Decision 38 COM 7B.65

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (India) (N 338)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 36 COM 7B.10 taken at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012),
3. Welcomes the information provided by the State Party that the delay in fund release has been addressed, and recommends that the State Party provide updates of the financial situation of the property in future reports to the Committee;
4. Notes with appreciation the positive results achieved up to 2013 with the reintroduction of Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, as well as the development of a comprehensive Eastern Swamp Deer Translocation Protocol, the implementation of which is anticipated to commence in 2014;
5. Notes with serious concern the reported recent poaching of nearly one third of the recovering rhino population, which is a sharp reminder of the fragility of the property’s recovering Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and urges the State Party to ensure that forest guards are adequately equipped and trained to protect the property against poachers and maintain effective patrolling, in order to secure the recovering populations of rhino and other wildlife, and to ensure that the anticipated translocation of Eastern Swamp Deer can be carried out effectively;
6. Requests the State Party to take urgent measures to address the reported new encroachment at Bhuyanpara Range within the property, and rehabilitate degraded areas;
7. Also notes with utmost concern the reported deterioration of the security situation in the property, and considers that a further deterioration of the security situation, associated with the reported surge in poaching and concerns regarding encroachment could create the conditions to re-inscribe the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger;
8. Reiterates its request to the State Party of Bhutan to submit a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Mangdechhu hydro-electric project as per Decision 36 COM 7B.10, including an assessment of potential impacts on the property’s OUV and cumulative impacts in relation to the existing Kurichu dam, in conformity with IUCN’s World Heritage advice note on Environmental Assessment;
9. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, a detailed report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property, on the implementation of the above and updates of the financial situation of the property, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.