Biosphere reserves of Pakistan

Biosphere reserves are established according to the UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) to promote sustainable development for the conservation of biological and cultural diversity. As of 2023, there are four biosphere reserves in Pakistan which include the Lal Suhanra Biosphere Reserve, Ziarat Juniper Forest, Bashkar Chitral Garmchashma and the Gallies Biosphere Reserve. In July 2012, Pakistan Museum of Natural History and Beijing Museum of Natural History signed an MoU to work on trans-boundary biodiversity and to improve MAB related activities in the Karakoram, Himalaya, and Hindukush mountain regions. Until 2023, the Lal Suhanra Biosphere Reserve and Ziarat Juniper Forest were the only two biosphere reserves in the country, which were approved by UNESCO in 1977 and 2013 respectively. A number of initiatives and projects have been undertaken to promote and develop other biosphere reserves in Pakistan but due to weak implementation this could not be materialized until 2023. In 2023, two more sites, Bashkar Chitral Garmchashma in the Hindukush range and the Gallies (Galyat) in the Western Himalayan ecoregion, were designated with this status making a total of four biosphere reserves in the country.