{"id":347035,"date":"2025-09-29T15:43:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T10:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=347035"},"modified":"2025-09-29T17:26:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T11:56:23","slug":"cold-desert-biosphere-reserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/cold-desert-biosphere-reserve\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

News:<\/strong> Recently, UNESCO officially announced the designation of the <\/span>Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve<\/span> in India, as part of 26 new sites added to UNESCO\u2019s <\/span>World Network of Biosphere Reserves<\/span> (WNBR).<\/span><\/p>\n

About Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve<\/h2>\n
\"Map
Source: spitiwildlifedivision.in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Location\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n\n
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  • It is located in the Western Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti district.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • \u00a0It is stretched along the Western Himalayas,<\/strong> from Ladakh to Kinnaur,<\/strong> in Himachal Pradesh.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Established in\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nIt was established in 2009.\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Key Features\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n\n
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  • It is India’s 16th biosphere reserve and <\/strong>India\u2019s first high-altitude cold desert biosphere reserve<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • It is also one of the coldest and driest ecosystems in UNESCO\u2019s World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • The reserve includes Pin Valley National Park<\/strong> and its surrounding areas.<\/li>\n
  • It also covers Baralacha Pass, Bharatpur, <\/strong>Chandratal Lake, Sarchu, and the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • It covers an area of about 7,770 km\u00b2 and<\/strong>\u00a0altitude ranges from 3,300 to 6,600 meters<\/strong> above sea level.<\/li>\n
  • The landscape includes windswept plateaus, glacial valleys, alpine lakes, and rugged high-altitude deserts<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • About 12,000 people live in scattered villages<\/strong>, practicing herding, farming, and Tibetan herbal medicine, with traditions upheld by Buddhist monasteries and community councils.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Flora\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n\n
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  • It is home to 655 herb species, 41 shrub species, and 17 tree species, including 14 endemics and 47 medicinal plants<\/strong> vital to the Sowa Rigpa\/Amchi system.<\/li>\n
  • It also includes 20 fodder species<\/strong> in the whole Spiti region,<\/strong> and more than 66 species of plants have some economic importance<\/strong> for local communities.<\/li>\n
  • Some important plants being used locally include Hippophae rhamnoides, Salix spp, Betula utilis, Myricaria germanica, Aconitum heterophyllum (EN) etc.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fauna\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n\n