Chitwan National Park

• Ground transport infrastructure (Plans to construct a road and railway through the property, Proposed infrastructures projects)
• Spread of invasive species
• Human-wildlife conflict (encroachment of wildlife habitats in the buffer zone)
• Lack of appropriate inter-agencies and inter-ministries consultation and coordination for development proposals

From 14 to 21 March 2016, an IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property as requested by the Committee at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015). On 17 January 2017, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property. Both reports are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/284/documents. The State Party provides the following updated information:

• The alignment of the proposed East-West Electric Railway has been adjusted to avoid crossing the property, and a feasibility study for this new alignment has been completed. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is being prepared and will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN if the alignment crosses the property;
• The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) has objected against the proposed Terai Hulaki Highway and requested a deviation of its alignment to avoid the boundaries of the property, but has also recommended that the Thori-Madi and Madi-Kasara sections, where the proposed Highway would cross the property, should have sky bridges;
• An EIA for the proposed Trivenidham-Balmikiashram suspension bridge has been initiated and will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre upon its finalization, for review by IUCN;
• An EIA for the optical fibre network that would cross the property has been completed, and the proponent will implement an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) after the ministerial approval of the EIA;
• No permission has been given for the construction of any infrastructure crossing the property, which could otherwise negatively affect its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
• Four years of zero rhino poaching have been achieved between 2011 and 2015. No rhino poaching appears to have occurred in 2016 but this was not definitely confirmed at the time of reporting. The rhino population is reported to have increased from 503 in 2011 to 605 in 2015.

The State Party notes that the property is facing additional challenges from human-wildlife conflicts, invasive alien species and habitat degradation due to both natural processes and human-induced disturbances, including climate change.

Additional proposed road developments that would cross the property are also noted by the State Party, i.e. the Dumkibas-Tribeni road, the Madi-Balmikiashram road (the DNPWC fully objected to both), the State 3 proposed China-India Trade Link, and an upgrading of the Bharatpur-Thori road. For the latter, the District Road Office has called a tender for tarmacking the portion through the property.

It is recommended that the Committee commend the State Party for achieving at least four years of zero rhino poaching. However, local news reported that poachers killed a male rhino in early April 2017, which serves as a reminder that poaching continues to be a threat, and it is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to uphold its current anti-poaching efforts, in collaboration with the Nepali Army.

The positive developments reported by the State Party should be welcomed, including the realignment of the East-West Electric Railway to avoid the property and the initiation of an EIA for the Trivenidham-Balmikiashram suspension bridge. However, it is noted that no final decision regarding the alignments of the Railway and the Highway appears to have been taken at the time of writing this report. The March 2016 IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission recommended that the Railway and the Highway should not be approved, given their likely significant negative impacts on the OUV of the property. Such concern remains until the State Party has unambiguously confirmed that the Railway and Highway have not been approved, along with their proposed alignments through the property. In that regard, the option to construct sky bridges on the sections where the Highway would cross the property is not considered an appropriate solution, as this would not address the impacts on the OUV of the property in relation to criterion (vii).

The mission expressed concern about a number of other proposed road developments, including those reported by the State Party, as well as another China-India Trade Link proposed by State 4 (following the same alignment as the Dumkibas-Tribeni road), and the Thori-Malekhu road, which would all cause a fragmentation of the property. Some of these proposed roads follow the alignments of old trade routes that have been closed for public use. The mission concluded that if any of the aforementioned linear infrastructure developments were to proceed according to their proposed alignments through the property, they would form a clear basis for the inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines. It is therefore recommended that the Committee request the State Party to make an unequivocal commitment not to approve any new roads or reopen/upgrade old roads passing through the property.

In addition, the proposed Thori-Birgunj road, although not crossing the property, should be subject to a thorough EIA, including a specific assessment of potential impacts on the OUV of the property, as the mission considered that this road has a high potential to increase the demand for transportation of commercial goods along the existing Bharatpur-Thori road to destinations beyond Thori, hence generating an increase in heavy traffic through the property. Finally, the fact that the District Road Office has called a tender for tarmacking the Bharatpur-Thori road through the property is of concern. It is recommended that permits to upgrade the parts of the Bharatpur-Thori road, which are located inside the property and are in good condition, should not be granted.

The State Party did not provide further information on the construction of a very large new temple and a boarding school inside the property at Gajendra Dham, nor does it provide an update on the progress achieved with the demarcation of the property’s boundaries, as recommended by the mission. The mission also made a recommendation to address encroachment of important wildlife habitats in the property, which would contribute to addressing the State Party’s concerns about human-wildlife conflicts and habitat degradation. It is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to fully implement the recommendations made by the mission regarding these issues, and to provide detailed information on the progress achieved with the implementation of all of the mission’s recommendations in its next report to the Committee.