Biosphere reserves in Asia and the Pacific

This post will make a completed view of Biosphere reserves in Asia and the Pacific from knowledge to listing all places Update [Oct – 2022]

Know about Biosphere reserves

What is Biosphere Reserve?

• Biosphere Reserve (BR) is an international designation by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for representative parts of natural and cultural landscapes extending over large areas of terrestrial or coastal/marine ecosystems or a combination of both.
• Biosphere Reserves tries to balance economic and social development and maintenance of associated cultural values along with the preservation of nature.
• Biosphere Reserves are thus special environments for both people and nature and are living examples of how human beings and nature can co-exist while respecting each other’s needs.

What are the Criteria for Designation of Biosphere Reserve?

• A site must contain a protected and minimally disturbed core area of value of nature conservation.
• The core area must be a bio-geographical unit and should be large enough to sustain a viable populations representing all trophic levels.
• The involvement of local communities and use of their knowledge in biodiversity preservation.
• Area’s potential for preservation of traditional tribal or rural modes of living for harmonious use of the environment.

What are the Three Main Zones of Biosphere Reserve?

• Core Areas:
  • It is the most protected area of a biosphere reserve. It may contain endemic plants and animals.
  • They conserve the wild relatives of economic species and also represent important genetic reservoirs having exceptional scientific interest.
  • A core zone is a protected region, like a National Park or Sanctuary/protected/regulated mostly under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is kept free from human interference.
• Buffer Zone:
  • The buffer zone surrounds the core zone, and its activities are managed in this area in ways that help in the protection of the core zone in its natural condition.
  • It includes restoration, limited tourism, fishing, grazing, etc., which are permitted to reduce its effect on the core zone.
  • Research and educational activities are to be encouraged.
• Transition Zone:
  • It is the outermost part of the biosphere reserve. It is the zone of cooperation where human ventures and conservation are done in harmony.
  • It includes settlements, croplands, managed forests and areas for intensive recreation and other economic uses characteristics of the region.

What are the Functions of Biosphere Reserve?

• Conservation:
  • Managing Biosphere Reserve’s genetic resources, endemic species, ecosystems, and landscapes.
  • It may prevent man-animal conflict eg., death of tiger Avni who was shot dead when she turned man-eater
  • Along with the wildlife, culture and customs of tribals are also protected
• Development:
  • Promoting economic and human growth that is sustainable on a sociocultural and ecological level. It seeks to strengthen the three pillars of sustainable development: social, economic, and protection of the environment.
• Logistic support:
  • Promoting research activities, environmental education, training and monitoring in the context of local, national and international conservation and sustainable development.

Biosphere reserves in Asia and the Pacific

Full list of biosphere reserves in Asia and the Pacific

This list includes Periodic Reviews –January 2021 Update link Here (UNESCO.ORG)

Countries (24)	Biosphere Reserve (172)	Year of designation	Periodic Reviews
AUSTRALIA
5 biosphere reserves	Croajingolong	1977. Withdrawn in 2020	2003
	Kosciuszko	1977. Withdrawn in 2020	2003
	Southwest	1977. Withdrawn in 2002
	Macquarie Island	1977. Withdrawn in 2011
	Prince Regent	1977. Withdrawn in 2018
	Unnamed	1977. Withdrawn in 2020	2003
	Uluru (Ayers Rock-Mount Olga)	1977. Withdrawn in 2020	2003
	Yathong	1977. Withdrawn in 2018
	Riverland	1977 (Originally Danggali Conservation Park, extended and renamed Bookmark in 1995. Renamed as Riverland in 2004). Withdrawn in 2020	2004
	Fitzgerald (Extended & renamed in 2017)	1978	2003, 2017
	Hattah-Kulkyne & Murray-Kulkyne	1981. Withdrawn in 2018
	Wilson’s Promontory	1981. Withdrawn in 2018
	Mornington Peninsula and Western Port	2002	2015
	Barkindji	2005. Withdrawn in 2018
	Noosa	2007
	Great Sandy	2009
	Sunshine Coast	2022
CAMBODIA
1 biosphere reserve	Tonle Sap	1997	2012
CHINA
34 biosphere reserves	Changbaishan	1979	1998, 2017
	Dinghushan	1979	1998, 2017
	Wolong	1979	1998, 2017
	Fanjingshan	1986	1999, 2017
	Xilingol	1987	1999, 2017
	Wuyishan	1987	1999
	Bogeda	1990	2001, 2016
	Shennongjia	1990	2001, 2017
	Yancheng	1992	2003, 2015
	Xishuangbanna	1993	2004, 2016
	Maolan	1996	2007
	Tianmushan	1996	2007
	Fenglin	1997	2009
	Jiuzhaigou Valley	1997	2011
	Nanji Islands	1998	2011
	Shankou Mangrove	2000	2011
	Baishuijiang	2000	2011
	Gaoligong Mountain	2000	2011
	Huanglong	2000	2011
	Baotianman	2001	2012
	Saihan Wula	2001	2012
	Dalai Lake	2002	2014
	Wudalianchi	2003	2014
	Yading	2003	2014
	Foping	2004
	Qomolangma	2004
	Chebaling	2007
	Xingkai Lake	2007
	Mao’er Mountain	2011
	Jinggangshan	2012
	Niubeiliang	2012
	Snake Island, Laotie Mountain	2013	;
	Hanma	2015
	Mount Huangshan	2018
INDIA
12 biosphere reserves	Nilgiri	2000	2012
	Gulf of Mannar	2001	2013
	Sunderban	2001	2013
	Nanda Devi	2004
	Nokrek	2009
	Pachmarhi	2009
	Similipal	2009
	Achanakmar-Amarkantak	2012
	Great Nicobar	2013
	Agasthyamala	2016
	Khangchendzonga	2018
	Panna	2020
INDONESIA
19 biosphere reserves	Cibodas	1977	2011
	Komodo	1977	1999, 2013
	Lore Lindu	1977	1999, 2013
	Tanjung Puting	1977	1998, 2013
	Gunung Leuser	1981	1999, 2013
	Siberut	1981	1999, 2013
	Giam Siak Kecil – Bukit Batu	2009
	Wakatobi	2012
	Bromo Tengger Semeru-Arjuno	2015
	Taka Bonerate-Kepulauan Selayar	2015
	Belambangan	2016
	Berbak – Sembilang	2018
	Betung Kerihun Danau Sentarum Kapuas Hulu	2018
	Rinjani Lombok	2018
	Saleh-Moyo-Tambora or ‘SAMOTA’	2019
	Togean Tojo Una-Una	2019
	Bunaken Tangkoko Minahasa	2020
	Karimunjawa-Jepara-Muria	2020
	Merapi Merbabu Menoreh	2020
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
13 biosphere reserves	Arasbaran	1976	2002, 2013
	Arjan	1976	2002, 2013
	Geno	1976	2002, 2013
	Golestan	1976	2002, 2013
	Hara	1976	2002, 2013
	Kavir	1976	2002, 2013
	Lake Oromeeh	1976	2002, 2013
	Miankaleh	1976	2002, 2013
	Touran	1976	2002, 2013
	Dena	2010
	Tang-e-Sayad & Sabzkuh	2015
	Hamoun	2016
	Kopet Dag	2018
JAPAN
10 biosphere reserves	Mount Hakusan	1980 (Extended in 2016)	1999, 2016
	Mount Odaigahara, Mount Omine and Osugidani	1980 (former Mount Odaigahara & Mount Omine, extended and renamed in 2016)	1999, 2016
	Shiga Highland	1980 (Extended in 2014)	1999, 2014
	Yakushima and Kuchinoerabu Jima	1980 (former Yakushima Island, extended and renamed in 2016)	1999, 2016
	Aya	2012
	Minami-Alps	2014
	Tadami	2014
	Minakami	2017
	Sobo, Katamuki and Okue	2017
	Kobushi	2019
KAZAKHSTAN
15 biosphere reserve	Korgalzhyn	2012
	Alakol	2013
	Ak-Zhayik	2014
	Aksu-Zhabagly	2015
	Barsakelmes	2016
	Great Altay Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (Kazakhstan/Russian Federation)	(former Katon-Karagay 2014) 2017
	Altyn Emel	2017
	Karatau	2017
	Charyn	2018
	Zhongar	2018
	Almaty	2020
	West Altai	2020
	Kolsai Kolderi Biosphere Reserve	2021
	Burabay	2022
	Markakol	2022
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
5 biosphere reserves	Mount Paekdu	1989	2002, 2014
	Mount Kuwol	2004
	Mount Myohyang	2009
	Mount Chilbo	2014
	Mount Kumgang	2018
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
9 biosphere reserves	Mount Sorak	1982 (Extended in 2016)	1998, 2013
	Jeju Island	2002 (Extended in 2019)	2013
	Shinan Dadohae	2009 (Extended in 2016)	2016
	Gwangneung Forest	2010
	Gochang	2013
	Suncheon	2018
	Gangwon Eco-Peace	2019
	Yeoncheon Imjin River	2019
	Wando Archipelago Biosphere Reserve	2021
KYRGYZSTAN
2 biosphere reserves	Sary-Chelek	1978	2013
	Issyk Kul	2001	2013
MALAYSIA
3 biosphere reserve	Tasik Chini	2009
	Crocker Range	2014
	Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve	2021
MALDIVES
3 biosphere reserve	Addu Atoll	2020
	Fuvahmulah	2020
	Baa Atoll	2011
FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA
2 biosphere reserves	Utwe	2005
	And Atoll	2007
MONGOLIA
9 biosphere reserves	Great Gobi	1990	2016
	Boghd Khan Uul	1996	2016
	Uvs Nuur Basin	1997	2016
	Hustai Nuruu	2002	2015
	Dornod Mongol	2005	2017
	Mongol Daguur	2007
	Toson-Khulstai	2020
	Uvs Lake Depression Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (Mongolia – Russian Federation)	2021 (encompasses previously designated biosphere reserves)
	Khuvsgul Lake	2022
MYANMAR
2 biosphere reserves	Inlay Lake	2015
	Indawgyi	2017
PAKISTAN
2 biosphere reserve	Lal Suhanra	1978	1998, 2014
	Ziarat Juniper Forest	2013
PALAU
1 biosphere reserve	Ngaremeduu	2005
PHILIPPINES
3 biosphere reserves	Puerto Galera	1977	2014
	Palawan	1990	2012
	Albay	2016
SRI LANKA
4 biosphere reserves	Hurulu	1977	1998, 2014
	Sinharaja	1978	1998, 2004, 2014
	Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya (KDN)	2004	2014
	Bundala	2005	2015
THAILAND
5 biosphere reserves	Sakaerat	1976	1999, 2015
	Hauy Tak Teak	1977	1999, 2014
	Mae Sa-Kog Ma	1977	1999, 2015
	Ranong	1997	2011, 2014
	Doi Chiang Dao Biosphere Reserve	2021
TURKMENISTAN
1 biosphere reserve	Repetek	1978	2005, 2017
UZBEKISTAN
2 biosphere reserves	Mount Chatkal	1978	1999, 2015
	Lower Amudarya State Biosphere Reserve	2021
VIET NAM
11 biosphere reserves	Can Gio Mangrove	2001	2011
	Dong Nai	2001 (former Cat Tien, 2001 – extended in 2011)	2011
	Cat Ba	2004	2015
	Red River Delta	2004
	Kien Giang	2006	2017
	Western Nghe An	2007
	Mui Ca Mau	2009
	Cu Lao Cham – Hoi An	2009
	Langbiang	2015
	Nui Chua Biosphere Reserve	2021
	Kon ha Nung Biosphere Reserve	2021

The largest biosphere reserve in Southeast Asia

In addition, Vietnam joined UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) in 2000. The WNBR consists of a network of sites called Biosphere Reserves, aimed at integrating people and nature for sustainable development. So far, UNESCO has designated eight such voluntary Biosphere Reserves in Vietnam. The Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve, designated in 2007, is the largest of these reserves.

Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve

With an area of 1.3 million hectares, Western Nghe shares 440 kilometers (about 273 miles) of its boundary with neighboring Laos. The biosphere reserve contains three important protected areas – Pu Mat National Park, Pu Huong Nature Reserve and Pu Hoat Nature Reserve – home to several threatened, rare and endemic species. Western Nghe An also has many ethnic groups residing within, such as the Thai, Mong, Tay Poong and Kho Mu.

While Western Nghe An was recognized as a biosphere reserve in 2007, it was only in 2011 that the Nghe An People’s Community officially accepted UNESCO’s recognition.