Wildlife Sanctuaries and Tiger Reserves of Chhattisgarh

Prerequisites

• National Parks of Chhattisgarh: two of the four tiger reserves are built around national parks
• Forest Types and Forest Cover: the forest belts where these areas lie
• Administrative Structure of Chhattisgarh: the 33 districts used to locate each area

The Hook: India’s 56th Tiger Reserve

Why it matters: this is the most “matchable” topic in the chapter. Prelims pairs sanctuaries with districts and tiger reserves with years. Mains asks about human-wildlife conflict, wild buffalo conservation and corridors.

Types of Protected Areas: a Quick Map

The 11 Wildlife Sanctuaries

Years of notification (where well established): Sitanadi 1974; Achanakmar, Badalkhol and Gomarda 1975; Barnawapara 1976; Semarsot and Tamor Pingla 1978; Bhairamgarh 1983. Pamed is dated variously to 1983 or 1985.

graph TD
    N["North: Badalkhol, Semarsot, Tamor Pingla"] --> W["West (Maikal hills): Achanakmar, Bhoramdeo"]
    W --> C["Centre-east (Mahanadi): Barnawapara, Gomarda"]
    C --> SC["South-centre: Sitanadi, Udanti"]
    SC --> S["South (Bijapur): Bhairamgarh, Pamed"]

The Four Tiger Reserves

Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve: the Numbers

Elephant Reserves

Elephants move into north Chhattisgarh from Odisha and Jharkhand. Crop raiding, house damage and human deaths make human-elephant conflict a major issue in Surguja, Jashpur, Korba and Raigarh.

Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve

• Declared: 30 March 2005 by the Government of India, the 14th biosphere reserve in India and Chhattisgarh’s first.
• UNESCO: added to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (MAB) in July 2012.
• Area: 3,835.51 sq km (core 551.55 sq km).
• Spread: Chhattisgarh (Bilaspur, Mungeli, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi) and Madhya Pradesh (Anuppur, Dindori). Its core is Achanakmar.
• Amarkantak (MP), on the Maikal hills, is the source of the Narmada and the Son.

Kopra Reservoir: the First Ramsar Site

• Kopra Reservoir (कोपरा जलाशय), near Bilaspur city in Bilaspur district, was designated Chhattisgarh’s first Ramsar site on 12 December 2025.
• The same announcement included Siliserh Lake (Rajasthan), taking India’s total to 96 Ramsar sites at that time.
• It is valued as a habitat for resident and migratory birds; about 120 bird species have been reported.

The Wild Buffalo: a State Animal in Crisis

• Wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee, वन भैंसा), the state animal, is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is in Schedule I of the WPA.
• In Chhattisgarh, wild herds survive mainly in Udanti-Sitanadi and the Indravati landscape (Bijapur sanctuaries). The total is only a few dozen animals at most, and genetic purity is threatened by cross-breeding with domestic buffalo.
• Translocation: in April 2020 two sub-adult wild buffaloes were moved from Manas (Assam) to Barnawapara, and in 2023 permission was given to bring four more females.
• Debate: experts question whether Barnawapara has a historic wild buffalo population and whether Assam’s animals are a good genetic match.

Analysis for Mains: Making the Network Work

1. Size vs numbers: four tiger reserves but only 17 tigers (2022) shows that habitat on paper does not equal wildlife on the ground. Prey recovery, anti-poaching and relocating villages from cores (voluntarily, with fair compensation) matter.
2. Corridors: Bhoramdeo (Kanha–Achanakmar) and GGTP (Sanjay-Dubri) show that tiger conservation in Chhattisgarh is landscape-scale and inter-state.
3. Human-elephant conflict: early-warning systems, crop compensation, elephant-proof storage, and protecting corridors (Lemru, Hasdeo) from fragmentation.
4. Rights-based conservation: CFR rights in Udanti-Sitanadi and Kanger Valley can make communities partners in protection.
5. Wetlands: Kopra is a start; the state’s wetland vision aims for more Ramsar sites.

Memory Tricks

Don’t Confuse

Common Mistakes

Practice

These are original practice questions in CGPSC style, not previous-year questions.

Level 1: Foundation

1. Chhattisgarh has ________ wildlife sanctuaries and ________ tiger reserves (as of 2026).
2. The Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve is India’s ________ tiger reserve.
3. Chhattisgarh’s first Ramsar site is ________ in ________ district.

Level 2: Prelims MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements about the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve:

1. It is the largest tiger reserve in India.
2. It is contiguous with the Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh.
3. Its core includes a national park and a wildlife sanctuary.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Match List-I (Sanctuary) with List-II (District):

(a) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1 (b) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4 (c) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4 (d) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2

Q3. Which one of the following is the oldest tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh?

(a) Achanakmar (b) Udanti-Sitanadi (c) Indravati (d) Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla

Q4. The Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve:

(a) lies entirely within Chhattisgarh (b) was included in UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2012 (c) was declared in 2012 by the Government of India (d) is a Ramsar site

Q5. Wild buffaloes from Manas National Park, Assam, have been translocated to which protected area of Chhattisgarh?

(a) Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary (b) Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary (c) Kanger Valley National Park (d) Semarsot Wildlife Sanctuary

Level 3: Mains Answer Writing

Q1. Write a note on the Lemru Elephant Reserve. (60 words)

Q2. “Chhattisgarh has an expanding protected-area network but a shrinking presence of flagship species.” Critically examine. (150–200 words)

Quick Revision Table

Key Takeaways

What’s Next

• Forest Policy and Forest Laws: the laws behind every category on this page
• Biodiversity and Conservation: Project Tiger, Project Elephant and IUCN categories
• Environment and Ecology: wetlands and the Ramsar Convention
• Minerals, Energy and Industry: coal in Hasdeo and the Korba region