Latest revision as of 20:52, 28 September 2025

[edit] List of Biosphere Reserves, their area, date of designation and location

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Great Nicobar (885 km²)

Designated on 6 January 1989. Southernmost island of India; tropical rainforest and coastal habitats.

Andhra Pradesh

Seshachalam Hills (4755.997 km²)

Designated on 20 September 2010. Located in the Eastern Ghats; rocky hills; source of red sanders trees. Covers parts of Chittoor and Kadapa districts.

Arunachal Pradesh

Dihang-Dibang / Dehang-Dibang (5111.5 km²)

Designated on 2 September 1998. Eastern Himalayas; includes Mishmi Hills and Dibang Valley; high biodiversity. Covers Upper Siang, West Siang, and Dibang Valley districts.

Assam

Manas (2837 km²)

Designated on 14 March 1989. Foothills of the Himalayas; UNESCO World Heritage Site; rich in endangered fauna. Includes Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, and Darrang districts.

Assam

Dibru-Saikhowa (765 km²)

Designated on 28 July 1997. Brahmaputra River floodplains; semi-evergreen forests and wetlands. Located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.

Chhattisgarh & Madhya Pradesh

Achanakmar-Amarkantak (3835.51 km²)

Designated on 30 March 2005. Maikal Hills; crucial watersheds and forest corridor. Includes Anuppur and Dindori districts in Madhya Pradesh and Bilaspur district in Chhattisgarh.

Gujarat

Great Rann of Kutch / Kachchh (12,454 km²)

Designated on 29 January 2008. India’s largest biosphere; arid salt desert; wild ass sanctuary. Includes Kachchh, Rajkot, Surendranagar, and Patan districts.

Himachal Pradesh

Cold Desert (7770 km²)

Designated on 28 August 2009. Trans-Himalayan region; high-altitude cold desert environments (Spiti-Kinnaur). Includes Pin Valley National Park, Chandratal, Sarchu, and Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary.

Kerala, Tamil Nadu

Agasthyamalai (3500.36 km²)

Designated on 12 November 2001. Southern Western Ghats; known for medicinal plants and endemic flora/fauna. Includes Thirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts in Tamil Nadu, and Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta districts in Kerala.

Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu

Nilgiri (5520 km²)

Designated on 1 August 1986. Western Ghats mountain range spanning three states; rich in endemic species. Includes Wayanad, Nagarhole, Bandipur, Madumalai, Nilambur, Silent Valley, and Siruvani hills.

Madhya Pradesh

Pachmarhi (4981.72 km²)

Designated on 3 March 1999 (extended on 30 July 2009). Satpura Range; central Indian forests; giant squirrel habitat. Covers Betul, Hoshangabad, and Chhindwara districts.

Madhya Pradesh

Panna (2998.98 km²)

Designated on 25 August 2011. Vindhyan ranges; known for tiger reserve and dry deciduous forests. Located in Panna and Chhatarpur districts.

Meghalaya

Nokrek (820 km²)

Designated on 1 September 1988. Eastern hills; Garo Hills region; habitat for red panda and unique citrus plants. Includes East, West, and South Garo Hills.

Odisha

Simlipal (4374 km²)

Designated on 21 June 1994. Deccan Peninsula; forested hills and grasslands; elephant and tiger habitats. Located in Mayurbhanj district.

Sikkim

Khangchendzonga (2619.92 km²)

Designated on 7 February 2000. Eastern Himalayas; includes the world’s third-highest peak; diverse alpine and temperate zones. Located in North and West districts.

Tamil Nadu

Gulf of Mannar (10,500 km²)

Designated on 18 February 1989. Off the Tamil Nadu coast; important coastal and marine ecosystems. Extends from Rameswaram Island to Kanyakumari.

Uttarakhand

Nanda Devi (5860.69 km²)

Designated on 18 January 1988. Western Himalayas; includes high-altitude alpine meadows and glacial regions. Covers Chamoli, Pithoragarh, and Almora districts.

West Bengal

Sundarbans (9630 km²)

Designated on 29 March 1989. Gangetic Delta; India-Bangladesh border; world's largest mangrove forest; home to Royal Bengal tiger.

[edit] Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve/ 2025

HP cold desert now on Unesco’s list of biosphere reserves/ The Times of India/ 28 Sep. 25

BOOST FOR INDIA’S GREEN EFFORTS

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi : Unesco on Saturday designated India’s Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve, located in western Himalayas and spread over 7,770 sq km of windswept plateaus, glacial valley and high-altitude desert in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, as one of the biosphere reserves of its global network.

India has a total 18 biosphere reserves, of which 13 are now in the Unesco’s world network with the latest addition of the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve in the list.

The global designation helps these sites adopt comprehensive measures to foster harmony between people and nature for sustainable development. “These globally recognised areas are more than just protected land — they are living laboratories where communities, scientists, and govts collaborate to find sustainable ways of living in harmony with nature,” said the UN body while announcing the list of 26 newly designated biosphere reserves from 21 countries.

Established in 2009, the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve is home to many rare and endangered species including snow leopard, Tibetan antelope and Himalayan wolf. It also has a variety of flora that has been used for medicinal purposes.

This is India’s first highaltitude Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve and one of the coldest and driest ecosystems in Unesco’s world network of biosphere reserves.

[edit] Expenditure incurred under Biosphere Reserve scheme

Expenditure incurred by the Government of India under the Biosphere Reserve scheme. (As per the Utilization Certificates received from the State Government/(s) and UT)

[edit] 2006-11

(Rs. in lakhs)

Nanda Devi – Uttarakhand

2006–07: 80.00

2007–08: 72.86

2008–09: 60.00

2009–10: 24.34

2010–11: 80.00

Nilgiri – Tamil Nadu

2006–07: Nil

2007–08: 44.42

2008–09: 36.00

2009–10: 109.463

2010–11: 66.97

Gulf of Mannar – Tamil Nadu

2006–07: 41.09

2007–08: 49.91

2008–09: 29.844

2009–10: 89.635

2010–11: 59.865

Agasthyamalai – Tamil Nadu

2006–07: 34.945

2007–08: 40.00

2008–09: 104.305

2009–10: 49.994

2010–11: 54.83

Sundarbans – West Bengal

2006–07: 55.914

2007–08: 86.196

2008–09: 108.975

2009–10: 108.85

2010–11: 75.50

Nilgiri – Karnataka

2006–07: 28.23

2007–08: 22.36

2008–09: 18.661

2009–10: 109.73

2010–11: 12.79

Nilgiri – Kerala

2006–07: 53.84

2007–08: 105.31

2008–09: 30.89

2009–10: 86.90

2010–11: 53.13

Agasthyamalai – Kerala

2006–07: 63.58

2007–08: 10.41

2008–09: 26.79

2009–10: 102.47

2010–11: 57.23

Great Nicobar – Andaman & Nicobar Islands

2006–07: Nil

2007–08: Nil

2008–09: Nil

2009–10: 7.88957

2010–11: 5.85113

Similipal – Odisha

2006–07: 67.85

2007–08: 100.00

2008–09: 49.70

2009–10: 50.00

2010–11: 43.45

Dibru-Saikhowa – Assam

2006–07: Nil

2007–08: 38.796

2008–09: Nil

2009–10: 50.00

2010–11: 44.05

Manas – Assam

2006–07: Nil

2007–08: Nil

2008–09: Nil

2009–10: 40.00

2010–11: Awaited

Nokrek – Meghalaya

2006–07: 40.00

2007–08: 30.30

2008–09: 30.00

2009–10: 42.00

2010–11: 18.00

Khangchendzonga – Sikkim

2006–07: 58.43

2007–08: 59.10

2008–09: 48.84

2009–10: 15.355

2010–11: 54.802

Dehang-Dibang – Arunachal Pradesh

2006–07: 37.77

2007–08: 34.996

2008–09: 29.80665

2009–10: 18.03

2010–11: 35.00

Pachmarhi – Madhya Pradesh

2006–07: 57.6868

2007–08: 64.90

2008–09: 43.062

2009–10: Nil

2010–11: 127.7393

Achanakmar-Amarkantak – Madhya Pradesh

2006–07: 34.193

2007–08: 75.005

2008–09: 72.2043

2009–10: 20.6727

2010–11: 24.22722

Achanakmar-Amarkantak – Chhattisgarh

2006–07: 64.73

2007–08: 23.65

2008–09: 141.94

2009–10: 71.95606

2010–11: 45.02664

Kachchh – Gujarat

2006–07: NA

2007–08: Awaited

2008–09: —

2009–10: —

2010–11: —

[edit] See also