Biosphere Reserves Day: India Has 18 Reserves, 13 in UNESCO List

The International Day for Biosphere Reserves is observed every year on 3 November. It was proclaimed by UNESCO to draw attention to the part these landscapes play in conserving biodiversity while keeping local livelihoods alive. India has 18 notified biosphere reserves, of which 13 are in UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves, the largest number of internationally recognised reserves in South Asia. They cover ecosystems from the Western Ghats to high-altitude deserts and marine habitats.

The idea behind a biosphere reserve

A biosphere reserve is identified by a national government to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable development at the same time. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, launched in 1971, treats these areas as living laboratories where sustainable practices can be tested. Unlike a national park or a wildlife sanctuary, which protects wildlife and habitat under wildlife law, a biosphere reserve links the protected ecosystem to the communities around it. Its three functions are conservation, sustainable economic development and scientific support.

The three zones

Each reserve is divided into a core area, where protection is strictest and human activity is limited to compatible research and monitoring; a buffer zone, which allows environmental education, research and regulated ecotourism; and a transition area, where settlements, responsible farming, sustainable forestry and ecotourism continue. Across the world, reserves average 18 per cent core zone, 30 per cent buffer zone and 52 per cent transition zone.

India and the world network

• UNESCO's network has 797 biosphere reserves across 145 countries, benefiting around 300 million people who live inside them
• These sites cover about 5 per cent of the Earth's land surface but hold over 60 per cent of the world's terrestrial vertebrate species richness
• India is one of the world's 17 mega-biodiverse countries, holding roughly 7 to 8 per cent of recorded species on 2.4 per cent of the Earth's land area
• The Biosphere Reserve division of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change runs the Biodiversity Conservation scheme, a sub-scheme under Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems, and gives states grants-in-aid on a 60:40 sharing basis

Some of India’s reserves

• Nilgiri, spread across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, was the earliest of the Indian reserves
• Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand and Khangchendzonga in Sikkim sit in the Himalaya
• Sundarbans in West Bengal and Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu cover coastal and marine habitats
• Pachmarhi and Panna in Madhya Pradesh, Similipal in Odisha and Seshachalam in Andhra Pradesh lie in the peninsular belt
• Cold Desert in Himachal Pradesh is the newest Indian entrant to the UNESCO world network, and Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is the largest of the notified reserves by area

Manas and Dibru-Saikhowa in Assam, Dehang-Dibang in Arunachal Pradesh, Great Nicobar in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Agasthyamalai across Kerala and Tamil Nadu and Achanakmar-Amarkantak across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh complete the list, which together shows how widely the network is spread over hill, forest, desert and island habitats.