Man and Biosphere Program ( MAB )

Man and the Biosphere Programme in India

The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme is an intergovernmental scientific programme of UNESCO, launched in 1971 to improve the relationship between people and their environment through research, conservation, education and sustainable development.

In India, the programme provides the broader international framework associated with the country’s Biosphere Reserve programme. India began developing its national Biosphere Reserve programme in the 1980s, broadly following UNESCO’s MAB guidelines. The Indian MAB Committee identifies and recommends potential Biosphere Reserve sites.

Biosphere Reserves in India

India currently has 18 nationally designated Biosphere Reserves. They represent a wide variety of ecosystems, including the Western Ghats, Himalayas, Northeast Indian forests, Sundarbans, deserts, islands and coastal ecosystems.

Of India’s 18 Biosphere Reserves, 13 are currently part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR). The most recent addition was the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve in Himachal Pradesh in 2025, making it India’s 13th UNESCO-recognised site.

Three Zones of a Biosphere Reserve

Indian Biosphere Reserves are generally organised into three interconnected zones:

  • Core Zone: The most strictly protected area, focused on conserving ecosystems, species and genetic diversity.
  • Buffer Zone: Surrounds the core and supports activities such as research, education, monitoring and compatible sustainable activities.
  • Transition Zone: The outer area where communities and economic activities are integrated with conservation and sustainable development.

India’s Approach

The Indian approach is particularly relevant because many biodiversity-rich landscapes are also living landscapes, where local communities have long depended on forests, wetlands, mountains and other natural resources.

The MAB framework therefore differs from a simple protected-area model. Its objective is to demonstrate how biodiversity conservation and human well-being can coexist, using science, traditional knowledge, sustainable livelihoods, education and community participation.

MAB and Wildlife Conservation

Biosphere Reserves can encompass National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and other conservation areas, but a Biosphere Reserve itself is not simply another category of protected area.

For India, the MAB framework provides a landscape-level approach that complements the country’s National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Tiger Reserves and other conservation programmes.

Explore India’s Biosphere Reserves and discover how conservation, science and human communities come together across some of the country’s most important natural landscapes.

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