The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added three wildlife reserves from India in its list of Worldwide Network of Biosphere Reserves. The UNESCO on Wednesday (May 27) added as many as 22 new sites from 17 countries in its worldwide list. The three sites that were inducted in UNESCO's list include reserves at Simplipal in Orissa, Nokrek in Meghalaya and Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh.

 

With the inclusion of 22 new sites, the total number of listed biosphere reserves went up of 553 across 107 countries. The decision to include new sites was taken during an ongoing meeting of UNESCO's International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC) at South Korea.

 

Of the three Indian biosphere reserves, Similipal, which is located about 320 kilometre from Bhuvneshwar, is a home to different kind of wild animals including tigers, elephants, panthers, deers and gaurs. Similipal is basically a tiger reserve, which once used to serve as a hunting ground for the Maharajah of Mayurbhanj. Norkek Biosphere Reserve in Meghalaya also features a large species of plants and animals including elephants, tigers, leopards and gibbons.

Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh also has different kinds of wild animals including tiger. It is considered as a botanists' paradise. Biosphere reserves are areas where humans can interact with the rest of nature in sustainable ways. These reserves are used for various research studies.