KVR IAS

( -True Mentor For UPSC )

Biosphere Reserves in India
Things to be studied

1. All names and states must to be noted

2. First and Recently established
3. Minimum Area, Maximum Area
4. No = Maximum State and Minimum state
5. Present in UT’s
6. Location & Key Fauna
7. If any National park also in comes under Tiger reserves and/or Ramsar sites and/or

Wildlife Sancturies and/or UNESCO Heritage sites and Biosphre reserves

The Indian government has established 18 biosphere reserves in India,[1] (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 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. Animals are protected and
saved here.

World network
11 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][4]

Name States Year

Tamil Nadu,
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve 2000
Kerala, Karnataka

Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Tamil Nadu 2001

Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve West Bengal 2001

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Name States Year

Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Uttarakhand 2004

Nokrek Biosphere Reserve Meghalaya 2009

Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve Madhya Pradesh 2009

Simlipal Biosphere Reserve Odisha 2009

Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve Great Nicobar 2013

Chhattisgarh, Madhya
Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve 2012[2]
Pradesh

Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve Kerala and Tamil Nadu 2016[5]

Khangchendzonga National Park Sikkim 2018[6]

List
In 2009, India designated Cold Desert of Himachal Pradesh as a biosphere reserve. On 20
September 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 25
August 2011.[1]

2
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Area
Ye
Name Location State Key fauna (km2
ar
)

Tamil
Part
Nilgiri Nadu,
of Waynad, Nagarhole, Bandi Nilgiri tahr, lion-
1 1986 Biosphere Kerala 5520
pur and Mudumalai, Nilambu tailed macaque
Reserve and Karna
r, Silent Valley
taka

Nanda
Parts of Chamoli Snow
Devi Uttarakha
2 1988 District, Pithoragarh Leopard, Himalayan 5860
Biosphere nd
District & Bageshwar District Black Bear
Reserve

Indian part of Gulf of

Mannar extending
Gulf of from Rameswaram island in Tamil
3 1989 Dugong 10500
Mannar the North to Kanyakumariin Nadu
the South of Tamil Nadu and
Sri Lanka

Meghalay 47.48
4 1988 Nokrek In west Garo Hills Red panda
a km

Part of delta
Sundarban West
5 1989 of Ganges and Brahmaputra r Royal Bengal tiger 9630
s Bengal
iver system

3
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Area
Ye
Name Location State Key fauna (km2
ar
)

Asiatic Elephant,
Part
Tiger, Assam roofed
of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Ba
6 1989 Manas Assam turtle, hispid 2837
rpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup and D
hare, Golden
arrang Districts
Langur, pygmy hog

Gaur, royal Bengal

7 1994 Simlipal Part of Mayurbhanj district Odisha tiger, Asian 4374
elephant

Dihang- Part of Siang and Dibang Arunachal Mishmi Takin, Musk

8 1998 5112
Dibang Valley Pradesh Deer

Parts of Betul
Pachmarhi Giant
District, Hoshangabad Madhya 4981.7
9 1999 Biosphere squirrel, flying
District and Chhindwara Pradesh 2
Reserve squirrel
District

Four-horned
Achanakm antelope, Indian
ar- Madhya wild dog, Sarus
Part
Amarkant Pradesh, crane, White-
10 2005 of Annupur, Dindori and Bilas 3835
ak Chhattisga rumped
pur districts
Biosphere rh vulture, Philautus (S
Reserve acred grove bush
frog)

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Area
Ye
Name Location State Key fauna (km2
ar
)

Part
Great of Kutch, Morbi, Surendranag
11 2008 Rann of ar and Patan Districts. It is Gujarat Indian wild ass 12454
Kutch the largest Biosphere
Reserve in India.

Pin Valley National Park and

Cold surroundings;Chandratal and Himachal
12 2009 Snow leopard 7770
Desert Sarchu & Kibber Wildlife Pradesh
Sanctuary

Khangche Snow leopard, red

13 2000 Parts of Kangchenjunga Sikkim 2620
ndzonga panda

Agasthya
Neyyar, Peppara and Shendu Kerala,
malai Nilgiri 3500.0
14 2001 runy Wildlife Sanctuary and Tamil
Biosphere tahr, elephants 8
their adjoining areas Nadu
Reserve

Andaman
Southern most islands
Great and
15 1989 of Andaman and Nicobar Saltwater crocodile 885
Nicobar Nicobar
Islands
Islands

16 1997 Dibru- Part Assam white-winged wood 765

of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia duck, water
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Area
Ye
Name Location State Key fauna (km2
ar
)

Saikhowa districts buffalo, black-

breasted parrotbill,
tiger, capped langur

Seshachalam Hill Ranges

Seshachal Andhra
17 2010 covering parts of Chittoor Slender Loris 4755
am Hills Pradesh
and Kadapa districts

Part of Panna Tiger, chital, chinkar

Madhya 2998.9
18 2011 Panna District and Chhatarpur a, sambhar and slot
Pradesh 8
District h bear

Potential sites[edit]
Following is the list of potential sites for Biosphere Reserves as selected by Ministry of Forests
and Environment:[7] The

 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
 Tawang and West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh
 Thar Desert, Rajasthan

6
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