Khangchendzonga National Park

Khangchendzonga National Park, also Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve, is a national park and a biosphere reserve located in Sikkim, India. It was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in July 2016, becoming the first "Mixed Heritage" site of India.[1] It was included in the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The park is named after the mountain Kangchenjunga, which is the third-highest peak in the world at 8,586 m (28,169 ft) tall. The total area of the park is 849.5 km2 (328.0 sq mi).

Khangchendzonga National Park
Mount Kanchenjunga from Goecha La pass, Khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim
Map showing the location of Khangchendzonga National Park
Map showing the location of Khangchendzonga National Park
Kanchenjunga NP
Map showing the location of Khangchendzonga National Park
Map showing the location of Khangchendzonga National Park
Kanchenjunga NP
LocationMangan district and Gyalshing district, Sikkim, India
Nearest townChungthang
Coordinates27°39′22.7″N 88°18′44.3″E
Area1,784 km2 (689 sq mi)
Established1977
Governing bodyMinistry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
TypeMixed
Criteriaiii, vi, vii, x
Designated2016 (40th session)
Reference no.1513

History
Main article: Tholung Monastery

Tholung Monastery is located in the park's buffer zone. It is considered one of the most sacred monasteries in Sikkim.[2] [3]

Geography
Map of the Indian protected areas of the Kangchenjunga Biosphere Reserve and National Park

The Kanchenjunga Park is situated in the Mangan district and Gyalshing districts in the Indian state of Sikkim. It has an elevation of 1,829 m (6,001 ft) to over 8,550 m (28,050 ft) and has an area of 849.50 km2 (327.99 sq mi). It is one of the few high-altitude National parks of India and was recently included as a mixed-criteria UNESCO World Heritage Site.[4]

In the north it adjoins the Qomolangma National Nature Preserve in Tibet, and in the west the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area in Nepal.[5]

Climate

heavy Snowfall during the winter months and monsoon showers occur from May to mid-October.

Flora

The vegetation of the park include temperate broadleaf and mixed forests consisting of oaks, fir, birch, maple, willow.[4] The vegetation of the park also includes Alpine grasses and shrubs at higher altitudes along with many medicinal plants and herbs.[6]

Fauna

The park contains many mammal species including musk deer, Indian leopard, snow leopard, Himalayan tahr, dhole, sloth bear, viverrids, Himalayan black bear, red panda, Tibetan wild ass, Himalayan blue sheep, mainland serow, goral and takin, as well as reptiles including rat snake and Russell's viper.

A 2014 study revealed that the dhole has become very rare in the area. The wild dogs in the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve are thought to belong to the rare and genetically distinct subspecies C. a. primaevus.[7]

Avifauna

About 550 species of birds are found inside the park including blood pheasant, satyr tragopan, osprey, Himalayan griffon, lammergeier, Western tragopan, green pigeon, Tibetan snowcock, snow pigeon, impeyan pheasant, Asian emerald cuckoo, sunbird and eagle.[4]

References
  1. O'Neill, A. (2017). "Sikkim claims India's first mixed-criteria UNESCO World Heritage Site" (PDF). Current Science. 112 (5): 893–994. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  2. "Khangchendzonga National Park: Tholung monastery in the buffer zone of KBR". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  3. "Tholung Monastery (1789 AD)". Department of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Government of Sikkim. Department of Information Technology Government of Sikkim. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  4. O'Neill, A. R. (2019). "Evaluating high-altitude Ramsar wetlands in the Sikkim Eastern Himalayas". Global Ecology and Conservation. 20 (e00715): 19. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00715.
  5. Bhuju, U. R.; Shakya, P. R.; Basnet, T. B. & Shrestha, S. (2007). "Kanchenjunga Conservation Area". Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites. Kathmandu: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, in cooperation with United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. ISBN 978-92-9115-033-5.
  6. O'Neill, A. R.; Badola, H.K.; Dhyani, P. P.; Rana, S. K. (2017). "Integrating ethnobiological knowledge into biodiversity conservation in the Eastern Himalayas". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 13 (1): 21. doi:10.1186/s13002-017-0148-9. PMC 5372287. PMID 28356115.
  7. Bashir, T.; Bhattacharya, T.; Poudyal, K.; Roy, M.; Sathyakumar, S. (2014). "Precarious status of the Endangered Dhole Cuon alpinus in the high elevation Eastern Himalayan habitats of Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, Sikkim, India". Oryx. 48 (1): 125–132. doi:10.1017/S003060531200049X.
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