Cold Desert (biosphere reserve)

For the cold desert in Gilgit-Baltistan, see Katpana Desert.

Sarchu, Ladakh

Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve located in the Western Himalayas, within Himachal Pradesh in North India. Biosphere reserves are the areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems which promote the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. There are over 738 biosphere reserves around the world in over 134 countries . The ministry of environment and forest provides financial assistance to the respective state governments for conservation of landscape, biological diversity and the cultural heritage. This region has the status of a Cold Desert biome. This region carries the status of a Cold Desert biome for two reasons, one is the leeward part of the Himalayas which is spared from monsoon winds and the other is its position at high altitude, on average 3000–5000 metres.

Geography

Cold Desert has an area of 7,770 square kilometres (1,920,000 acres).

It includes:

• Chandra Taal
• Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary
• Pin Valley National Park
• Sarchu

Location

The cold deserts of India are located adjacent to the Himalayan Mountains. They are not affected by the Indian monsoons because they lie in the rain shadow of the Himalayas.

Flora and Fauna

Given the climatic conditions, there is significant biodiversity here. Some of the representatives of the flora are medicinal plants such as aconitum rotundifolium, arnebiaeuchroma, ephedra gerardiana, ferula jaeschkeana and hyoscymusniger. The fauna also has its representatives, such as woolly hare, Tibetan gazelle, snow leopard, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan brown bear, red fox, Tibetan wolf, Himalayan ibex, Himalayan marmot, Himalayan blue sheep, red billed chough, Chukar partridge, snow partridge, blue rock pigeon, snow pigeon, Himalayan snowcock, lammergeier, Himalayan griffon, golden eagle, rosefinch, et al. are found in the area.

See also

• Deserts of India
• Ecology of the Himalayas
• List of ecoregions in India