Biosphere Reserve
	16:24 IST

There are fourteen bio-sphere reserves in India covering more than 55000 square km. area. spread from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to Andaman & Nicobar islands and from Kutch to Meghalaya and Andaman & Nicobar islands. Out of these, four biosphere reserves are recognized by UNESCO on world network of Biosphere Reserves. Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat is also being added in this list of Biosphere Reserve. The biosphere reserves, which are under world network of Biosphere Reserves, are Sundarbans, Gulf of Mannar, Nilgiri and Nanda Devi. Sundarbans in West Bengal covers 9630 km2 area is part of delta of Ganga and Brahamputra river system. Gulf of Mannar in Tamilnadu with highest geographical area of 10,500 km2 covers part of Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka. Nilgiri biosphere has area spread over three states i.e. Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka covering 5520 km2 area. Nanda Devi Biosphere reserve has 2236 km2 area. It is comprised of part of Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Almora districts in Uttar Pradesh. In the North-east region there are five biosphere reserves namely Nokrek, which is part of Garo hills, in the State of Meghalaya, Dehang Debang, which is part of Siang and Debang Valley in the State of Arunachal Pradesh and Manas which is part of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kanchanjunga, which is part of North and West Sikkim.Kamprup and Darang districts and Dibru-Saikhowa, which is part of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, both in Assam. In Madhya Pradesh, there are two Biosphere Reserves namely Pachmarhi and Achanakmar-Amarkantak. Pachmarhi is formed by part of Betur, Hoshangabad and Chindwar distrcts whereas Achanakmar-Amarkantak has parts of Bilaspur district of Chattisgarh State besides Anupur and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh. Agasthyamalai, biosphere has less than 2000 sq. km. area in the State of Tamilnadu as well as Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanmthitta in the State of Kerala. Similipal Biosphere Reserve is part of Mayurbhanj District in Orissa. It coveres 4374 sq. km. area. Southern most islands of Andaman and Nicobar has a bioreserve called Great Nicobar. Biosphere Reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems, which are internationally recognized within the framework of UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) programme. The world’s major eco-system types and landscapes are represented in this network. It is devoted to conserving biological diversity, promoting research and monitoring as well as seeking to provide models of sustainable development in the service of human kind. The Ministry of Environment and Forest provides financial assistance to the respective State governments for conservation of landscape and biological diversity and cultural heritage. Ministry also provides support for research, monitoring, education and information exchange. ***** KP/SR