Biosphere reserves and UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme

Detail

1. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme

• Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme: a UNESCO programme started in 1971. Its aim is to improve the relationship between people and nature.
• It supports research across many subjects and training for people who manage nature (capacity building) [2].

• UNESCO first put forward the idea of designating biosphere reserves in 1973-74, under MAB [2].

• World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR): the global list of all biosphere reserves that UNESCO has recognised. MAB runs this network.

• How a site joins the network:
• The national government nominates the site.
• The site must meet the minimum criteria in Article 4 of the MAB Statutory Framework [2].

• The final decision belongs to the International Coordinating Council (ICC) of the MAB Programme [2].

• Size of the network over time:

• In 2023 MoEFCC recorded 738 reserves in 134 countries, including 22 transboundary sites (sites that cross a national border) [2].
• In September 2025 the 5th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves met at Hangzhou, China. UNESCO added 26 new sites. The network now has 785 sites in 142 countries (2025) [3].

2. What is a biosphere reserve?

• Biosphere reserve: a large area of land, coast or sea, or a mix of these, that represents a typical ecosystem of its biogeographic region (a natural region with its own plants and animals, e.g. the Western Ghats or the Gangetic Delta) [2].
• In a biosphere reserve, local human communities are treated as part of the system. People are not simply kept out [2].
• MoEFCC calls these reserves "sites for experimenting with and learning about sustainable development" [2].

3. The three zones

Zone	What is allowed	Purpose
Core zone	Legally protected. No human interference.	Protects species and gene pools in their natural state
Buffer zone	Research, education and limited use that does not harm nature	Shields the core and serves as a field laboratory
Transition zone	Villages, farms and sustainable use; outreach to local people	Links conservation with the local economy

• Why the zones work (cause → process → result):
• Local people depend on the forest for fuel, fodder and grazing → this puts pressure on the core.
• The scheme gives people in the buffer and transition zones extra or alternative ways to earn a living → they need less from the forest.
• Result: less biotic pressure (harm caused by people and grazing animals) on the core zone [2].

4. Objectives (NCERT Figure 5.9)

• Conservation: protecting all levels of biodiversity, from genes to species to whole ecosystems. This is done in-situ, meaning in the natural home of the plants and animals [2].
• Development: a better quality of life for the indigenous communities (tribal and local groups) living in and around the reserve, without harming nature [2].
• Logistic support: research, monitoring, education and training, so people understand how the ecosystem works [2].

5. How India runs biosphere reserves

• Not a category under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. The protected areas defined by that Act are national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves and community reserves. A biosphere reserve is set up by an executive scheme of the central government. It is not a legal category.

• A biosphere reserve often contains national parks or sanctuaries as its core. Examples: Pin Valley NP in Cold Desert, and Kibber WLS [2].

• Timeline of India's programme:

• 1979: the Indian MAB Committee identified possible sites [2].
• 1983: the Committee of Secretaries approved the setting up of biosphere reserves [2].

• 1986: the Indian National Biosphere Reserve Programme began, and Nilgiri became the first reserve [2].

• How it is funded: a sub-scheme for biosphere reserves sits under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme "Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems" (CNRE) of MoEFCC [2].

• Funding share: 60:40 (Centre : State). For North-Eastern and Himalayan states it is 90:10 [2].

• Who carries it out: the State Forest Department does. The exception is Madhya Pradesh, where EPCO (Environment Planning and Coordination Organisation) does it [2].

• Coverage: India has 18 biosphere reserves, covering about 91,425.11 sq km (December 2023) [2].

6. India's 18 biosphere reserves

#	Reserve (year)	State / location	Area in sq km [2]	Key facts	WNBR year [2][3]
1	Nilgiri (1986)	Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka	5,520	India's first. Includes Mudumalai, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Silent Valley, Wayanad and Nilambur. Western Ghats	2000
2	Nanda Devi (1988)	Uttarakhand (Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar)	6,407.03	Nanda Devi NP and Valley of Flowers NP. Western Himalaya	2004
3	Nokrek (1988)	Garo Hills, Meghalaya	820	Wild citrus gene pool, red panda. Eastern Himalaya	2009
4	Gulf of Mannar (1989)	Tamil Nadu, from Rameswaram to Kanyakumari	10,500	India's first marine reserve. 21 islands, coral reefs, seagrass, dugong	2001
5	Sunderban (1989)	West Bengal, in the Ganga–Brahmaputra delta	9,630	Mangroves, Bengal tiger	2001
6	Manas (1989)	Assam (Kokrajhar, Barpeta and other districts), on the Bhutan border	2,837	Eastern Himalaya foothills	✘
7	Great Nicobar (1989)	Andaman and Nicobar Islands (UT), the southernmost islands	1,038.7	Tropical rainforest, leatherback turtle nesting beaches, Shompen tribe. Site of the debated port and township project	2013
8	Similipal (1994)	Mayurbhanj, Odisha	5,569	Melanistic (black-coloured) tigers. Deccan Peninsula	2009
9	Dibru-Saikhowa (1997)	Assam (Dibrugarh, Tinsukia)	765 (smallest)	Feral horses (tame horses that went wild), white-winged wood duck	✘
10	Dehang-Debang (1998)	Arunachal Pradesh, in the Siang and Dibang valleys	5,111.50	Eastern Himalaya	✘
11	Pachmarhi (1999)	Madhya Pradesh (Betul, Hoshangabad, Chhindwara). Satpura range	4,981.72	Central Indian highlands	2009
12	Khangchendzonga (2000)	Sikkim	2,931.12	Around Mt Kangchenjunga. Eastern Himalaya	2018
13	Agasthyamalai (2001)	Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Neyyar, Peppara, Shendurney WLS)	3,500	Kani tribe, endemic medicinal plants (plants found only here). Western Ghats	2016
14	Achanakmar-Amarkantak (2005)	Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (Anuppur, Dindori, Bilaspur). Maikala hills	3,835.46	Source of the Narmada and Son	2012
15	Kachchh (2008)	Gujarat (Kachchh, Morbi, Surendranagar, Patan). MoEFCC calls it "Great Rann of Kutch"	12,454 (largest)	Wild ass, flamingos. Desert	✘
16	Cold Desert (2009)	Lahaul-Spiti, Himachal Pradesh	7,770	Snow leopard. Pin Valley NP. Western Himalaya	2025
17	Seshachalam (2010)	Andhra Pradesh (Chittoor, Kadapa). Eastern Ghats	4,755.58	Red sanders (red sandalwood)	✘
18	Panna (2011)	Madhya Pradesh (Panna, Chhatarpur). Catchment of the Ken river	2,998.98	Tigers reintroduced after they died out locally in 2009	2020

• Order by size: Kachchh (12,454) > Gulf of Mannar (10,500) > Sunderban (9,630) > Cold Desert (7,770). The smallest is Dibru-Saikhowa (765) (MoEFCC 2023) [2].
• Madhya Pradesh has the most: Pachmarhi and Panna are fully in MP, and Achanakmar-Amarkantak is shared with Chhattisgarh. Assam has two: Manas and Dibru-Saikhowa.
• Coastal and marine reserves: Gulf of Mannar (marine), Sunderban (delta mangroves) and Great Nicobar (island). Kachchh has a coastal and salt-marsh desert.

7. India on UNESCO's World Network

• Now: 13 of India's 18 reserves are on the WNBR. Cold Desert was added on 27 September 2025 at the Hangzhou Congress, making it India's 13th [3]. (NCERT: 12.)
• The 13 are Nilgiri, Gulf of Mannar, Sunderban, Nanda Devi, Nokrek, Pachmarhi, Similipal, Achanakmar-Amarkantak, Great Nicobar, Agasthyamalai, Khangchendzonga, Panna and Cold Desert.

• Not on the list (5): Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa, Dehang-Debang, Kachchh, Seshachalam. MoEFCC lists them as "under consideration" [2].

• Order of joining: Nilgiri (2000) → Gulf of Mannar and Sunderban (2001) → Nanda Devi (2004) → Nokrek, Pachmarhi and Similipal (2009) → Achanakmar-Amarkantak (2012) → Great Nicobar (2013) → Agasthyamalai (2016) → Khangchendzonga (2018) → Panna (2020) → Cold Desert (2025) [2][3].

• Cold Desert facts (2025):
• It is India's first high-altitude cold desert biosphere reserve, at 3,300–6,600 m in the Trans-Himalaya. The Trans-Himalaya lies in the rain shadow (the dry side of a mountain range, where little rain falls) north of the Great Himalaya [3].
• It covers Pin Valley NP, Chandratal, Sarchu and Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary [2][3].
• Wildlife: snow leopard, Himalayan ibex, blue sheep (bharal), Himalayan wolf, golden eagle, Himalayan snowcock [3].
• About 12,000 people live in scattered villages there. They depend on yak and goat herding, small farms and traditional Tibetan medicine (Sowa Rigpa) [3].

8. Map practice (NCERT Project Work)

• Plot all 18 reserves on an outline map of India. A rough west-to-east sweep runs Kachchh (Gujarat) → Cold Desert and Nanda Devi (Himalaya) → Pachmarhi, Panna and Achanakmar-Amarkantak (central India) → Similipal (Odisha) → Sunderban (West Bengal) → Khangchendzonga (Sikkim) → Manas, Nokrek and Dibru-Saikhowa (North-East) → Dehang-Debang (Arunachal).
• The southern group is Nilgiri, Agasthyamalai, Gulf of Mannar and Seshachalam. Great Nicobar sits far to the south-east, in the Bay of Bengal.

Prelims Hooks

• First biosphere reserve in India: Nilgiri (1986). It was also the first Indian site on the WNBR (2000) [2].
• Largest: Kachchh (12,454 sq km). Smallest: Dibru-Saikhowa (765 sq km) [2].
• First marine biosphere reserve: Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu. It has 21 islands and dugongs.
• Biosphere reserves are not protected areas under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. They are a central scheme (sub-scheme of CNRE), funded 60:40 (or 90:10 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states) [2].
• Not on the UNESCO list: Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa, Dehang-Debang, Kachchh, Seshachalam [2].
• Latest WNBR entry: Cold Desert (Himachal Pradesh), September 2025, making India's 13th [3].
• Reserve–feature pairs: Similipal → melanistic tigers; Nokrek → wild citrus and red panda; Seshachalam → red sanders; Agasthyamalai → Kani tribe; Great Nicobar → Shompen and leatherback turtles; Dibru-Saikhowa → feral horses.
• River sources: Achanakmar-Amarkantak (Maikala hills) is the source of the Narmada and Son. Panna lies in the Ken catchment [2].
• Trap: Manas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but is not on the WNBR. Do not mix up the two UNESCO lists.
• Who designates: UNESCO's MAB International Coordinating Council, after the national government nominates the site [2].

Mains Points

• People-inclusive conservation: the core–buffer–transition model gives local people alternative livelihoods in the outer zones. This lowers pressure on the core. It is a different approach from the "fortress" model of national parks, which keeps people out, and suits areas like Agasthyamalai (Kani tribe) and Cold Desert (about 12,000 herders) [2][3]. (GS-III, environment)
• Gaps in coverage:
• 5 of the 18 reserves are still off the UNESCO list [2].
• Some biogeographic regions have few reserves (for example the Trans-Himalaya before 2025, and the Deccan).

• A biosphere reserve has no legal status of its own. Only its core is protected, through national parks and sanctuaries.

• Conflict between development and conservation: the Great Nicobar port and township project sits inside a biosphere reserve that holds rainforest, leatherback turtle nesting beaches and the Shompen, a particularly vulnerable tribal group. Use it as a case study of weighing strategic infrastructure against ecological and tribal rights.

• Link to global commitments: biosphere reserves are a tool for in-situ conservation and sustainable use under the CBD (1992). They support area-based targets under the Kunming-Montreal GBF (2022) and the SDGs. The world network has grown to 785 sites in 142 countries (2025) [2][3].