1. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

• in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills ranges of South India.
• UNESCO World Heritage Site
• It includes the Aralam,  Mudumalai,  Mukurthi,  Nagarhole,  Bandipur and  Silent Valley national parks
• Wayanad and Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuaries
• 3 States– Tamil Nadu,Karnataka and Kerala
• It is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and provides habitat for the probably largest South Indian populations of tiger (Panthera tigris), elephant (Elephas maximus) and other large mammals.
• Several ethnic groups inhabit the area, including the only surviving hunter-gatherers of the Indian subcontinent, the Cholanaikans who concentrate in the Nilambur area.
• The reserve encompasses three ecoregions, the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests, South Western Ghats montane rain forests, and South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests.

2. Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve

• large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean.
• The chain of low islands and reefs known as Ramsethu, also called Adam’s Bridge, which includes Mannar Island, separates the Gulf of Mannar from Palk Bay.
• Dugong (sea cow) is found here- Dugong has been asked earlier in UPSC Prelims
• includes a marine component with algal communities, sea grasses, coral reefs, salt marshes and mangroves.
• The inhabitants are mainly Marakeyars, local people principally engaged in fisheries.
• Endangered species include dolphins, dugongs, whales and sea cucumbers– Sea Cucumbers has been asked in UPSC Prelims earlier.
• declared as the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.
• The Gulf of Mannar is known for its pearl banks of Pinctada radiata and Pinctada fucata for at least two thousand years

3. Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve

• Mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. 
• The largest contiguous mangrove area (along with Bangladesh) in the world
• Habitat for the threatened Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
• UNESCO World Heritage site
• The most abundant tree species are sundri (Heritiera fomes) and gewa (Excoecaria agallocha). 
• Name may have been derived from the word Sundari or Sundri, the local name of the mangrove species Heritiera fomes.
• India-40 %,Bangladesh- 60%
• home to rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins.
• The interior parts of the mudflats serve as a perfect home for mangroves.
• Protected areas cover 15% of the Sundarbans mangroves including  Sundarbans National Park  and  Sajnakhali Wildlife Sanctuary, in West Bengal,  Sundarbans East,  Sundarbans South and  Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuaries in Bangladesh.

4. Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve

(2 questions related to this reserve have come in recent years Prelims )

• includes as core areas the Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks, which are one World Heritage site.
• The Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty.
• They encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya.
• Seven endangered mammal species find refuge in the area such as the snow leopard , Himalayan black bear , brown bear , musk deer and bharal/blue sheep .
• The alpine vegetation mainly comprises herbaceous species and scrub communities such as Rhododendron campanulatum, R. anthopogon and Salix denticulata.
• Rhododendrons-key word here.
• drained by the Rishi Ganga.
• Fir, birch , rhododendron and juniper are the main flora.
• UNESCO World Heritage Site

5. Nokrek Biosphere Reserve

• located in the northeast of India on the Tura Range, which forms part of the Meghalaya Plateau.
• Nokrek is the highest peak of the Garo hills.(Also Garo tribes live here)
  
• Along with Balpakram national park, Nokrek is a hotspot of biodiversity in Meghalaya.
• Nokrek has a remnant population of the red panda.
• also an Important Bird Area(IBA)
• National Citrus Gene Sanctuary-cum-Biosphere Reserve
• The area has wild varieties of citrus fruits that provide a gene-pool for commercially produced citrus.
• Citrus indica is a species of Citrus known by the common name Indian wild orange- found in Nokerek.
• Simsang river-longest and largest in reserve
• Home to other unique and endangered animals, such as tigers, leopards, elephants and Hoolock gibbons; the latter are the most endangered apes in India and therefore receive special protection.
• Rare stump-tailed macaque and  pig-tailed macaque found here.
• Siju Cave, also known as Bat Cave, is located here near the Napak Lake and Simsang River game reserve. It is a limestone cave and is famous for its stalagmites and stalactites.

6. Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve

• located in the biogeographical region of the Deccan Peninsula and the Biotic Province of Central India. The Satpura mountain ranges cross India from west to east and Pachmarhi lies directly in its centre.
• Pachmarhi comprises three protection sites: the Bori Sanctuary, Satpura National Park and Pachmarhi Sanctuary – otherwise known as the Satpura Tiger Reserve.
• The Pachmarhi Plateau is also known as the ‘Queen of Satpura’.
• Tectona grandis (Teak) and Shorea robusta (Sal) are the most common and unique flora species found in the forests, with the latter found nowhere else in India.
• Gond and Korkus tribes
• Indian Giant squirrels,Flying quirrels,Rhesus Macaque ( apart from tigers leoparsds,gaurs etc.)
• Tropical moist deciduous forests, tropical dry deciduous and central Indian sub-tropical hill forests are the major ecosystem types.

7. Simlipal Biosphere Reserve

• Similipal Biosphere Reserve lies within two biogeographical regions: the Mahanadian east coastal region of the Oriental realm and the Chhotanagpur biotic province of the Deccan peninsular zone.
• a national park and a tiger reserve in the Mayurbhanj district in Odisha.
• includes three protected areas — Similipal Tiger Reserve, Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary and Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary .
• derives its name from the abundance of red silk cotton trees growing in the area.
• Joranda and Barehipani Waterfalls.
• Budhabalang, Baitarani and Subarnarekha-major rivers
•  largest zone of Sal in all of India.
• Two tribes, the Erenga Kharias and the Mankirdias, inhabit the reserve’s forests and practise traditional agricultural activities (the collection of seeds and timber). Other dominant tribes include the Ho, Gonda and Munda, among others.
• Similipal’s cultural significance is characterized by stories and paintings that date back to the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas.
• A sacred grove called Shami Vrikhya is said to have been the secret hiding place of the bow and arrow of the hero Arjuna.
•  Meghasani/Tunkiburu- the highest peak in the park.
• Simlipal comes under a high cerebral malaria-prone zone. In cerebral malaria the sequestrated red blood cells can breach the blood brain barrier possibly leading to coma.
• Tropical moist broadleaf forest and tropical moist deciduous forests,Sal forests.

8. Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve

• Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
• Tropical moist deciduous vegetation which covers the majority of the area and tropical dry deciduous vegetation to its southern part.
• Four horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), Indian wild dog (Cuon alpinus), Saras crane (Grus antigone), Asian white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Sacred grove bush frog (Philautus sanctisilvaticus).
• The geology of the area is unique and varied from schists and gneisses with granite intrusions, to sand stones, shales, limestone, basaltic lava and bauxite.
• About 68.1% of this reserve lies in the Bilaspur district in Chhattisgarh.
• The area of the Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve is considered to be one of the major watersheds of peninsular India. It separates the rivers that drain into the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal– This point has been asked earlier in UPSC Prelims.
• The reserve is also the source of three major river systems: the Narmada, the Johilla and the Son River.
• Maikal hill ranges together with Vindhya and Satpura lie within the Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve.

9. Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve

• encompasses a large part (some 85%) of the island of Great Nicobar, the largest of the Nicobar Islands in  Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• a wide spectrum of ecosystems comprising tropical wet evergreen forests, mountain ranges reaching a height of 642 m (Mt. Thullier) above sea level, and coastal plains.
• The Mongoloid Shompen  and Nicobarese Tribes live in the forests.
• It incorporates two National parks of India:  Campbell Bay National Park on the northern part of the island, and Galathea National Park in the southern interior.
• Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, and located in the Indomalayan realm.
• Nicobar scrubfowl (a megapode bird), the edible-nest swiftlet , the Nicobar long-tailed macaque, saltwater crocodile, giant leatherback sea turtle, Malayan box turtle, Nicobar tree shrew, reticulated python  and the giant robber crab are some important species,few are endemic to the region.

10. Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve

• located in the Western Ghats- Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• Three wildlife sanctuaries: Shendurney, Peppara and Neyyar, are located in the site, as well as the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger reserve.
• Unique genetic reservoir of cultivated plants, in particular cardamom, jamune, nutmeg, pepper and plantain.
•  Agastyamalai is also home to the Kanikaran,one of the oldest surviving ancient tribes in the world.
• Tropical wet evergreen forests,South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests, South Western Ghats montane rain forests and Shola forests.
• Occupies a prominent place in the cultural heritage and history of India- its prominence in the epic Ramayana has made it a famous site for Hindu pilgrimages.

11. Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve

(Question has come in previous Prelims )

• one of the highest ecosystems in the world.
• The site is one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots.
• located in Sikkim, India.
• Mixed-criteria UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Kangchenjunga peak, the third-highest peak in the world.
• Few Lepcha tribal settlements in the transition zone.
• Tholung Monastery, a gompa located in the park’s buffer zone.
• The biosphere reserve is a trans-boundary bio-diversity hotspot conservation area- it adjoins the Qomolangma National Nature Preserve in Tibet, and in the west the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area in Nepal.