(IN): UNESCO sees Manas still in danger, ignores Majuli

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Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070703/asp/northeast/story_8006051.asp

 

Unesco sees Manas still in danger, ignores Majuli

ROOPAK GOSWAMI

 

*Guwahati, July 2:* Assam will want to forget the 31st session of the World

Heritage Committee in a hurry. If the session at Christchurch in New Zealand

opened without Majuli being even listed for discussion, it ended with the

committee deciding to retain Manas National Park on the World Heritage Site

in Danger list.

 

The decision came despite efforts by the state government to get the

national park off the " danger " category and back into the World Heritage

Site list.

 

The session, which concluded today, has asked India to invite a joint team

from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Unesco

Monitoring Mission to Manas in June next year so that the agencies can

" assess " the state of the national park.

 

" The discussions resulted in a decision for India to invite a joint

IUCN/Unesco monitoring mission. The mission will take place before the next

committee meeting in June/July 2008. During this mission, IUCN and UNESCO

will assess the state of conservation of Manas with particular attention on

the status of the site with respect to wildlife and habitat, as well as

management, " Josephine Langley, World Heritage monitoring officer at the

international Union for Conservation of Nature, said in an email to *The

Telegraph*.

 

" The mission to Manas will assess the progress in implementing the

corrective measures which were recommended by the 2005 mission, and also

indicate a definite time-frame for their implementation, " Kishore Rao,

deputy director at the World Heritage Centre, said.

 

Manas was declared a World Heritage site in 1985. But its status was

downgraded to that of a World Heritage Site in Danger in 1992, when

militants nearly took over the wildlife sanctuary.

 

" The committee noted that rhinoceros and swamp deer populations have

declined drastically. The single existing rhino is the first step in a

reintroduction programme as the native population became locally extinct.

There have been no sightings of swamp deer for some years. Other species

also have very low and declining populations. IUCN is particularly

interested to see the results for local tiger population surveys, " Langley

said.

 

A senior forest official said the department was doing its best to reinstate

Manas in the World Heritage Site list. " We have taken some steps but we know

that a lot more needs to be done " the official added.

 

The Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India was asked by the ministry of

environment and forests to do an assessment of the habitat and species

status in December 2006. The institute noted that normality was returning to

the sanctuary and that it could be removed from the Unesco danger list.