SIMILIPAL BIOSPHERE RESERVE

  • Recently the Forest Administration and SHGs (Self Help Groups) have started an awareness Campaign to manage fires in Similipal Biosphere Reserve this year.
  • Earlier, scientists unravelled the mystery behind Odisha’s ‘Black Tigers’ in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).
  • Similipal derives its name from ‘Simul’ (silk cotton) tree.
  • It was formally designated a tiger reserve in 1956 and brought under Project Tigerin the year 1973.
  • It was declared a biosphere reserve by the Government of India in June, 1994.
  • It has been part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserve since 2009.
  • It is part of the Similipal-Kuldiha-Hadgarh Elephant Reserve popularly known as Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve.
  • It is prone to forest fires. In 2021, the Simlipal saw a major fire between February-end and early March.
  • It is situated in the northern part of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. Geographically, it lies in the eastern end of the eastern ghat.
  • The biosphere spread over 4,374 sq. km. has 845 sq. km. of core forest (tiger reserve), 2,129 sq km buffer area and 1,400 sq km of transition space.
  • Similipal has 1,076 flowering species and 96 species of orchids.
  • It boasts of having tropical semi-evergreen forests, tropical moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous hill forests.
  • Two tribes, the ErengaKharias and the Mankirdias, inhabit the reserve’s forests and practise traditional agricultural activities.
  • Similipal is home to a wide range of wild animals including tigers and elephants,besides 304 species of birds, 20 species of amphibians and 62 species of reptiles.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT

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