Karimpuzha National Park (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

: കരിമ്പുഴ നാഷണൽ പാർക്ക്‌ ,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

: கரிம்புழா தேசியப் பூங்கா) is a 230 km² proposed

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

located at in the

Nilgiri Hills The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

area of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

category: PRO

History

Madras Forest Act came into force in 1882. The forests of

Mannarkkad Mannarkkad, formerly known as Mannarghat, is a municipal town in Palakkad district of the Indian state of Kerala. The Silent Valley National Park and the Attappadi Reserve Forest are located in Mannarkkad Taluk. Mannarkkad is situated 36 km ...

, New

Amarambalam Amarambalam is a forest village near Nilambur town and conjoins Silent Valley National Park.the main town in amarambalam is pookkoottumpadam, pookottumpadam located in Malappuram district of the Indian state of Kerala. It is an emerging commerc ...

, Silent Valley,

Walayar Walayar is a border town, located in the eastern corner of Palakkad district in Kerala, India. Geography Walayar lies on the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu on National Highway 544 (NH544) (NH 47 old). Most of the goods imported into Kera ...

and Chennath Nair Reserve were declared as

Reserved Forest A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

s during 1883 – 1887. In 1988 the

Wildlife Institute of India The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous natural resource service institution established in 1982 under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of India. WII carries out wildlife research in areas of stu ...

recommended that Mannarkkadu Valley 225.00 km² be established as a protected area. Given that this valley is inhabited by forest-dependent tribes, sanctuary rather than national park status is more appropriate in the short-term. Such proposals were submitted to the Kerala Government. In 1991 the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Committee strongly encouraged the Indian authorities to re-formulate the boundaries of

Silent Valley National Park Silent Valley National Park is a national park in Kerala, India. It is located in the Nilgiri hills, has a core area of , which is surrounded by a buffer zone of . This national park has some rare species of flora and fauna. This area was explo ...

to take in a larger area, particularly the adjacent Mannarkkadu Valley National Park and the

Nilgiri Thar Wildlife Sanctuary Nilgiri, which literally means "Blue Mountain", may refer to: * Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, an International Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills ranges of South India ** Nilgiri mountains, a range of mountains spanning the state ...

and complete the legal processes to establish the proposed Mannarkkadu Valley National Park and upgrade the status of the Nilgiri Thar Wildlife Sanctuary. Silent Valley National Park was nominated as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 1990 but the decision regarding its inclusion in the World Heritage List was deferred by the committee pending the

Indian Government The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the Government, national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy lo ...

's revision of the nominated area's boundary to include the adjacent Karimpuzha Valley National Park and the Nilgiri Tahr Wildlife Sanctuary, and the completion of legal measures to establish the Mannarkkadu Valley National Park and upgrade the legal status of the Nilgiri Tahr wildlife Sanctuary. In 1997

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

World Conservation Monitoring Centre The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is a collaboration centre of UN Environment Programme, based in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. UNEP-WCMC has been part of UN Environment Programme since 2000, and has ...

listed Karimpuza as a Protected area that overlaps with the

South Western Ghats montane rain forests The South Western Ghats montane rain forests is an ecoregion in South India, covering the southern portion of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu at elevations from . Annual rainfall in this ecoregion exceeds . Setting The e ...

Ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

category PRO (proposed) In 1998 Karimpuzha was listed by the first World Heritage Forest meeting in

Berastagi Berastagi ( nl, Brastagi), is a town and district of Karo Regency situated on a crossroads on the main route linking the Karo highlands of Northern Sumatra to the coastal city of Medan. Berastagi town is located around south of Medan and abou ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, as being of potential interest as a World Heritage Forest. In 2006 Karimpuzha was listed as a proposed Wildlife Sanctuary by the

Ministry of Environment and Forests (India) The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. This ministry is headed by Secretary Rank senior most IAS officer. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of ...

. KARIMPUZHA Biounit 05B, 225.00 km²National Wildlife Data Center (2006) List of Proposed Wildlife Sanctuaries in India, Wildlife Institute of India, retrieved 3/26/200
List of Proposed Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

References

{{Protected areas of Kerala National parks in Kerala South Western Ghats montane rain forests Proposed protected areas