 Guwahati,
Aug 12: The Assam government is in consultation with the
Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, to assess the preliminary
ground work required to restore the Manas Wildlife sanctuary and
regain its status as a UNESCO`s World Heritage Site.
By February next year, the government will submit an action plan
report to restore the sanctuary to its original status. According
to Pradyut Bordoloi, the forest minister of Assam, all possible
steps has been taken in accordance with the recommendations of the
UNESCO team who visited the park recently. He said that the team
was glad when they found out that things had changed considerably
after the nineties. Things have started to look up and there were
signs of improvement.
The UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee had recommended four
steps to be taken by the government to get rid of the `site
in danger` tag. They were: rebuilding of the sanctuary’s
infrastructure, filling up of vacant posts, timely release of funds
in compliance with the recent ruling of the Supreme Court in India,
and undertaking a comprehensive survey of wildlife in the sanctuary.
The UNESCO’s committee has asked the government to submit
the report by February 1, 2006, which would enable them to examine
the progress at its 30th session.
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a World Heritage Site in 1985,
but after the Bodo militants invaded it in 1992, it was declared
a `site in danger`.
The committee was pleased that the conflict in Manas had ceased
and the government had taken conservation and eco-tourism initiatives
like the community-based eco-tourism of the Bodos at Kokilabari
which had won many accolades.
`It is a positive and creative initiative that involves villagers
of the area in park management to control poaching. However, it
requires proper co-ordination and supervision by the park authorities`
– this was what the committee`s report stated.
The committee also suggested the Assam government to work with the
Royal Government of Bhutan to have the adjoining Manas Sanctuary
area to be included in the World Heritage list as transboundary
property. |
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