A sum of Rs5.34 crore has been approved for the three-year consolidated management action plan of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. This amount was approved at a meeting chaired by the chief secretary N Ravishankar at the secretariat in Dehradun on Tuesday.
As per the approval granted on Tuesday, Rs70 lakh has been approved for 2014-15, Rs2.37 crore for 2015-16 and Rs2.21 crore for 2016-17. The proposed work plan will be presented to the Ministry of Environment and Forests for final approval.
It was stated in the meeting that the first world heritage site in the Himalayas, the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve is spread over areas of Chamoli, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts.
The NDBR covers an area of 6407.03 square kilometres of which the core zone includes 712.12 square kilometres with 5148.57 square kilometres as the buffer zone apart from the transition zone. There are 47 villages situated in the buffer zone while the number of villages in the transition zone is 52. The 712.12 square kilometres area core zone also includes the world famous Nanda Devi national park and Valley of Flowers.
This biosphere reserve is home to about 600 species of flora, 520 species of fauna and 200 avi-fauna species. Departmental officials further informed in the meeting chaired by the chief secretary that the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve is instrumental in facilitate the conservation of biodiversity in various ways.
The NDBR also facilitates livelihood assistance to the people living in nearby areas. Principal secretary, Forests, Dr Ranvir Singh, additional secretary, Forests, Kaviraj Negi and other officials were among those present in the meeting.