Key Points:
- Madhya Pradesh’s Panna National Park declared as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
- “The area has experienced extensive ecosystem restoration in the buffer zone,” UNESCO mentioned.
- Union Minister congratulated the MP reserve on Twitter.
- “PTR was reported as a biosphere reserve by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC ) in 2011 and after nine long years the UNESCO has included it in the Man and Biosphere programme,” Alok Kumar, PCCF said.
- Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of Tigers in the country.
India has been a country blessed with picturesque beauty. With around 104 National Parks and almost 550 Wildlife Sanctuaries in all around the country, it just magnifies the beauty of the Nation.
Recently, the Madhya Pradesh’s Panna National Park received a huge status and praise from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the park has been declared as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar sharing the news on Twitter congratulated the reserve for the status and praised its work on tiger conservation.
The Panna Tiger Reserve has now been declared a @UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Congratulations to Panna Tiger Reserve for their amazing work on tiger conservation.@moefcc pic.twitter.com/gsos0ZxA1a
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) November 3, 2020
UNESCO also declared the Panna National Reserve as a critical tiger habitat. It stated that,
“The area has experienced extensive ecosystem restoration in the buffer zone. Agriculture is the main source of income together with Horticulture, Forestry, Cultural and Eco-tourism with only 3 urban centres and over 300 villages to run.”
https://en.unesco.org/news/twenty-five-sites-join-unescos-world-network-biosphere-reserves
Last year, Panna Tiger Reserve saw a remarkable turnaround in its Tiger population by increasing the big cats to 50 from 0 in a decade’s time. The reintroduction process started in 2009. Sloths, India Wolves, Bear Pangolins, Leopards and a lot more reside in the 542.67 sq km thick deciduous forest of the Panna national Reserve. Stone carvings that date back to the Neolithic era can also be witnessed at the park.
Alok Kumar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF(Wildlife)), Madhya Pradesh said that,
“PTR was reported as a biosphere reserve by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC ) in 2011 and after nine long years the UNESCO has included it in the Man and Biosphere programme.”
Credits also must be given to the Locals staying in the Panna Reserve area that have positively responded to the sensitization about the vegetation and wildlife. Due to this, there has not been any Man-Animal conflict in the landscape in years.
Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of Tigers in the country with estimated 526 big cats (2018 census) followed by Karnataka.
