Chitral Bashkar Garmchashm Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 2023, in Pakistan. Chitral Bashkar Garmchashm Biosphere Reserve lies in Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in north-west Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan to the north and west. The Hindu Kush landscape here includes glaciers and mountain ranges, with several peaks reaching over 7,000 m. Culturally, it is home to the distinctive Chitral heritage, including endangered Indo-Aryan languages such as Kalasha and Kalasha-mun. The reserve’s objectives are to conserve temperate and subtropical mountain ecosystems and their biodiversity, foster sustainable development, particularly nature- and culture-based ecotourism and associated livelihoods, and to provide logistic support for environmental education, training, research and monitoring in collaboration with local institutions.