Man and the Biosphere Programme

Launched in 1971, UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an Intergovernmental Scientific Programme that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments.

MAB’s work engages fully with the international development agenda –specially with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Post 2015 Development Agenda– and addresses challenges linked to scientific, environmental, societal and development issues in diverse ecosystems; from mountain regions to marine, coastal and island areas; from tropical forests to drylands and urban areas. MAB combines the natural and social sciences, economics and education to improve human livelihoods and the equitable sharing of benefits, and to safeguard natural and managed ecosystems, thus promoting innovative approaches to economic development that are socially and culturally appropriate, and environmentally sustainable.

The MAB programme provides a unique platform for cooperation on research and development, capacity-building and networking to share information, knowledge and experience on three interlinked issues: biodiversity loss, climate change and sustainable development. It contributes not only to better understanding of the environment, but also promotes greater involvement of science and scientists in policy development concerning the wise use of biological diversity.

Thiruvananthapuram district

Thiruvananthapuram District is the southernmost district of the coastal state of Kerala . It is the largest city in kerala. It came into existence in the year 1957. The headquarters is the city of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) which is also the capital city of Kerala.

The district has an area of 2,192 square kilometres (846 sq mi) and a population of 3,307,284 (as per the 2011 census), the second-most populous district in Kerala after Malappuram district. It is the densest district in Kerala with 1,509 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,910/sq mi). It is divided into six taluks: Thiruvananthapuram, Chirayinkeezhu, Neyyattinkara, Nedumangadu, Varkala and Kattakada. The urban bodies in the district are the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Varkala, Neyyattinkara, Attingal and Nedumangad municipalities.

Thiruvananthapuram district is situated between north latitudes 8°17' and 8°54' and east longitudes 76°41' and 77°17'. The southern-most extremity, Kaliyikkavila, is 56 kilometres (35 mi) away from Kanyakumari, the "Land's End of mainland India." The district is 33.75% urbanised.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu (/ˈtæmɪl ˈnɑːduː/ TAM-il-NAH-doo;  Tamil pronunciation ; Tamil: தமிழ் நாடு; literally The Land of Tamils or Tamil Country) is one of the 29 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai (formerly known as Madras). Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Puducherry and the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. It is bounded by the Eastern Ghats on the north, by the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and Kerala on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait on the southeast, and by the Indian Ocean on the south. It also shares a maritime border with the nation of Sri Lanka.

Tamil Nadu is the eleventh largest state in India by area and the sixth most populous state in India. The state was ranked sixth among states in India according to the Human Development Index in 2011. Tamil Nadu is the second largest state economy in India with ₹4789 billion (US$70 billion) in gross domestic product. The state has the highest number (10.56 per cent) of business enterprises and stands second in total employment (9.97 per cent) in India, compared to the population share of about 6 per cent. Tamil Nadu was ranked as one of the seven top developed states in India based on a "Multidimensional Development Index" in a 2013 report published by a panel headed by current RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. Its official language is Tamil, which is one of the longest surviving classical languages in the world.

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats or Sahyadri is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, located entirely in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea. A total of thirty nine properties including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests were designated as world heritage sites - twenty in Kerala, ten in Karnataka, five in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra.

The range starts near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, south of the Tapti river, and runs approximately 1,600 km (990 mi) through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu ending at Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India. These hills cover 160,000 km² (62,000 sq mi) and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India. The Western Ghats block southwest monsoon winds from reaching the Deccan Plateau. The average elevation is around 1,200 m (3,900 ft).

Wildlife refuge

A wildlife refuge, also called a wildlife sanctuary, is a naturally occurring sanctuary, such as an island, that provides protection for species from hunting, predation or competition, it is a protected area, a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected.

Such wildlife refuges are generally officially designated territories. They are created by government legislation, publicly or privately owned (the Chernobyl nuclear accident site has accidentally become a wildlife refuge). Refuges can preserve animals that are endangered.

History

In the 3rd century BC, King Devanampiya Tissa declared the area around Mihintale, Sri Lanka as a sanctuary for wildlife, probably the first of its kind in the ancient world. According to stone inscriptions found in the vicinity, the king commanded the people not to harm animals or destroy trees within the area.

The first American wildlife refuge, Lake Merritt Wildlife Refuge at Lake Merritt, was established by Samuel Merritt and enacted in California state law in 1870 as the first government owned refuge. The first federally owned refuge in America is Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and was established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 as part of his Square Deal campaign to improve America. At the time, setting aside land for wildlife was not a constitutional right of the president. More recently, a bi-partisan group of US House of Representatives members established the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus to further the needs of the National Wildlife Refuge System in the US Congress.