Biosphere Reserves of India
All 18 biosphere reserves, with UNESCO status and the Agasthyamala question that keeps repeating.
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Every place on this map
Asked in exams
Actual questions from UPSC and state PCS papers that this map answers. The key detail column carries the correct fact behind each question.
| Exam | Question | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Which one is NOT a biosphere reserve: Agasthyamalai, Nallamalai, Nilgiri, Pachmarhi?: Nallamalai | — |
| 2008 | Which was NOT one of the four on UNESCO’s list then?: Kanchenjunga | it joined the UNESCO list only in 2018 |
| 2008 | Which was NOT one of the four on UNESCO’s list then: Gulf of Mannar, Kanchenjunga, Nanda Devi, Sundarbans?: Kanchenjunga | — |
| 2008 | NOT on UNESCO’s list in 2008: Kanchenjunga | it joined only in 2018 |
| 2019 | Which are in Agasthyamala BR?: Neyyar, Peppara, Shendurney WLS + Kalakad-Mundanthurai TR | Kerala and Tamil Nadu |
| 2017 | Good link between the Eastern and Western Ghats?: Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve | not Seshachalam |
| UPSC | First biosphere reserve of India: Nilgiri, 1986 | Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka |
| UPSC | Largest biosphere reserve by area: Kachchh, Gujarat | — |
| UPPCS | UNESCO-listed BRs: Nilgiri, Gulf of Mannar, Sundarbans, Nanda Devi were the first four | — |
| UPPCS | Sundarbans BR: West Bengal; Gulf of Mannar BR: Tamil Nadu; Nanda Devi BR: Uttarakhand | — |
| UPSC | Cold Desert BR: Himachal Pradesh; Dihang-Dibang BR: Arunachal Pradesh | — |
| UPPCS | Simlipal BR: Odisha; Pachmarhi BR: Madhya Pradesh; Panna BR: Madhya Pradesh | UNESCO 2020 |
| UPSC | Great Nicobar BR: Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Seshachalam BR: Andhra Pradesh | — |
| UPPCS | Achanakmar-Amarkantak BR: Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh; Nokrek BR: Meghalaya, Garo Hills | — |
About this map
All eighteen biosphere reserves with their states and zones. Each marker notes whether it sits on UNESCO's world network list (thirteen do) and the signature ecosystem.
The UNESCO-listed versus non-listed distinction is the standard question, along with the first (Nilgiri, 1986) and the largest. Reserves are asked as state matching with deliberately close options.
The three zones (core, buffer, transition) are asked as concept questions. New additions to the UNESCO list are current-affairs bait.