Desert Coasts Gangetic Delta Western Himalayas West Himalayas Area (km) 12454 10500 9630

4 2009

5 1988

6 1986

7 1998 8 1999

9 2010

Part of Kutch, Rajkot and Surendranagar Districts Indian part of Gulf of Mannar Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka Part of delta of Ganges and Sunderbans Barahamaputra river system Pin Valley National Park and surroundings;Chandratal and Cold Desert Sarchu & Kibber Wildlife Sancturary Parts of Chamoli District, Nanda Devi Pithoragarh District & Bageshwar District Part of Waynad, Nagarhole, Nilgiri Biosphere Bandipur and Mudumalai, Reserve Nilambur, Silent Valley and Siruvani Hills Part of Siang and Dibang Dehang-Dibang Valley Parts of Betul District, Pachmarhi Hoshangabad District and Biosphere Reserve Chhindwara District Seshachalam Hill Ranges Seshachalam Hills covering parts of Chittoor and Kadapa districts Part of Mayurbhanj district

7770

Uttarakhand

5860

Tamil Nadu, Western Kerala and Ghats Karnataka Arunachal Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Orissa East Himalayas Semi-Arid Eastern Ghats Deccan Peninsula

5520

5112 4926

4755.997 4374

10 1994 Simlipal

Biosphere reserves of India (area wise) Year 11 2005 Name Achanakamar Amarkantak Location State Type Maikala Range East Himalayas East Himalayas Area (km) 3835

12 1989 Manas

Madhya Part of Annupur, Dindori and Pradesh, Bilaspur districts Chattisgarh Part of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Assam Kamrup and Darrang Districts Sikkim

2837 2620

13 2000 Khangchendzonga Parts of Kanchanjunga Hills

Neyyar, Peppara and Agasthyamalai Shenduruny Wildlife Kerala, Tamil Western 14 2001 Biosphere Reserve Sanctuary and their adjoining Nadu ghats areas Andaman and Great Nicobar Southern most islands of 1989 Nicobar Islands 15 Biosphere Reserve Andaman and Nicobar Islands Islands East Part of Garo Hills Meghalaya 16 1988 Nokrek Himalayas Part of Dibrugarh and East Assam 17 1997 Dibru-Saikhowa Tinsukia districts Himalayas

1828

885 820 765

[edit] Potential Sites for Biosphere Reserves

Following is the list of potential sites for Biosphere Reserves as selected by Ministry of Forests and Environment:1. Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh 2. Thar desert, Rajasthan 3. Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat 4. Kaziranga, Assam 5. Kanha, Madhya Pradesh 6. North Islands of Andaman Andaman & Nicobar 7. Abujmarh, Madhya Pradesh 8. Chintapalli, Andhra Pradesh 9. Lakshadweep Islands, Lakshadweep 10. Singbhum

WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES
A wildlife sanctuary is a space which is set aside exclusively for the use of wild animals, who are protected when they roam or live in that area. Wildlife sanctuaries are also referred to as wildlife

refuges in some areas. Typically, a wildlife sanctuary is created through a government mandate which sets the space aside for the use of animal protection, and rangers or other government employees may patrol the area to ensure that no one hunts or otherwise harasses the animals. There are a number of reasons to establish a wildlife sanctuary. In many cases, a government creates a sanctuary for the purpose of protecting endangered species with a limited territorial range. Since it is not always possible to relocate animals or breed them in captivity, protecting their natural habitat can be very important. Endangered species in wildlife sanctuaries are typically closely monitored, and if their populations grow while under protection, some specimens may be captured for breeding in conservation parks to ensure that the species survives. A wildlife sanctuary may also be established for the purpose of maintaining biodiversity, or preserving a nation's unique natural environment. For example, several rainforest countries have wildlife sanctuaries which are intended to preserve the rainforest as well as the creatures in it; since these conditions could never be replicated somewhere else, it is necessary to preserve them in situ. Many nations also recognize the value of their natural environment and the local wildlife, and as a result they have made the establishment of sanctuaries a priority. Typically, human access to a wildlife sanctuary is restricted. If people are allowed on the site, they must be escorted, to ensure that they do not disturb the animals or damage the environment. Biologists and other researchers may work at the sanctuary to learn more about the animals that live there, but they also tend to adopt a minimal interference approach, to keep the animals as wild as possible. Some wildlife sanctuaries also offer wildlife rehabilitation. In these instances, the sanctuary agrees to take in injured and abandoned wildlife and nurse it back to health before releasing it into the sanctuary or sending it to another location. Since the goal is often to keep the animals as wild as possible, a number of techniques are used to prevent the animals from becoming familiar with humans, such as using puppets for feeding so that the young animals do not learn to associate humans with food.