Guwahati: Agricultural encroachments in Manas National Park are proving to be a thorn for the park management and the state government with no solution in sight.
Manas Park, in its State of Conservation (SOC) report to the World Heritage Committee, has informed that the issue of agricultural encroachments has been taken up with the Bodoland Territorial Council. However, it is yet to see the light of the day due to socio-political concerns involving the rights of indigenous communities.
The park authorities have informed the WHC in its SOC that it is unlikely to be resolved at an early date, and the status quo is being maintained with no fresh encroachments.
The Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) report of Manas has also voiced its concern on the encroachment issue.
“Manas tiger reserve has issues of encroachment. There are four patches of about 36.78 sq km area in the original core area and in the first addition area. Some of these areas are now under habitation. The management has made attempts to remove the encroachment and had put boundary pillars in these areas. However, there was public pressure, and the pillars were removed” the MEE team which visited Manas said in its report.
The MEE team could observe these removed boundary pillars, demarcating the core.
The team in its report said the state government, the Bodoland Territorial Council and the tiger reserve management will have to take urgent steps for getting the encroachments relocated.
“This will make the tiger reserve inviolate and habitat conducive for tigers and other species. Reclaiming the area from the Seed Farm Area, Kokilabari can be taken up on priority first followed by eviction of Betbari and Panbari areas. As eviction of some of these areas is extremely difficult, some innovative strategies for rationalization of these areas will have to work out,” the MEE report said.
Making its observation on the State of Conservation report on Manas, the WHC says while it is noted that no new encroachment took place, it is of concern that existing agricultural encroachment remains unresolved.
“Notes with concern that the impacts of agricultural encroachment on the property remain unresolved, and therefore also requests the State Party to continue ensuring that no further expansion of encroachment occurs within the property while strengthening efforts to address the issue at a political level with due respect to the social, economic and cultural rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, and respecting all relevant international norms,” the WHC said in its report.
The WHC says the reported increase in the population of rhinos is welcome, and the State Party’s upscaled antipoaching efforts, which resulted in a significant reported reduction in wildlife-related offences are noted with appreciation.
” It is unclear to what extent the increase in rhino numbers is a result of population growth or further translocations from other protected areas. The generation of baseline data for keystone species in Manas for the first time to institutionalise holistic and state-of-the-art wildlife monitoring is also welcomed, and the State Party should be requested to provide these baseline population data as part of the next report on the state of conservation,” the WHC said.
The WHC has commended the ongoing efforts to mobilize additional funding for the conservation of the property, including through REDD+ carbon financing, and encourages the State Party to report on how the carbon finance initiative benefits the property so that lessons learnt could be shared widely.
It has also welcomed activities undertaken by the State Party aiming to benefit local communities, notably through the revitalisation of EcoDevelopment Committees and eco-tourism initiatives.
Terming the transboundary cooperation with the State Party of Bhutan at a field level as positive, the WHC said it is regrettable and of the utmost concern that neither India nor Bhutan provided information concerning the Mangdechhu hydroelectric project, nor its EIA and Environmental Management Plan (EMP), despite repeated requests by the Committee since 2012, given its potentially significant impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, which is located downstream of the project site.
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It said the dam has the potential to negatively affect the forests and water bodies of the property in a way which would reduce the ability of the property’s ecosystems to support wildlife, given that the Mangdechhu rivers contribute to the flow of the Manas-Beki river system, which sustains the property.
“The Mangdechhu dam is likely to further exacerbate the impacts of the existing Kurichu dam if no adequate mitigation measures are planned,” it said.
The project is reported to have been jointly inaugurated by the Government of India and the Royal Government of Bhutan in August 2019.
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