Keoladeo National Park

• Possible invasion of Paspalum grass (already an issue in the past)
• Decline in the population of Siberian cranes (issue resolved)
• Inadequate water supply 

In February 2007, the State Party submitted a report in the periodic report format, which responds briefly to only some of the recommendations made by the Committee at its 29th (Durban, 2005) and 30th (Vilnius, 2006) sessions. However, additional information was provided by the State Party on 11 April 2007.

a) Water management

The State Party reports that the Keoladeo National Park has suffered in the last few years due to a diminishing water supply, but it is fully committed to ensuring that the outstanding universal value of this property is not diminished due to water scarcity. In 2006 the monsoon had also failed causing the Park to dry up and the continuing paucity of water is significantly threatening its outstanding universal value and integrity. Over the years, the habitat quality has degraded significantly and invasion of the weed species Prosopis juliflora has outpaced the reclamation effort in all ecosystems of the Park. The report adds that if the trend of declining water continues, the National Park would be bereft of its conservation and economic value within the next 8 years.

The State Party is considering various options to resolve the water supply issues that threaten the values for which the property was inscribed on the World Heritage List. As part of the short-term measures to deal with this problem, 8 shallow and 1 deep bore-wells have been dug to pump water to partially fill some of the important lake areas. Two heavy duty diesel generator sets have been purchased recently for this purpose. In addition, the Government of Rajasthan has sanctioned Rs. 2,400,000 (USD 54,295) for digging 4 more deep bore-wells in the Park and the work is reportedly in progress. The 2005 World Heritage Centre mission to the property noted that water from shallow and deep wells is not suitable for rejuvenating and maintaining the complex wetland ecosystem of the park, as this water does not contain micro-organisms, fish fingerlings, turtles, etc which flow with the river water and are essential to the functioning of the wetland.

The State Party is also considering several long-term measures to ensure adequate water supplies to the Park. One of these projects is the Chambal Dholpur – Bharatpur Water Supply Project, which is basically a drinking water supply project for the people of Bharatpur. However, the National Board for Wildlife, Government of India has stipulated that 310 million cubic feet of water from this project should be supplied annually to the National Park. The work on this project is reportedly under execution, but is occurring at a slow pace due to some contractual dispute. The State Party report does not mention when this project is likely to be completed and water will become available to the Park. The report also informs about three other project proposals, but funding has so far not been secured for any of them.

The State Party describes a significant lack of funding for the implementation of long-term solutions of the water supply issue and the eradication of invasive species and notes the need to receive funding from international sources.

b) Bird monitoring

The State Party reports that there is a bird-monitoring programme in place that includes Siberian crane and other migratory Palaearctic migratory birds, herons and waterfowl. However, the State Party did not provide time-series data, as requested by the Committee at its 29th session (Durban, 2005) to be able to assess bird species diversity and population trends.

c) Invasive species

Regarding the management of invasive species, the State Party is reportedly translocating feral cattle from within to areas outside the Park. The 2005 mission had gathered that at that time there were about 2,000 feral cattle inhabiting this 29 km² Park. The Paspalum distichum (knotgrass) has been checked by fast flooding and controlling water levels, and water hyacinth is regularly removed. The invasive species Prosopis juliflora has not been tackled successfully, as the regeneration / seed dispersal outpaces the removal efforts made by the park staff. The World Heritage Centre and IUCN note that in view of the water scarcity the effectiveness of these invasive species control measures will be minimal, particularly in relation to Paspalum weed, while Prosopis spreads rapidly as the wetlands dry-up.

d) Tourism

The State Party notes that there are currently over 110,000 visitors per year. A programme has been established, with the support of WWF India and Swarowski Company to address visitor management issues at this property.

IUCN and World Heritage Centre note the need to examine a range of options to solve the problem of water scarcity and to address conflict with surrounding communities, which rely on the same water sources as the Park, as recommended by the 2005 UNESCO mission.