The 'Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve' was the first biosphere reserve in India established in the year 1986. It is located in the Western Ghats and includes 2 of the 10 biogeographical provinces of India.
A wide range of ecosystems and species diversity are found in this region. Thus, it was a natural choice for the premier biosphere reserve of the country. It was established mainly to fulfill the following objectives:
To conserve insitu genetic diversity of species.
To restore degraded ecosystems to their natural conditions.
To provide baseline data for ecological and environmental research and education.
To function as an alternate model for sustainable development.