World heritage tag beckons Sikkim park

The Kanchendzonga National Park of Sikkim is earmarked for a Unesco World Natural Heritage site status by 2009.
Two other sites ~ the Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Rann of Kutch and Namdapha Sanctuary ~ are expected for inclusion in the coveted list as well.
The KNP covers an area of 1,784 sq km stretching from Yuksom in West Sikkim to Dzongu in North Sikkim. The park is a treasure trove of flora and fauna.
A proposal to include the above mentioned sites in the Unesco’s tentative list of World Natural Heritage list was submitted last year.
“The study in this regard was carried out by the Mysore-based Nature Conservation Foundation and Bangalore-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment in December 2005,” Dr VB Mathur, director, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun told The Statesman over telephone.
“Subsequently, the three sites have been included in the tentative list,” he added.
“The Western Ghat region with 39 sites spread across Kerela, Karnataka and Maharastra has also made the list,” Dr Mathur said.
“Inclusion in the tentative list is the first step towards making it to the final world heritage site list,” he informed.
According to him, after the submission of the initial proposal, a detailed dossier on the sanctuaries has to be sent to Unesco for finalisation of the process.

Courtesy: The Statesman

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