By Naresh Mitra
Guwahati, Jun 22 : After nearly two decades, Manas National Park has got rid of the danger tag that was attached to it by the Unesco's World Heritage Committee way back in 1992.
"At its 35th meeting in Paris on Tuesday, the committee finally removed the tag. Manas National Park is once again a world heritage site. It's indeed a great piece of news. The removal of the danger tag proved that all the hard work that went into restoring Manas's status has borne fruits," Assam forest minister Rockybul Hussain told TOI here.
Manas was put in the Unesco's danger list following largescale destruction of wildlife and infrastructure during the height of Bodo insurgency in the late '80s and early '90s. Spread over 500 sq km in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), the park had got the World Heritage Site status in 1985. With the removal of the danger tag, Assam now has two World Heritage Sites, the other being Kaziranga National Park.
"The World Heritage Committee noted that the outstanding universal value for which the property was inscribed on the World Heritage List was recovering from damage sustained during the ethnic unrest in the site. Situated on the foothills of the Himalayas, Manas is home to a great variety of wildlife, including endangered species such as the tiger, the pygmy hog, the rhinoceros and the elephant, Manas was inscribed on the List in Danger in 1992, seven years after it had entered Unesco's World Heritage List," a World Heritage Committee statement said.
Principal chief conservator of forests (Wildlife) Suresh Chand, who is part of the Indian delegation in Paris, said, "By ensuring the removal of danger tag, Assam has set an example in wildlife conservation for the entire world to follow. Now that we have been able to achieve this, we need to continue working within Manas and its buffer areas for sustainable security of the unique natural heritage."
The decision on the World Heritage status of Manas was an outcome of voting by 22 member countries to the World Heritage Committee. The turnaround in Manas's fate came about in the early 2000. The improvement of political situation with the creation of the Bodoland territorial Council under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution provided the impetus for making a concerted effort in the conservation of Manas. Involvement of the BTC, NGOs, local communities, state forest department have been able to restore Manas to a significant extent.
"Much credit for this goes to the local people, the government and wildlife NGOs who have been working tirelessly to restore Manas's old glory," Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) executive director Vivek Menon said from Paris. WTI and its partner, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), have been espousing the cause of Manas. "WTI and IFAW are proud to be a part of the initiate to regain the World Heritage Site status for Manas," Menon added.
BTC deputy chief Kampa Borgoyari said, "Without the continued support of the people, the danger tag could not have been removed."
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