Khangchendzonga biosphere reserve added to UNESCO list

The Khangchendzonga reserve will be India's 11th internationally designated WNBR.

The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, one of the highest ecosystems in the world, has been added to UNESCO's list of World Network of Biosphere Reserve (WNBR).

The Khangchendzonga reserve will be India's 11th internationally designated WNBR.

The reserve includes a range of ecoclines varying from subtropical to arctic, as well as vast natural forests in different biomes that support an immensely rich diversity of forest types and habitats resulting in high species diversity and endemism.

"International Coordinating Council (ICC) of Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme, UNESCO, in its 30th session (23-27 July 2018) at Palembang, Indonesia, designated Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve for inclusion in the World Network of Biosphere Reserve," a document uploaded on the Environment Ministry's website said.

Khangchendzonga joins the list of other biospheres such as Nandadevi, Simlipal, Sunderbans, and Nilgiri.

Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan tweeted,

Gratified to note, UNESCO has included #Khangchendzonga #NationalPark in Sikkim in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, WNBR. With it the no. of internationally designated WNBR has become 11. Khangchendzonga is one of the highest ecosystems in the world. @moefcc pic.twitter.com/7Y0B75A8sR

— Dr. Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) August 8, 2018

The document said India has 18 biosphere reserves and now, with the inclusion of Khangchendzonga, the number of internationally designated WNBR has become 11 with seven BRs as domestic designated biosphere reserves.

A K Mehta, Additional Secretary, Environment Ministry, said that out of the 18 biosphere reserves, 11 have been internationally designated WNBR. "Seven are left and we will try for their inclusion as well," he told PTI.

The ministry document said that the core area is a major transboundary Wildlife Protected Area.

The southern and central landscape which makes up 86 percent of the core area is situated in the Greater Himalayas, while the northern part of the area which accounts for 14 percent is characterized by trans-Himalayan features.

Buffer zones are being developed to promote e-Plantation and soil conservation works are also being carried out.

Over 118 species of medicinal plants found in the Dzongu Valley are of ethnomedicinal utility.

The core zone - Khangchendzonga National Park - was designated a world heritage in 2016 under the 'mixed" category, the document said.

Commending the joint efforts of the Sikkim government and India's Man and Biosphere Committee, Eric Falt, UNESCO's New Delhi Director, said, "Congratulations to India! This makes it a total of 11 biospheres in the country."

"Biosphere Reserves in India are truly exceptional places for exceptional people. They are a wonderful world of their own, to be preserved with UNESCO for generations to come!" Falt said.

The core zone of the biosphere alone has over 150 glaciers and 73 glacial lakes, the prominent one being the famous 26-km-long Zemu glacier.

It is home to a number of globally threatened fauna including musk deer, snow leopard, red panda and Himalayan Tahr and many ethnic communities including Lepcha, Nepalese, and Bhutia, UNESCO said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)