Bio-Reserve At The Southern Tip

Mon, Dec 14, 2009

Common Info

Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve is located in Great Nicobar, the largest of the Nicobar Islands in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. The biosphere reserve is spread over an area of 885 square kilometres and is surrounded by a forest buffer. The biosphere reserve was set up in 1989. It is located 82 kilometres south of Port Blair, the capital of the Andamans. The reserve is home to the primitive tribes called ‘Shompens’.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Union Territory)

Andaman and Nicobar group of islands are located in the southern part of Bay of Bengal and near to South-east Asia. To the east of the islands lies the Andaman Sea. Andamans with an area of 6,496 square kilometres comprise over 570 island groups out of which only 38 are permanently inhabited. The islands feature hills, tropical forest and beaches. India’s only active volcano, the Barren Island is also located in the Andamans. Capital of the Andamans is Port Blair. Cellular Jail, Mahatma Gandhi National Park, Mount Harriet National Park, Chidiya Tapu are some of the major tourist attractions here. Andamans islands are also home to a great many forest tribes.

Nicobar Islands

Nicobar islands are located to the south of the Andamans. The archipelagic chain (area: 1,841 square kilometres) of the Nicobar comprises 22 islands including Car Nicobar, Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar, Bompoka, Tarasa, camorta, Trinket, Nankowry, Katchall and others. The islands of Meroe, Menchal, Kabra, Pigeon are uninhabited islands. The Indonesian island of Sumatra is not far off from the Nicobar islands. The name ‘Nicobar’ perhaps has been derived from the Chola dynasty name for the islands, Nakkavaram (meaning ‘naked man’ in Tamil) that is inscribed on the Tanjore inscription of 1050AD.

Climate and vegetation

Nicobar Islands experience warm and tropical climate with temperature ranging between 22 and 30 degrees Celsius and heavy rainfall to the range of 3,000-3,800 mm annually. Coastal mangrove forests and deciduous tropical and sub-tropical moist broadleaf forests are the main vegetation types found in these islands. Many islands have extensive grasslands.

Great Nicobar

Great Nicobar is the largest of the Nicobar islands and is not far from the Sumatra island of Indonesia. The island has an area of 1,045 square kilometres and is sparsely populated. It is home to diverse wildlife. Indira Point, the southernmost tip of the Nicobar island, is also the southernmost tip of India. Mount Thuillier (642 metres) here is the highest elevation in the Nicobar. The island also features rivers like Alexandria, Dagmar, Amrit Kaur and Galathea. The island, along with its surrounding areas, was severely damaged by the devastating tsunami of 2004.

Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve fauna

Great Nicobar biosphere reserve is rich in wildlife. Some of the wildlife species found here include salt water crocodile, Giant leather back turtle, Malayan box turtle, giant robber crab, reticulated python, Andaman wild pig, palm civet, the endangered Nicobar Tree Shrews, fruit bat, water monitor lizard, Nicobar long-tailed macaque and others.

Avifauna at the biosphere reserve

Nicobar Scrubfowl or Nicobar Megapode, Nicobar Parakeets, Nicobar Pigeon, Nicobar Megapode, Edible-nest Swiftlet, Nicobar parakeets, White-bellied Sea eagle, Nicobar serpent eagle. Other birds found in the Andaman and Nicobar islands region include: Andaman Crake, Andaman Scops owl, Brown Coucal, Andaman Treepie, Andaman Woodpecker, Nicobar Bulbul, Nicobar Sparrowhawk, Andaman hawk-owl, White-headed Starling, Andaman Cuckoo-dove, Andaman Woodpigeon and others.

Threats to the biosphere reserve

Poachers from neighbouring countries pose a major threat to the Greater Nicobar Biosphere Reserve. They aim nests of edible-nest Swiftlet, crocodiles, turtles and other wildlife. The administrative authorities of the reserve are ill-equipped to tackle these well-armed poachers. Besides, the increasing encroachment by human settlements is also a major threat to the reserve and its ecosystem. Development activities and bird hunting are some of the acts that have put the future of the reserve under great peril. Man-animal confrontation is also common incident here.

How to reach Andaman and Nicobar Island:

By air
Port Blair airport is the gateway to the Andaman and the Nicobar islands. It is connected to metropolitan cities like Kolkata and Chennai. Air Deccan, Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Jet Lite , Spice Jet and Kingfisher operate regular flights to and from Port Blair.
By ship
One can also reach the Andamans by ship from Kolkata, Chennai and Vishakhapatnam. Distance kilometers between Port Blair and Chennai, Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam are 1190, 1255 and 1200, respectively. Ship service is available between Port Blair and Great Nicobar (540 kilometres). However, Nicobar district (except Campbell Bay) is a restricted area. Anybody who wants to visit the district must obtain a Landing Permit from the office of Deputy Commissioner, Andaman District.