Bandipur Tiger Reserve

News:Karnataka Chief Minister has said that the ban on vehicular movement through Bandipur forest during night will continue.

Facts:

• Wayanad district in Kerala has witnessed protests against a ban on vehicular movement on the forest stretch of NH 766 that passes through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka.
• The reason for the protests was a Supreme Court direction to the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change to suggest alternative routes so that NH 766 could be shut down permanently.

About Bandipur Tiger Reserve:

• The Bandipur Tiger Reserve is located in Karnataka.It is a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
• The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve was the first biosphere reserve in India established in the year 1986.
• It is located in the Western Ghats and spreads over parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
• Nilgiri Biosphere reserve includes the Aralam, Mudumalai, Mukurthi, Nagarhole, Bandipur and Silent Valley national parks as well as the Wayanad and Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuaries.

Additional information:

About Biosphere reserves:

• Biosphere Reserve (BR) is an international designation by UNESCO for representative parts of natural and cultural landscapes extending over large areas of terrestrial or coastal/ marine ecosystems or a combination of them.
• The programme of ‘Biosphere Reserve’ was initiated by UNESCO in 1971. If a country declares one area as a biosphere reserve, it can nominate the same under the UNESCOs Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme.
• The Biosphere Reserves should meet a minimal set of criteria for inclusion in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) under MAB programme.
• If UNESCO accepts the proposal of the government, the biosphere reserve then enters into the WNBR.There are 18 Biosphere Reserves in India.Of these,11 are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

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