The Koraput region in the state of Orissa, India, has a rich assembly of unique floral and faunal diversity. The genetic repository of the region is of great significance in the global context. About 79 plant angiosperm species and one gymnosperm are endemic to the region.

In addition, people, who belong to different tribal groups, have conserved and preserved a large number of land races of rice, millets, pulses and medicinal plants, using diverse traditional cultivation practices, which have been developed as an answer to the topographical and ecological diversity of the region. Koraput has been identified as an important centre of origin of rice. The changes in the traditional practices coupled with both, natural and anthropogenic pressures require immediate attention for conservation of these unique species and genotypes for perpetuity.