Similipal Biosphere Reserve
Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Natural Vegetation"
Meaning
Similipal Biosphere Reserve is a large protected forest in Mayurbhanj district, Odisha. It was set up in 1994. A biosphere reserve is a large, typical ecosystem split into three zones. The core is legally protected and left untouched. The buffer allows research and limited use. The transition zone has villages and sustainable use. Similipal is on UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves. It matters because it keeps a whole forest ecosystem alive and also supports the people who live around it.
Example
Similipal is known for its rare black tigers. They are melanistic, which means they carry so much dark pigment that their stripes merge into black patches. Similipal was also one of the first nine tiger reserves when Project Tiger began in 1973.
Don't confuse with
- Similipal Tiger Reserve: the tiger reserve comes under Project Tiger and the Wildlife (Protection) Act. The biosphere reserve is a central government scheme linked to UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, and it is not declared under the Wildlife Act.
Related concepts
- Biosphere reserve
- Man and Biosphere Programme
- Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
- Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve
- Nokrek Biosphere Reserve
- Manas Biosphere Reserve
- Sunderban Biosphere Reserve
- Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve
- Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve
- Dibru-Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve