India now has 13 Biosphere Reserves in the UNESCO list of World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR).
India’s Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve, in Himachal Pradesh, has been included in the UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), on 27th September 2025, during the 37th Session of UNESCO’s International Coordinating Council – Man and the Biosphere Programme. With this, India now has 13 Biosphere Reserves on the UNESCO list.
On 27 September 2025, UNESCO officially announced the designation of the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve in India, as part of 26 new sites that were added to UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), during the 5th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves. This was the 37th Session of UNESCO’s International Coordinating Council's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.
With this designation for the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve in Himachal Pradesh, India now has a total of 13 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, among a global network of 785 sites.
As per the announcement by UNESCO on 27th September 2025, this is India’s first high-altitude cold desert biosphere reserve and one of the coldest and driest ecosystems in UNESCO’s WNBR. It covers the Pin Valley National Park and its surroundings, Chandratal and Sarchu and Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary.
Spanning 7,770 square kilometres at altitudes ranging from 3,300 to 6,600 meters, this Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve includes windswept plateaus, glacial valleys, alpine lakes, and rugged high-altitude deserts.
It has 732 species of vascular plants, which includes 30 endemics and 157 near-endemics of the Indian Himalayas. It is also home to iconic creatures such as the Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia), the Himalayan Ibex (Capra sibirica), the Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur), the Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco), the Himalayan Snowcock (Tetraogallus himalayensis), and the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos daphanea).
This is a trans-Himalayan region which has around 12,000 people living in villages scattered across this region. They practice traditional pastoralism, yak and goat herding, barley and pea farming, and Tibetan herbal medicine. Their knowledge sustained through Buddhist monastic traditions and community councils, regulate the use of the fragile alpine resources in this region.
As per UNESCO's letter of designation, the world's major ecosystems and landscapes are represented in this Network, which is devoted to conserving biological diversity, promoting research and monitoring, as well as seeking to provide models of sustainable development in the service of humankind.
The announcement came just a day after India added two new Ramsar sites to its network, taking its tally to 93, spanning 13,60,719 hectares. Ramsar sites is a name given to Wetlands, which is a unique ecosystem where land and water meet, characterised by water covering the soil or being present at or near the surface.
The two new Ramsar sites in India are from Bihar, which are: Gokul Jalashay (448 ha) in Buxar district and Udaipur Jheel (319 ha) in West Champaran district of Bihar.
- India’s Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve in Himachal Pradesh included in UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves - Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India, on PIB. Posted On: 27 SEP 2025 10:00PM by PIB Delhi.
- 5th WCBR Designates Cold Desert as India’s 13th UNESCO Biosphere Reserve - UNESCO, 27 September 2025.