List of Biosphere Reserves in India

List of Biosphere Reserves in India

Biosphere reserves are an important topic for UPSC Prelims 2022. Every year aspirants can find questions based on biosphere reserves in UPSC CSE Prelims. The good thing about these types of questions is that these are ‘either you know or you don’t’ type questions. If you mark it, it is highly probable that you will mark it right. We highly recommend you to go through this list a few times, to have a good grasp on this topic.

 

Before going to the list, let us first understand

What are biosphere reserves?

• Biosphere Reserve (BR) is an international designation by UNESCO for representative parts of natural and cultural landscapes extending over large area of terrestrial or coastal/marine ecosystems or a combination of terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
• BRs are designated to deal with one of the most important questions of reconciling the conservation of biodiversity, the quest for economic and social development and maintenance of associated cultural values.
• BRs are thus special environments for both people and the nature and are living examples of how human beings and nature can co-exist while respecting each other’s’ needs.
• Below is the list of all the biosphere reserves in India.

 

 

Biosphere reserves in India

 

Sl. No.	Name of Biosphere Reserve	Established in	Location (States)
1	Nilgiri	1986	Part of Wayanad, Nagarhole, Bandipur and Madumalai, Nilambur, Silent Valley, and Siruvani hills (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka).
2	Nanda Devi	1988	Part of Chamoli, Pithoragarh, and Bageshwar districts (Uttarakhand).
3	Nokrek	1988	Part of Garo Hills (Meghalaya).
4	Great Nicobar	1989	Southernmost islands of Andaman And Nicobar (A&N Islands).
5	Gulf of Mannar	1989	The Indian part of the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka (Tamil Nadu).
6	Manas	1989	Part of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamprup, and Darang districts (Assam).
7	Sunderbans	1989	Part of the delta of Ganges and Brahmaputra river system (West Bengal).
8	Simlipal	1994	Part of the Mayurbhanj district (Orissa).
9	Dibru-Saikhowa	1997	Part of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia Districts (Assam).
10	Dehang-Dibang	1998	Part of Siang and Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh.
11	Pachmarhi	1999	Parts of Betul, Hoshangabad, and Chindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh.
12	Khangchendzonga	2000	Parts of Khangchendzonga hills and Sikkim.
13	Agasthyamalai	2001	Neyyar, Peppara, and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuaries and their adjoining areas in Kerala.
14	Achanakamar –    Amarkantak	2005	Covers parts of Anupur and Dindori districts of M.P. and parts of Bilaspur districts of Chhattishgarh State.
15	Kachchh	2008	Part of Kachchh, Rajkot, Surendra Nagar, and Patan Civil Districts of Gujarat State.
16	Cold Desert	2009	Pin Valley National Park and surroundings; Chandratal and Sarchu & Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh.
17	Seshachalam Hills	2010	Seshachalam Hill Ranges covering parts of Chittoor and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh.
18	Panna	2011	Part of Panna and Chhattarpur districts in Madhya Pradesh.

 

 

 

Biosphere Reserves under Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme of UNESCO

• The UNESCO has introduced the designation ‘Biosphere Reserve’ for natural areas to minimize conflict between development and conservation.
• BRs are nominated by national government which meet a minimal set of criteria and adhere to minimal set of conditions for inclusion in the world network of Biosphere reserves under the Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme of UNESCO.
• Globally, there are 686 biosphere reserves in 122 countries, including 20 transboundary sites.

 

Biosphere Reserves under MAB

India has 12 internationally recognised BRs. They are as follows.

Sl. No.	YEAR	NAME	STATES
1	2000	Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve	Tamil Nadu
2	2001	Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve	Tamil Nadu
3	2001	Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve	West Bengal
4	2004	Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve	Uttarakhand
5	2009	Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve	Madhya Pradesh
6	2009	Nokrek Biosphere Reserve	Meghalaya
7	2009	Simlipal Biosphere Reserve	Odisha
8	2012	Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve	Chhattisgarh
9	2013	Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve	Great Nicobar
10	2016	Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve	Kerala and Tamil Nadu
11	2018	Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve	Part of North and West Sikkim districts
12	2020	Panna Biosphere Reserve	Madhya Pradesh

 

FAQs

Q. Which was the first Biosphere Reserve in India?

Ans. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

 

Q. Which Biosphere Reserve recently got the UNESCO status?

Ans. Panna Biosphere Reserve

 

Q. How many Biosphere Reserves are there in India?

Ans. India has a total of 18 Biosphere Reserves.

 

Q. Which protected areas forms Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve?

Ans. Neyyar, Peppara, and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuaries.

 

Q. Where is Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve located?

Ans. Madhya Pradesh

 

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