Maarg Manthan · Topic 8.1

National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Biosphere Reserves

Environment & Ecology › Protected Area Network and Species-Based Conservation Programmes · Topic 8.1

India's protected area network is made up of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves, community reserves and, as a wider designation, biosphere reserves. By the latest figures available at one count, India has 106 national parks, over 560 wildlife sanctuaries, about 100 conservation reserves and 200 community reserves, together covering around 5 percent of the country's geographical area; check the latest Wildlife Institute of India or Ministry figures. National parks are the strictest, sanctuaries allow regulated use, and biosphere reserves are broader landscape designations with core, buffer and transition zones. Different states hold the greatest numbers: Madhya Pradesh has the most national parks (about 11), while Andaman and Nicobar has many for its size, and Maharashtra has among the most sanctuaries. Hemis in Ladakh is the largest national park and the Rann of Kutch is the largest sanctuary.

5 min read · UPSC Prelims · Environment & Ecology · Protected Area Network and Species-Based Conservation Programmes

At a Glance

Coverage About 5 percent of land
National parks About 106
Largest park Hemis, Ladakh
Largest sanctuary Rann of Kutch
Biosphere reserves 18
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Environment & Ecology: Protected Area Network and Species-Based Conservation Programmes

Where Does It Fit?

This is the first topic of the macro on the protected area network. It gives a map-based view of parks, sanctuaries and biosphere reserves, which the species programmes in the next topics build on. Previous topic: Advantages and Disadvantages of Ex-Situ Conservation. Next topic: Project Tiger.

Which Are the Notable National Parks and Sanctuaries by Region?

Region and site	Key features
Assam: Kaziranga, Manas	Kaziranga holds most of the world’s one-horned rhinos; Manas is a tiger and elephant reserve. Both are World Heritage Sites
Uttarakhand: Jim Corbett, Rajaji, Nanda Devi	Corbett is India’s oldest national park (1936); Rajaji for elephants; Nanda Devi for high Himalaya
Madhya Pradesh: Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura, Panna	Tiger country; Kanha is known for the recovery of the barasingha (hard-ground swamp deer)
Gujarat: Gir, Velavadar	Gir is the only home of the Asiatic lion; Velavadar for blackbuck
Rajasthan: Ranthambore, Keoladeo, Sariska, Desert National Park	Ranthambore for tiger; Keoladeo for birds; Desert park for great Indian bustard
Kerala and Tamil Nadu: Periyar, Silent Valley, Mudumalai, Anamalai	Western Ghats biodiversity; Silent Valley saved from a dam in 1980s
West Bengal: Sundarbans, Buxa	Mangrove tiger land in the Sundarbans

What Are the Records, Rankings and Island Parks?

Largest national park: Hemis National Park in Ladakh, over 4,000 sq km, known for snow leopards
Smallest national park: South Button Island National Park in Andaman and Nicobar
Largest wildlife sanctuary: Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat
First national park: Jim Corbett (1936)
First marine national park: Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park (1980)
Marine parks: Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch and Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park at Wandoor in Andaman
Floating park: Keibul Lamjao National Park in Manipur, the world’s only floating national park on Loktak Lake, home to sangai deer
High altitude park: Hemis and Khangchendzonga; Pin Valley in Spiti

What Else Should You Remember?

Bandipur: Karnataka; part of the Nilgiri biosphere reserve
Nagarhole: Karnataka; tiger, elephant, Kabini backwaters
Bhadra: Karnataka; tiger reserve
Dandeli-Anshi: Karnataka; black panther sightings
Pench: Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra; Mowgli land
Tadoba-Andhari: Maharashtra; tiger reserve
Melghat: Maharashtra; one of the original nine tiger reserves
Simlipal: Odisha; melanistic tigers, biosphere reserve
Bhitarkanika: Odisha; saltwater crocodile and Olive ridley nesting
Chilika: Odisha; Ramsar lagoon with Irrawaddy dolphin; sanctuary
Namdapha: Arunachal Pradesh; only park with four big cats: tiger, leopard, snow leopard and clouded leopard
Dachigam: Jammu and Kashmir; home of hangul or Kashmir stag
Hemis: Ladakh; snow leopard
Great Himalayan National Park: Himachal Pradesh; World Heritage Site
Dudhwa: Uttar Pradesh; swamp deer and tiger, on the Terai
Valmiki: Bihar; tiger reserve and national park
Guru Ghasidas: Chhattisgarh; declared a tiger reserve in 2021
Great Nicobar: home to saltwater crocodile and Nicobar megapode
Eravikulam: Kerala; Nilgiri tahr and neelakurinji
Rani Jhansi Marine National Park: Andaman
Sultanpur: Haryana; bird sanctuary
Link to previous: see Advantages and Disadvantages of Ex-Situ Conservation
Link to categories: see In-Situ Methods of Conservation: Protected Area Categories and Forms
Link to reserves: see Biosphere Reserves, Sacred Forests, Sacred Lakes
Link to lists: see Protected Areas Lists and Recent Developments in Environment macro
Caution: counts rise with each notification; use the latest official figure
Exam hint: match park to state, species and record
Wildlife sanctuaries: are numerous and varied, from large ones such as the Rann of Kutch to small bird sanctuaries like Sultanpur, and most are managed by state forest departments
Gir National Park: with the surrounding Gir Sanctuary, it covers about 1,400 sq km in Saurashtra and holds the only wild population of Asiatic lions, which was counted at about 674 in 2020; check the latest count
Wildlife Institute of India: an autonomous institute at Dehradun that trains forest officers, maintains the national protected area database and advises on management
Kanchenjunga: Khangchendzonga National Park in Sikkim is a mixed World Heritage Site
Tropical wet evergreen: Silent Valley, Periyar and Namdapha show this forest type
Mangrove parks: Bhitarkanika, Sundarbans and Gahirmatha protect coastal forests and nesting beaches
Grassland parks: Dudhwa, Kaziranga and Manas keep Terai and floodplain grasslands that few other places protect

Why Does It Matter for the Exam?

Records: Hemis, Rann of Kutch, Corbett
Special: Keibul Lamjao floating
Species: Namdapha four cats
Current affairs link: new tiger reserves and park notifications
Common errors: mixing state or species for parks

As an analytical point, India’s protected network shelters major species but covers only about five percent of land, and many areas are small and isolated. Linking them through corridors and adding community-conserved areas is the next step.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Network Parks, sanctuaries
Scope 5 percent
Need Connectivity

What Came Next?

The next topic covers Project Tiger. Next topic: Project Tiger.

Key People and Terms

National park Strict protected area
Sanctuary Regulated-use area
Biosphere reserve Zoned landscape
Marine national park Protected sea area
Floating park Park on floating biomass
Sangai Brow-antlered deer

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Hemis is the largest national park.
Keibul Lamjao is floating.
Namdapha has four big cats.
Gir has the Asiatic lion.
Network covers about 5 percent.

Do Not Confuse With

National park and sanctuary Stricter versus regulated
Gulf of Kutch and Gulf of Mannar Gujarat’s first marine park versus Tamil Nadu biosphere reserve
Hangul and sangai Kashmir stag versus Manipur brow-antlered deer

Memory Hook

Corbett first, Hemis biggest, Loktak floats, Namdapha has four cats, Gir keeps the lion.

Mains Angle

Questions ask for park-to-state-to-species matches. These points help.

Network Coverage
Examples Parks
Gaps Connectivity

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Describe the protected area network of India, with examples of notable national parks, sanctuaries and biosphere reserves.”

How to Answer

Network Categories.
Examples Notable.
Gaps Coverage.
Way Corridors.

GS Relevance

Prelims: numbers, state-wise examples, largest and smallest, species. GS Paper 1 and 3: geography and conservation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many national parks and sanctuaries does India have?

India has about 106 national parks and over 560 wildlife sanctuaries at one count, with additional conservation and community reserves, covering around 5 percent of the country's land area. The numbers rise as new areas are notified, so the latest figures should be checked from the Ministry of Environment or the Wildlife Institute of India.

Which is the largest national park in India?

Hemis National Park in Ladakh is the largest national park in India, with an area of over 4,000 square kilometres. It is in a cold, high-altitude landscape and is renowned for having one of the highest densities of snow leopards in the world, along with Himalayan wolf and Tibetan wolf.

Which is the only floating national park in the world?

Keibul Lamjao National Park, on Loktak Lake in Manipur, is the world's only floating national park. It has floating mats of vegetation and soil, called phumdis, and is the last natural habitat of the endangered Sangai or Manipur brow-antlered deer.

Where is the Asiatic lion found?

The Asiatic lion is found only in and around Gir National Park and Sanctuary in Gujarat, along with some satellite areas of the Saurashtra region. Efforts to create a second home for the species, such as at Kuno in Madhya Pradesh, have been discussed for many years.

Which national park has four big cat species?

Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh is often cited as the only park in the world with four big cat species: the tiger, leopard, snow leopard and clouded leopard. It is a tiger reserve and lies in the Eastern Himalaya hotspot, with rich forests from foothills to alpine zones.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 Hemis National Park is the largest national park in India.

True

In Ladakh.

2 Keibul Lamjao is located in Assam.

False

In Manipur.

3 Gir is the only home of the Asiatic lion.