Biosphere Reserves under UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme |
Biosphere Reserves |
State |
Important Facts |
Nilgiri |
Parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka |
- River:
- Bhavani, Moyar, Kabini (tribuatries of Cauvery), Chaliyar, Punampuzha, etc.
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Moist Evergreen, Semi-Evergreen, Thorn, Savannah Woodland, Sholas, and Grassland
- Endemic Flora: Vanda, Liparis, Bulbophyllum, Spiranthes, Thrixspermum
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Nilgiri tahr, Nilgiri langur, Lion – tailed macaque
- Protected Areas:
- Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary (Also Tiger Reserve),
- Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
- Bandipur National Park (Also Tiger Reserve),
- Nagarhole National Park (Also Tiger Reserve),
- Mukurthi National Park
- Silent Valley
- Other Facts:
- It is a World Natural Heritage Site
- Tribals:
- Cholanaikans- primarily inhabit the southern Kerala State, especially Silent Valley National Park, and are one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes of the region.
|
Nanda Devi |
Uttarakhand |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Mixed temperate and subalpine
- Endemic Flora: Salep Orchid, Silverweed, Fairy candelabra, Fairy Primrose
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Himalayan tahr, Brown bear, Koklass pheasant
- Protected Areas:
- Nanda Devi National park
- Valley of Flowers National Park
- Other Facts:
- The entire area is located within the Western Himalayas Endemic Bird Area (EBA).
- Declared World Natural Heritage Site
- Tribals:
|
Nokrek |
Meghalaya (part of Garo Hills) |
- River:
- Ganol, Dareng and Simsang
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Evergreen and semi-evergreen deciduous forests
- Endemic Flora: Grand rasamala, White meranti, Lali, Chempaka, Wild lemon
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Stump tailed macaque, Pig-tailed macaque, Giant flying squirrel
- Protected Areas:
- Tribals:
- Garo (Achikmande), Banias or Hajjons
|
Great Nicobar |
Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Tropical and Sub-tropical Moist Broad-leafed Forest
- Endemic Flora: Screw pine, Nipa palm, Ceylon ironwood
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Crab-eating macaque, Nicobar megapode, Giant robber crab, Nicobar serpent eagle
- Tribals:
|
Gulf of Mannar |
Tamil Nadu (Indian part of Gulf of Mannar) |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Tropical Dry Broad-leafed forest, seaweed communities, seagrass communities, coral reefs, salt marshes, and mangrove forests.
- Endemic Flora: Morning glory, Jatropha, Halophila grass
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Sea Cow, Sea Anemone, Sea fans
- Protected Areas:
- Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park
- Other Facts:
- First marine Biosphere Reserve in India
- Falls within the Indo-Malayan realm
- Tribals:
- Marakeyars, local people mainly engaged in fishing
|
Sunderbans |
West Bengal |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Tidal Swamp Forests, Saline Water Type Mixed Forests, Brackish Water Type Mixed Forests, Palm Swamp Type
- Endemic Flora: Sundari, Passur, Nypa
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Bengal tiger, Bengal monitor lizard, Salvator lizard
- Others: Gangetic dolphin, , estuarine crocodile, river terrapin, olive ridley turtle,
- Protected Areas:
- Sundarban National Park /Sundarban Tiger Reserve
- Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary
- Lothian Wildlife Sanctuary
- Haliday Wildlife Sanctuary
- Other Facts:
- It is a World Natural Heritage Site
|
Simplipal |
Odhisa |
- River:
- Budhabalanga, Palpala Bhandan, Kharkai River, and Deo
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Northern Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests, Northern Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests, Dry Deciduous Hill Forests, High-Level Sal Forest, Grassland and Savannah
- Endemic Flora: Coix grass
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Red-breasted falconet, Slender-billed scimitar babbler, Ruddy mongoose
- Protected Areas:
- Similipal Tiger Reserve,
- Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary
- Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary
- Other Facts:
- The biosphere reserve has the largest zone of Sal in all of India.
- Tribals:
- ErengaKharias and the Mankirdias, Ho, Gonda and Munda, etc.
|
Khangchendzonga |
Sikkim |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Sub-tropical broad leaved hill forest, Himalayan wet temperate forest, and temperate broad-leaved forest, mixed coniferous forest, sub-alpine forests and dry alpine forest
- Endemic Flora: Anemone, Uvaria, Sikkim Rhododendron, Sikkim Mahonia
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Tibetan sheep, Musk deer, Monal pheasant, Snow Patridge
- Protected Areas:
- Kanchenjunga National Park
- Other Facts:
- India’s first Mixed Heritage Site
|
Panchmarhi |
Madhya Pradesh |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Moist deciduous, dry deciduous, central Indian subtropical hill forest.
- Endemic Flora: Sal tree, Selaginella fern, Palimorpha bamboo
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Barasinga, Wild buffalo, Red jungle fowl
- Protected Areas:
- Bori Sanctuary,
- Pachmarhi Sanctuary
- Satpura National Park(These altogether has also been notified as Satpura Tiger Reserve)
- Other Facts:
- Pachmarhi BR area is often recognized as the “Genetic Express Highway” linking two biological hot spots of the country viz. Eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats, also as the confluence of northern and southern types of vegetation.
- Tribals:
- Gond, Korkustribes introduced the cultivation of potatoes and made use of honeycombs to produce honey in significant quantities for commercial use. Most primitive Bhariya Tribe are found here.
|
Agasthyamalai |
Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Thorn, moist deciduous and semi-evergreen
- Endemic Flora: Rudraksha tree, Black plums, Gaub tree, Wild dhaman
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Lion-tailed macaque, Slender loris, Great pied hornbill
- Protected Areas:
- Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary
- Peppara Wildlife sanctuary
- Shendumey wildlife Sanctuary
- Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
- Other Facts:
- World Natural Heritage Site
- Part of “Hottest biodiversity hotspots”
- Tribals:
- Kani tribes from both Tamil Nadu and Kerala
|
Achanakamar-Amarkantak |
Chhattisgarh |
- River:
- Narmada, Johilla and Sone, Ama Nallah
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Tropical deciduous vegetation. Further classified into Northern Tropical Moist Deciduous and Southern Dry Mixed Deciduous forests
- Endemic Flora: Several thallophytes, bryophyte, pteridophyte, gymnosperm, and angiosperm species found.
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Tigers, panthers, Chitals, blackbuck, giant squirrels, etc
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Other Biosphere Reserves
|
Dibru-Saikhowa |
Assam |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Semi wet evergreen forests, tropical moist deciduous forest, bamboo, swamp forests, canebrakes, and grasslands.
- Endemic Flora: Rauvolfia (Sarpagandhi), Benteak, Livistona (orchid)
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: White-winged wood duck, Hollock-gibbon, Wild buffalo
- Protected Areas:
- Dibru-Saikhowa National Park (was declared wildlife sanctuary in 1986)
- Other Facts:
- Not a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)
|
Dehang-Dibang |
Arunachal Pradesh |
- River:
- Dehang, Debang, and their tributaries
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Sub-tropical broad-leaved, sub-tropical pine, temperate broad-leaved, temperate conifer, sub-alpine woody shrub, alpine meadow (monton), bamboo brakes, and grassland.
- Endemic Flora: Tree fern, Begonia, Lady’s slipper orchid
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Red panda, Himalayan black bear, Green pit viper, Takin
- Protected Areas:
- Mouling National Park
- Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary
- Other Facts:
- Not a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)
|
Kachchh |
Gujarat |
- River:
- Luni, Rupen, West Banas drains into the area
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Great Rann of Kachchh (GRK) and Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK) has mixed scrub, thorn, savannah in GRK.
- Endemic Flora: Mangroves in the eastern border of Banni grassland, inside the GRK a place locally known as Shrawan Kavadia
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Indian wild ass, Greater and Lesser Flamingos
- Protected Areas:
- Kachchh Desert Sanctuary
- Wild Ass Sanctuary (for the conservation of wild ass)
- Other Facts:
- Not a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)
|
Cold Desert |
Himachal Pradesh |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Cold, harsh climate with low mean annual rainfall-creating desert-like conditions
- Endemic Flora: Herbs, shrub species
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Tibetan guzzle, red fox, weasel, marmot, griffon, lammergeyer, golden eagle, snow cock, snow leopard, brown and black bear,ibex, etc
- Protected Areas:
- Pin Valley National Park
- Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary
- Chandratal Wildlife Sanctuary
- Sarchu Wildlife Sanctuary
- Other Facts:
- Not a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)
|
Manas |
Assam |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: The monsoon forests of Manas lie in the Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests ecoregion.
- Endemic Flora: Catechu tree, Sissoo, White siris
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Pygmy hog, Golden lungur , Assam roofed turtle
- Protected Areas:
- Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
- Manas National Park
- Manas Tiger Reserve
- Other Facts:
- It is a World Natural Heritage Site
|
Seshachalam Hills |
Andhra Pradesh |
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Both dry and Moist deciduous Type
- Endemic Flora: Red Sanders and Slender Loris
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Jungle cat, Great Mouse Deer, golden Gekos
- Protected Areas:
- Sri Venkateswara National Park
- Sri Venkateshwara wildlife Sanctuary
- Other Facts:
- Not a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)
- Tirupati Balaji temple is located here.
|
Panna |
Madhya Pradesh |
- River:
- Flora:
- Forest Type: Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Dry Teak Forest, Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous Mixed Forest, Dry Deciduous Scrub Forest, Boswellia Forest, Dry Bamboo Brakes, Anogeissus pendula Forest.
- Endemic Flora: Panna represents the northern boundary of the natural distribution of teak and the eastern limits of teak-kardhai mixed forests.
- Fauna:
- Endemic Fauna: Tiger, chinkara, , tree shrew, long-snouted crocodile, mugger Links the eastern and western wildlife populations of the Vindhyan ranges.
- Protected Areas:
- Panna National Park/Panna Tiger Reserve
- Gangau Wildlife Sanctuary
- Ken-Gharial Wildlife sanctuary (dedicated to breeding programs and proper housing of Gharials)
- Other Facts:
- Not a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)
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