Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve http nandadevi prayaga org page id 19 Amanda Doerfler Sarah Frederick Kaitlyn Stanoski Biology 110 Dr Hamilton November 4 2009 2 NANDA DEVI The Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve is located in the northern part of India and borders China The Nanda Devi itself is a mountain in India which is a part of the Himalayan Mountain range The center or core of the biosphere reserve is the Sanctuary and it attracts many tourists and mountaineers One of the most significant locations in the biosphere reserve is The Valley of Flowers National Park which includes many plants and animals The Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve is significant in many ways Nanda Devi Campaign The biosphere reserve concept is considered to be a major achievement in environmental management Dyer Biosphere reserve is classified as a type of preservation area selected by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization They long to establish an international network of confined areas surrounding examples of the Earth s major vegetation and physiographic types Allaby Furthermore they are to enhance human civilization in regions suffering environmental deprivation All biosphere reserves are a component of heterogeneous landscapes that have a hierarchical structure Dyer The Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve is in the extreme northern part of India on the country s border with China It takes up a great deal of mountain space in the Uttarakhand Himalayas Nanda Devi Campaign This location gives the biosphere a certain climate which results in the types of animals that live there and the plants that grow in the area http nandadevi prayaga org page id 4 3 How the Nanda Devi Biosphere evolved is very complex yet very significant In 1962 the India China War closed the border perpetually This affected trade and migration routes of the Bhotiya people who eventually turned to trekking and tourism to make a living To help enhance the local economy the Nanda Devi opens and becomes the second most popular destination in the Himalayas next to Everest With mountaineers expeditions in the Nanda Devi scientists started noticing severe ecological damage by 1977 Nanda Devi Campaign Waste was accumulating and the high level of traffic passing though newly opened trekking routes made scientists become ever more concerned In 1982 the Nanda Devi Sanctuary was shut down and tourists treks and mountaineers were banned The purpose of this was to save this national monument from any further extent destruction and to allow time for the ecosystem to repair advancing it to a level of a National Park At this point the villagers were relying on the tourist trade so this was as a massive disappointment for them Nanda Devi Campaign The Sanctuary was then officially transformed to a National Park which later became the core of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Finally in 1988 it became a full fledged biosphere reserve Nanda Devi Campaign This was to be one of the fourteen established throughout India to represent the country s massive biological and geographical diversity The people who lived in the surrounding communities did not like this because the decision on making it a reserve was decided unilaterally The villagers took pride in their lifestyle and they wanted to maintain their independence so there was no local participation towards the reserve Nanda Devi Campaign The Indian Mountaineering Foundation increased the Uttaranchal state governments consent to enter the core zone and determined the possibility of reopening the park to tourism in 2001 Local villages forced the government to consider community rights first before anything was said and done Nanda Devi Campaign A declaration was issued for community based ecotourism conservation later in 2001 Under new leadership in 2004 a fresh policy was 4 proposed allowing regulated tourism with guaranteed community participation Nanda Devi Campaign http nandadevi prayaga org page id 4 Nanda Devi is a mountain in India which is part of the Himalayan mountain range It contains National Parks Biosphere Reserves and valleys Nanda Devi National Park is a World Heritage site that lies in eastern Uttaranchal state near the Tibetan border in the Garhwal western Himalaya 300 km northeast of Delhi McGinley The park leads through the almost inaccessible gorge of Rishi Ganga to a basin surrounded by high mountain ridges The Valley of Flowers is located in the Paspawati Valley 23 km North Northwest of Nanda Devi Park Nanda Devi is India s second highest mountain McGinley The upper Rishi Valley is known as the Inner Sanctuary Glacier formations cover the basin The glaciers form different rock formations and make the basin look interesting The Tethys sediments from Nanda Devi itself and with many of the surrounding peaks displays spectacular folding and evidence of thrust movements McGinley The valley is 20 km northwest of Nanda Devi National Park across 5 the wide valley of the Bhiundhar Ganga McGinley Nanda Devi has unique land formation as well as climate http nandadevi prayaga org page id 19 The Nanda Devi Basin has a microclimate The climate is dry with low yearly precipitation It has heavy rainfall during the monsoon season which is from late June to the beginning of September This contributes to the lush vegetation The Valley of Flowers shares this similar climate pattern These two areas are usually snowbound for six to seven months from late October and March The snow is deeper at lower altitudes on the south side than on the north side of the valleys The temperatures range from 10 23 C from April to June and from 7 22 C from July to October The mountain possesses a wonderful vast wilderness and this led to its protection Surveys of the flora and memalian fauna were carried out by Botanical Survey of India and Zoological Survey of India respectively The Nanda Devi Scientific and Ecological Expedition conducted floral and fauna surveys and habitat assessments in 1993 McGinley The research contributes to park management In 1997 the Wildlife Institute of India discovered that there were five species new to science A research nursery and seed rhizome tuber bank for propagating rare plants and valuable medicinal herbs has been created at Musadhar near the 6 entrance of the site Rare and valuable medicinal plants are the subject of special programs McGinley The research continues in Nanda Devi Nanda Devi s National Park was declared a Park in 1982 In January 1988 it was established as