Nokrek National Park
The Nokrek National Park forms part of the global hot spots of biodiversity. It was designated as a National Park vide Government of Meghalaya Notification, No. FOR.23/86/316 dt. 23rd December 1997. The NP is the core area of the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve. The Nokrek Biosphere Reserve comprises an area of 820 Sq. Km. of which the National Park is 47.48 Sq Km, Buffer Zone is 227.92 Sq Km and Transition Zone is 544.60 Sq Km, which is a dynamic zone of cooperation with local communities. Transition and buffer zones are used for agricultural, fishing settlement, etc . There are a total of 166 villages within the Biosphere Reserve Area.
The Biosphere and Park area the most important catchment areas of some of the major rivers in the three districts. This area is also known for indigenous Citrus species (Citrus indica) whose conservation and protection has drawn the attention of some eminent scientists long back. The area is also known for its abundance of other medicinal plants. Most common among the faunal species are the Hoolock gibbon, Pig-tailed Macaque, Stump-tailed Macaque, Binturong, Clouded Leopard, Elephant, leopard, Gaur, etc. which forms a part of the rich biodiversity in the area and therefore the area is important from conservation point of view of such rich biodiversity.
The special feature of the area is the abundant natural occurrence of Citrus indica Tanaka.The area therefore, is considered to constitute an important gene pool for future hybridization programme for evolving disease resistant Citrus plants. The area also harbours many rare, endangered and endemic faunal species.
The area forms a part of one of the global hot spots of biodiversity. It is endowed with natural beauty, diverse flora and fauna and varied human cultures. The vegetation of Nokrek Biosphere Reserve and consists of evergreen, semi evergreen, deciduous species, bamboo patches and grassland including riverine forests. About 90% of the National Park area is covered by evergreen forest. The density of the forest is very high along the ridges making the entire area dark even during the day time. The plant species include trees, bamboo, grass species, medicinal plants, climbers, orchids and a great variety of rare, endemic and threatened ground vegetation. The Biosphere Reserve is also blessed with variety of animal species. Some of the animals are elephant, leopard, clouded leopard, tiger, rhesus macaque, pig tailed macaque, giant squirrel, barking deer and a variety of butterflies and birds.
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