Galathea National Park

The Galathea National Park is named after the Danish colonial vessel Galathea which conducted survey for minerals in Great Nicobar in 1845-47. ==History==

The Great Nicobar Island Biosphere Reserve was declared by the government in 1989, and was recognised as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in 2013. ==Geoclimate ==

Geography The total area of this park is approximately 110 square kilometres, and was gazetted as a National Park of India in 1992. Galathea forms part of what has been designated as the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, which also includes the larger Campbell Bay National Park, separated from Galathea by a 12-km forest buffer zone. Climate There is an acute tropical climate here, only with the summer season and monsoons, the inhabitants of the park here have never encountered winter conditions. During the rainy season, an average of 3000–3800 mm of rain per square meter falls here. ==Ecology==

Flora Galathea National Park, due to geographical surroundings and physical location is considered to be having world's best preserved tropical rain forests and large quantity of endemism. The vegetation consists largely of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. Fauna Notable animal species found in the park include the giant robber crab, megapode and Nicobar pigeon. From February to December, the largest turtle in the world, the leather back turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), nests here. ==Transport==

Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair is the nearest civil aviation airport on another Island. There are daily flights to and from Port Blair to Chennai and Kolkata which have approximately 2 hours flight time each. ==Issues==

The Great Nicobar Island is at risk of being developed into a Military and trading hub by the Indian government as part of the Great Nicobar Development Plan. The 9 billion dollar project will include the construction of the International Container Transshipment Port; upgrade of Campbell Bay to a dual-use airport for military and civilian purposes; a gas, diesel, and solar-based power plant; and a greenfield township on the 1,000-square-kilometer island. These developments would also boost the island's population into the hundreds of thousands. ==Gallery==

file:Coconut Crab on Chagos Archipelago.jpg|The Giant robber crab, or Coconut crab. file:Micronesian megapode 6.jpg|A megapode bird. file:Nicobar Pigeon RWD2.jpg|Nicobar pigeon in the national park. ==See also==