The Committee was informed that, as requested by the twenty-third ordinary session of the Bureau (5-10 July 1999), IUCN has reviewed the justifications, provided by Indian authorities, to the budgetary revisions for the utilization of the US$ 70,000 of the US$ 90,000 approved by the twenty-first session of the Committee (Naples, Italy, 1997). The US$ 70,000 was originally intended for the reconstruction of guard camps and staff residential facilities destroyed during the Bodo militancy from 1989 to 1992. The revisions proposed suggested that the construction of guard camps be restricted to parts of the Sanctuary where security conditions had sufficiently improved. The site management had proposed to use the savings made from reducing the number of construction activities foreseen for outreach activities, such as the organization of veterinary and health camps, repair of existing irrigation facilities etc., that directly benefit villagers. These activities are considered critical by the site management for continuously improving the relationship between staff and local villagers. As advised by IUCN, the Centre has accepted these budgetary revisions and implementation of the project has been accelerated.

IUCN had also reviewed the state of conservation report on this site provided by the State Party as attachment to its letter of 21 June 1999 to the Centre. IUCN has noted several positive developments brought about by the implementation of the rehabilitation plan agreed upon by the State Party and the Bureau in 1997. For example, the Nansbari Range Headquarters as well as the Directorate Headquarters now contain members of the Assam Forest Protection Force who act as a rapid reaction force for patrols and surveillance operations in vulnerable areas. The site has been opened to the public since 1995 and visitor numbers are slowly increasing. Ecological damage to the habitats of the site during the Bodo militancy has been negligible and large mammal populations are expected to return to pre-1989 levels over the next few years. However, the restoration of site infrastructure, i.e. roads, staff accommodation etc., proceeds at a slow pace and staff training requires attention. The main problem facing the site is the alienation of local villagers. People living in the vicinity of the site are poor and depend on natural resources for their livelihood. The site management is attempting to increase outreach activities but further efforts are needed in this regard. IUCN has submitted to the Centre a recent report that indicates the intention of the Minister for the Environment and Forests to establish an armed police force to protect endangered wildlife from poachers and save forests from timber poachers. IUCN is verifying other unconfirmed reports of the take-over of parts of the Sanctuary by tribal guerillas and the withdrawal of paramilitary forces from those parts.

The Committee decided to retain this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee invited the State Party to co-operate with the Centre and IUCN to prepare a progress report on the implementation of the rehabilitation plan since mid-1997 for submission to the twenty-fourth session of the Committee in 2000. Such a report may include an assessment of the time needed for the satisfactory rehabilitation of the site and for the removal of this site from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Natural site datasheet from UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC)

IUCN MANAGEMENT CATEGORY
IV (Managed Nature Reserve)
Natural World Heritage Site - Criteria ii, iii, iv

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCE 4.09.01 (Burma Monsoon Forest)

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION The park lies in the districts of Barpeta and Kokrajhar, 41km north of Barpeta Road township. It spans the Manas River and is bounded to the north by the international border with Bhutan, to the south by the populated regions of North Kamrup and to the east and west by forest reserves. The park, which includes part of Manas Reserve Forest and all of North Kamrup Reserve Forest, constitutes the core of Manas Tiger Reserve which lies in the forest divisions of Kachugaon, Haltugaon, Western Assam Wildlife and North Kamrup. 26°37'-26°50'N, 90°45'-91°15'E

DATE AND HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT Manas (previously also known as North Kamrup) was declared a sanctuary on 1 October 1928, parts of it having been notified as reserved forests in 1907 and 1927. Encroachment pressures from local people led the government to set aside 809ha from the sanctuary for a seed farm in 1971. It was established as the core of the Manas Tiger Reserve with effect from April 1973. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1985 as Manas Sanctuary. The sanctuary was upgraded to national park status on 7 September 1990, and enlarged from 39,100ha to 50,000ha by the inclusion of the former Panbari, Koklabari and Kahitama Forest Reserves in the eastern sector (Oliver, 1993: K. Rao pers. comm., 1995). Placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1992 due to civil unrest and subsequent damage to infrastructure.

AREA The park comprises 50,000ha of the 283,712ha Manas Tiger Reserve. Contiguous with Royal Manas National Park (65,800ha), Bhutan.

LAND TENURE State

ALTITUDE Ranges from 40m to 150m (Deb Roy, n.d.).

PHYSICAL FEATURES Lying in the foothills of the Outer Himalaya, the area is low-lying and flat. The Manas River flows through the western portion of the park, where it splits into three separate rivers, and joins the Brahmaputra some 64km further south. These and other rivers running through the tiger reserve carry an enormous amount of silt and rock debris from the foothills, resulting from the heavy rainfall, fragile nature of the rock and steepgradients of the catchments. This leads to the formation of alluvial terraces, comprising deep layers of deposited rock and detritus overlain with sand and soil of varying depth, shifting river channels and swamps. The northern portion is represented by the 'Bhabar' formation, which is very porous due to the deep deposits of coarse detritus overlain by sandy loam and then a thin layer of humus. The 'Terai' tract in the south consists of fine alluvial deposits with underlying pans. Here, the water table lies very near to the surface. The area of the Boki basin, in the west of the park, is sometimes inundated during the monsoon but never for very long due to the sloping relief. Mortality to wildlife is negligible as animals are able to stake refuge on islands of high ground (Anon., 1974; Deb Roy, n.d.).

CLIMATE The climate is warm and humid (up to 76% relative humidity) with most rain falling during the monsoon season (May-September). The mean maximum summer temperature is 37°C and the mean minimum winter temperature is 11°C. Mean annual rainfall ranges from 3332mm at Batabari to 4489mm at Kachugaon, based on 11 and 17 years of records, respectively (Anon., 1974; Deb Roy, n.d.).

VEGETATION The three main types of vegetation are:- (a) Tropical semi-evergreen forests in the northern part of park, with common trees including Aphanamixis polystachya, Anthocephalus chinensis, Syzygium cumini, S. formosum, S. oblatum, Bauhinia purpurea, Mallotus philippensis, Cinnamomum tamala, Actinodaphne obvata; (b) tropical moist and dry deciduous forests (the most common type), characterised by trees such as Bombax ceiba, Sterculia villosa, Dillenia indica, D. pentagyna, Careya arborea, Lagerstroemia parviflora, L. speciosa, Terminalia bellirica, T. chebula, Trewia polycrapa, Gmelina arborea, Oroxylum indicum, Bridelia spp.; and (c) extensive alluvial grasslands in the western part of the park, comprising many different grass species together with a variety of tree and shrub species (e.g. Dillenia pentagyna, Phyllanthus emblica, Bombax ceiba, and species of Clerodendrum, Leea, Grewia, Premna and Mussaenda). The grasslands can be subdivided into wet alluvial and highland savanna types. There is also a considerable variety of aquatic flora along river banks and in the numerous pools (Jain and Sastry, 1983). Dry deciduous forests represent early stages in succession and are replaced by moist deciduous forests away from water courses, which, in turn, are succeeded by tropical semi-evergreen climax forest. Grasslands cover about 50% of the park. Some 393 species of dicotyledons, including 197 trees, and 98 species of monocotyledons have been identified (Jain and Hajra, 1975; S. Deb. Roy, pers. comm.).

FAUNA A total of 55 mammals, 36 reptiles and three amphibians have been recorded (Project Tiger, n.d.). Manas harbours by far the greatest number (21) of India's Schedule I mammals of any protected area in the country. Many are typical of South-east Asian rain forest and have their westernmost distribution here. Mammals include golden langur Presbytis geei (R), a recently discovered endemic restricted to Manas and adjoining areas in Bhutan and numbering approximately 305 in 1980, capped langur P. pileata, Hoolock gibbon Hylobates hoolock, clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa (V), tiger Panthera tigris (E) the second largest population in India numbering 80 in 1995, although this figure is disputed (Milne, 1997), leopard P. pardus, golden cat Felis temmincki (I), fishing cat F. viverrinus (K), leopard cat F. bengalensis, marbled cat F. marmorata (K), binturong Arctictis binturong, sloth bear Melursus ursinus (I), wild dog Cuon alpinus (V), Ganges dolphin Platanista gangetica, Indian elephant Elephas maximus (E), with up to 2,000 in the tiger reserve and more than 1,000 moving freely between Indian and Bhutan Manas reserves, Indian rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis (E), pygmy hog Sus salvanius (E), swamp deerC. duvauceli (V), with approximately 450 individuals (Deb Roy, 1992), sambar Cervus unicolor, hog deer C. porcinus, Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, water buffalo Bubalus arnee (V), probably representing the only pure strain of this species in India, gaur Bos gaurus (V), giant squirrel Ratufa indica, hispid hare Caprolagus hispidus (E) and Indian pangolin Manis crassicaudata.

Over 450 species of birds have been recorded (Deb Roy, 1990) including the threatened Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis (E), great pied hornbill Buceros bicornis, wreathed hornbill Rhyticeros undulatus and other hornbills. The Bengal florican population was estimated at 34 in 1984 for the national park (Ali et al., 1985) and 80 individuals with 24 male territories were identified within the park during 1988 (Narayan et al., 1989). Pied harrier Circus melanoleucos nested during 1988 and 1989, the first confirmed record for India (Narayan et al., 1989). Uncommon waterfowl species include spot-billed pelican Pelecanus philippinensis (I), lesser adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus (V) and greater adjutant L. dubius (E) (Scott, 1989).

Reptiles include a variety of snakes (e.g. vine snake Ahaetulla nasutas, flying snake Chrysopelea ornata, Assam trinket snake Elaphe frenata and banded krait Bangarus fasciatus), gharial Gavialis gangeticus (E) (possibly introduced from neighbouring Bhutan or as a result of a captive breeding programme), and monitor lizard Varanus sp. Assam roofed turtle Kachuga sylhetensis (K) has recently been recorded (Sarma, 1988).

CULTURAL HERITAGE Manas takes its name after the Goddess Manasa. The surrounding area is inhabited predominantly by tribal people (Deb Roy, n.d.).

LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION There is one forest village in the south-east of the park, which it is proposed to dereserve and enlist as a revenue village along with other contiguous revenue villages (Deb Roy, n.d.). Some 54,000 people are distributed among 144 villages in the buffer zone of the tiger reserve (Anon., 1974); no relocation of these villages is contemplated (Deb Roy, n.d.).

VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES A forest bungalow at Mothanguri, within the park, provides dormitory style accommodation for 48 persons. A number of rest houses and camp sites are also available. The Tourist Department of Assam conducts tours, including boat trips down the river and elephant rides. Foreign visitors need a special permit to enter the park. Some 32,860 people visited the area in 1983-1984. Due to the Bodo agitation in Assam, the park was closed in 1989 (K. Rao pers. comm., 1995), but in 1996 an estimated 8,000 tourists visited the park (IUCN, 1997).

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES The vegetation has been surveyed by the Botanical Survey of India (Jain and Hajra, 1975). Tiger and elephant censuses are regularly undertaken by Project Tiger. The status of Bengal florican was investigated in May 1984 (Ali et al., 1985). In 1993, WWF initiated a project to identify the essential needs of the fringe villagers with the aim of providing alternatives to their dependence on the park (WWF, 1993).

CONSERVATION VALUE Manas is noted for its spectacular scenery, with a variety of habitat types that support a diverse fauna, making it the richest of all Indian wildlife areas. The park represents the core of an extensive tiger reserve that protects an importantmigratory wildlife resource along the West Bengal to Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan borders (Rodgers and Panwar, 1988). Its wetlands are of international importance (Scott, 1989). It is also the single most important site for the survival of pygmy hog and hispid hare (Oliver, 1980) and golden langur (K. Rao pers. comm., 1995).

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT The Assam Forest Department is responsible for the administration of the park. The park is essentially a wilderness zone and forms the core of the tiger reserve. The rest of the tiger reserve is classified as reserve forest. Normal forestry operations were carried out in the core area prior to its designation as a sanctuary, but these were confined mostly to the southern belt. Traditional hunting practices persisted but without any noticeable adverse effects on wildlife populations. Hunting ceased with the establishment of the area as a sanctuary and very little logging has been permitted since 1950. The last timber operation took place in 1964. Much stone was extracted from the area during the construction of the National Highway in 1963-1964. Plantations were established along the southern border to provide a buffer against agricultural encroachment but this work ceased in 1977. Grazing by livestock was phased out from 1963 to 1965. No exploitation is allowed in the park but tourists may visit the Mothanguri-Bansbari area. Such restrictions do not apply to the surrounding buffer zone of the tiger reserve, which is managed on a multiple-use basis. Here residents are allowed to selectively remove timber, collect firewood, cultivate land and graze their domestic livestock. They benefit from inoculation of their cattle, to prevent diseases being transmitted to the wildlife, but this is offset by damage to their crops by elephants, wild boar and deer (Anon., 1974; Deb Roy, n.d.).

There is a management plan for the tiger reserve (Anon., 1973) but this is being revised. Controlled burning continues as the most important management practise, thus maintaining the composition of different habitats (Deb Roy, 1990). International cooperative efforts have been made by the governments of India and Bhutan to manage the Manas ecosystem as a whole. Regular work carried out under the Project Tiger scheme includes: providing accommodation to the staff; development of roads and a wireless network to improve the efficiency of administration and anti-poaching operations; activities in both the core and buffer zones. Boundaries have been clearly marked and the staff are more vigilant than previously, leading to several successful prosecutions being brought against poachers. Following recent successful breeding in captivity of gharial, there are plans to restock all the water channels in the area.

A three year rehabilitation programme has been prepared by the Ministry for the Environment and Forests, the State Forest Department of Assam and the Directorate of Manas. This aims to restore protection infrastructure, and set up eco-development schemes for surrounding villages and habitat improvement programmes (UNESCO, 1997a).

MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS The wildlife sanctuary remains intact, although the buffer zone has suffered an unspecified number of encroachments, especially between Sankosh and Manas rivers. This has lead to haphazard fragmentation of the forest. Of particular concern is Amtika Village in the midst of the buffer zone and in the area occupied by golden langur. As there is no buffer zone to the south, village communities residing on the periphery of the reserve are utilising the park for collection of grasses, fuel, wood, fodder, timber and for grazing their livestock. Villagers claim that these activities are their legitimate 'rights' which have been denied them since the area was designated a tiger reservein 1973 (WWF, 1993). Burning in the dry season, hunting and extraction of timber and firewood are practised at non-sustainable levels in the buffer zone.

Crop-raids by elephant and hog-deer are increasingly common, leading to further ill-feeling amongst local residents (Rahmani et al., 1989). In 1984 the government attempted to close Kokla Bari Seed Farm, but this was vigorously opposed by Plains tribes, such as Borokacharis, who have been employed there (Choudhury, 1986). There was public concern over proposals to build two dams in the upper reaches of the Manas and Sankosh rivers in neighbouring Bhutan. The plans, which would have had a severe impact on the integrity of the whole Manas ecosystem, have since been cancelled by the Indian and Bhutanese governments.

In February 1989 the park was occupied by members of the local Bodo Students Union, which were campaigning for autonomy for its people, who form about one-third of Assam's population (Jackson, 1989). Acts of arson, sabotage and the murder of more than a dozen wildlife guards by terrorists resulted in the forced evacuation of sanctuary staff, leaving the park open to opportunistic professional poachers, timber smugglers and fringe villagers. As a result, a number of animals including rhinoceros, elephant and valuable prey species such as deer were killed (Hussain, 1989; Rahmani et al., 1989). Consequently, the site was placed on the World Heritage in Danger list in 1992 (J. Thorsell, pers. comm., 1993). A popular account of the incursion (Gavron, 1989) reports that staff have been attacked, resulting in one fatality, and that 30 of the 44 range posts have had to be abandoned. It has also been reported that the 1988-93 disturbances have had very little impact on the conservation value of the site, but that damage to infrastructure and the destruction of guard posts in 12 areas of the park are preventing normal protection and management from being re-established (Milne, 1997, UNESCO, 1997b).

Almost one third (22) of the parks remaining Indian rhinoceros were poached in 1993, and at least four tigers were killed. In addition, the corpses of two large male elephants have been found. A large number of trees have been felled and the habitat of species such as golden langur, hispid hare and pygmy hog, has been put at risk. Intervention to protect the park by either the Assam State Government or Central Government has been delayed by a lack of available manpower and by political difficulties. Poaching remains a serious problem in Manas, carried out by large well-armed gangs (Jackman, 1996). In June 1996 an unarmed Forest Department boatman was shot by poachers, and staff are unable to prevent attacks. The rhinoceros population has been decimated by poaching with numbers dropping from approximately 80 in 1990 (Deb Roy, 1990) to around a dozen. A rhino action plan is being prepared for Manas under the Biodiversity Alliance co-ordinated by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation and WWF-India (WWF, 1996).

STAFF Four forest rangers, two deputy rangers, 29 foresters, 12 head game watchers, 49 forest guards, 46 game watchers and 104 other staff administer the park (1986). Overall administration of the tiger reserve is the responsibility of the field director.

BUDGET Rs 2,545,000 was allocated in 1989-1990 by the Government of India under its rhino conservation scheme.

LOCAL ADDRESSES Field Director, Project Tiger, PO Barpetta Road, District Barpetta, Assam 778 315

DATE October 1985, reviewed July 1988, updated March 1990, August 1995, July 1997.