Manas Wildlife Sanctuary

• Forced evacuation of Park staff;
• Poaching and logging;
• Illegal cultivation;
• Slow release of funds;
• Invasive species;
• Uncontrolled infrastructure development by local tourism groups;
• Attempts by paramilitary group Sashastra Seema Bal to set up base camps in the property.

Total amount provided to the property: as of 2008, the property is benefiting from the UNF funded World Heritage India programme. Project interventions include: enhancing management effectiveness and building staff capacity; increasing the involvement of local communities in the management of the property and promoting their sustainable development; and raising awareness through communication and advocacy.

On 11 February 2014, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, a summary of which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/338/documents/. The State Party reports the following:

• The delay in release of funds has been addressed. Tourism revenue is made directly available to park management by the Manas Tiger Conservation Foundation, which also has the option of requesting loans to expedite management activities;
• A wide range of wildlife and ecological monitoring and research activities have taken place in the property;
• A total of 24 rhinos were reintroduced so far, and 9 rhino calves were born since 2012. 7 rhinos (nearly 30%) were poached since 2011, of which 5 in 2013 alone. Several emergency measures have been taken, including intensified patrolling and engagement of additional law enforcement personnel;
• A detailed and comprehensive protocol for the translocation of Eastern Swamp Deer was developed and is attached to the State Party report. The State Party anticipates that after final verification by the Government of India, the translocation programme may commence in 2014;
• A tourism strategy was developed as part of the 2013-2023 Tiger Conservation Plan for Manas Tiger Reserve, of which the property forms the core zone. The strategy is attached to the State Party report, and includes guidelines for tourism numbers and activities, as requested by the Committee in Decision 36 COM 7B.10;
• While the property was inscribed as a 391 square kilometres Wildlife Sanctuary, it is being managed as a national park, which covers 520 square kilometres, and the State Party requests that the Committee ratify the whole national park as constituting the property. On 28 February 2014, the World Heritage Centre requested the State Party to clarify whether this constitutes a request for a minor boundary modification of the property. No response was received at the time of preparing this document. The State Party also notes that efforts are underway to extend the national park with 36,000 ha of reserved forest.
• It further notes the ongoing Indo-Bhutanese cooperation on transboundary conservation issues, and recalls that the State Party of Bhutan has included the Royal Manas National Park on its Tentative List. At the time of writing this report, no further information was provided by the State Party of Bhutan on the proposed Mangdechhu hydro-electric dam project.

The World Heritage Centre received information from IUCN on 3 March 2014, regarding new encroachment on the property in its eastern Bhuyanpara range, as well as in parts of the Manas Beki river system. An article on the subject has also been published in the newspaper Assam Tribune. The World Heritage Centre, on 27 March 2014, wrote to the State Party to verify this information. At the time of the finalization of this report, no reply has yet been received from the State Party. 

The information from the State Party that the delay in fund release has been addressed is well noted. The State Party may be requested to continue reporting on this situation in future reports to the Committee, in order to demonstrate that current progress is being maintained.

The development of a tourism strategy with provisions for tourism activities and maximum tourist numbers allowed at any given time in the Manas Tiger Reserve is also noted, as well as the development of a translocation protocol for Eastern Swamp Deer, and its anticipated implementation in 2014.

There is however some serious concern about the reported poaching of rhinoceros, and reports in the media that this has been linked to renewed activities by insurgent groups and a deteriorating security situation in the property. It should be recalled that at the time of its inscription on the World Heritage List, the State Party estimated there were 100 rhinos in the property. In 1992, the Committee inscribed the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to damage caused by the invasion of the property by militants. By 1997 the number of rhinos was reduced to 39, and by 2001, rhinos had been extirpated from the property. At its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012), the Committee noted that the recovering Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property was still fragile; this fragility is considered to be sharply highlighted by reported increase in poaching. It is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to ensure that forest guards are adequately equipped and trained to protect the property against poachers and maintain regular 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.

Reports received by IUCN of new encroachment in the Bhuyanpara Range within the property are also noted. It is recommended that the Committee express its concern about the current situation, recalling the situation that prevailed at the time of the property’s inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1992. 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, in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines.

In addition, the proposed Mangdechhu hydro-electric project in Bhutan, and its potential impacts on the property, remains a concern. The Committee should reiterate its request to the State Party of Bhutan to submit a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of this project as per decision 36 COM 7B.10.

Furthermore, given the multiple conservation issues affecting the property, it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission to the property in order to assess its state of conservation, in particular in relation to the reported illegal activities related to a deteriorating security situation in the property, the associated poaching and reported encroachment, and to assess whether the property is faced with ascertained or potential danger as defined in Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines.