As per the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and Rule 20 of the West Bengal Biological Diversity Rules, 2005, the State Government in consultation with the West Bengal Biodiversity Board notifies in official gazette, the areas of biodiversity importance as Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS).
At present, four BHS have been notified in the State.
| Notification: | Vide memo no. 716-EN/T-II-7/003-ii/2003 dated 20/03/2015 (Download) |
| BMC Jurisdiction: | Darjeeling - Pulbazar Block BMC, Darjeeling district |
| Location: | 27.037860N, 88.082850E (Centroid) comprises of 230 ha area of Medicinal Plant Conservation Area (Forest Land), under Darjeeling Forest Division The said area of BHS incorporates 35 ha of Tonglu 2 forest compartment, 155 ha of Kankibong 3 forest compartment and 40 ha of Kankibong 4 forest compartment. |
| Forest Type: | Forest type of BHS is (12/C3a) Eastern Himalayan Moist temperate group and has altitudinal range of 2600-3036 m (asl) with typical Darjeeling Gneiss Geology/ Rock formation with sandy loam soil. |
| Important Species: | Aconitum bisma, Aconitum ferox, A. spicatum, Actinidia strigosa, Berberis spicatum, Holboellia latifolia, Panax pseudo-ginseng, Picrorhiza kurroa, Podophyllum hexandrum, Swertia chirayita, Thalictrum foliosum etc. |
| Notification: | Vide memo no. 716-EN/T-II-7/003-ii/2003 dated 20/03/2015 (Download) |
| BMC Jurisdiction: | Darjeeling - Pulbazar Block BMC, Darjeeling district |
| Location: | 27.037860N, 88.082850E (Centroid) comprises of 230 ha area of Medicinal Plant Conservation Area (Forest Land), under Darjeeling Forest Division The said area of BHS incorporates 35 ha of Tonglu 2 forest compartment, 155 ha of Kankibong 3 forest compartment and 40 ha of Kankibong 4 forest compartment. |
| Forest Type: | Forest type of BHS is (12/C3a) Eastern Himalayan Moist temperate group and has altitudinal range of 2600-3036 m (asl) with typical Darjeeling Gneiss Geology/ Rock formation with sandy loam soil. |
| Important Species: | Aconitum bisma, Aconitum ferox, A. spicatum, Actinidia strigosa, Berberis spicatum, Holboellia latifolia, Panax pseudo-ginseng, Picrorhiza kurroa, Podophyllum hexandrum, Swertia chirayita, Thalictrum foliosum etc. |
| Notification: | Vide memo no. 926/EN/T-II-7/003-ii/2003 dated 16/04/2018 (Gazetted on 21.05.2018) - Download |
| BMC Jurisdiction: | Jamboni Dev. Block BMC, Jhargram District |
| Location: | 22.452750N, 86.882110E (Centroid) comprises of 55.9 Acre area JL no. 131, Dag no. 59 of Chilkigarh Mouza The BHS is a relic forest patch in its near-climax stage along the east catchment zone of the Dulung river The landmass is considered sacred with traditional belief and taboos, as it harbours the historically eminent temple of Kanak Durga |
| Forest Type: | The forest type of BHS is (5B/C1) Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest and has altitudinal range of 70-78 m (asl), with metamorphic and igneous rocks like schists, gneiss, granite and reddish-brown silt-clay loamy soil. |
| Important Species: | This BHS is home to 388 species of plants, including trees, lianas of the ancient families like Magnoliaceae, Annonaceae etc. and some rare cryptogams like Ophioglossum reticulatum and Helminthostachys zeylanica. The BHS also hosts medicinal plants with diminishing population like Strychnos nux-vomica, Crateva nurvala, Holarrhena pubescens, Rauvolfia serpentinaetc. Besides, the BHS shelters diversity of insects, spiders, squirrels, birds, langurs, reptiles, amphibians etc. |
| Notification: | Vide memo no. 880-EN/T-II-7/003-ii/2003 dated 03/07/2020 (Gazetted on 14.08.2020) - Download | |||||||||||||||
| BMC Jurisdiction: | Coochbehar II Dev. Block BMC, Coochbehar District | |||||||||||||||
| Location: |
Boundary
|
|||||||||||||||
| Important Species: | Black Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia nigricans Anderson, 1875) locally known as 'Mohan' which is under Appendix I of CITES and is extinct in the wild as per IUCN. |
As per the Section -7 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, accessing bio-resources and associated traditional knowledge of the state of West Bengal requires prior intimation to the West Bengal Biodiversity Board. The intimation to the Board should be given in specified format (Form-I & Form-A) along with requisite Application Fee.