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- The Ranong Biosphere Reserve was declared as a biosphere reserve in 1997, and is situated 650 km south of Bangkok along the Andaman coast of the isthmus of Thailand. RBR incorporates a range of diversified natural and disturbed habitats including mangrove forests, tropical evergreen forests, open sea, seagrass beds, and urban and agricultural land. However, mangroves are the most representative ecosystem within this biosphere reserve.
- This biosphere reserve covers about 30,000 hectares, of which 40% is a marine area. It consists of a narrow coastal plain characterised by many waterways and mangrove forests, reaching out to the sea towards seagrass beds at a depth of 10 meters. The Njao and Laem Son National Park are contiguous to Ranong, and hence there is a continuum of protected habitats going from the mountain ecosystem down to the coast and sea.
- RBR currently exists as the largest continuous stand of mangroves within Thailand, and is an important nexus for mangrove related research regionally.
- Within the reserve, over 300 species of fauna have been identified, including the dugong (Dugong dugong) and more than 50 species of mangroves, predominantly belonging to the Rhizophoraceae family. These include Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata, Ceriops decandra, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Avicennia officinalis, Sonneratia alba, and Excoecaria agallocha.
- There are a total of six globally threatened tree species (according to IUCN Red List) in RBR, namely Bruguiera hainesii, Heritiera fomes, Brownlowia tersa, Phoenix paludosa, Ceriops decandra, and Ceriops decandra.
- RBR also has three bird species that are globally threatened: the Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes), Great knot (Calidris tenuirostris), and Far Eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis).
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