Decision 17 BUR VIII.2

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (India)

The Bureau recalled that the Committee, at its last session, was informed that the damage caused by the invasion of this site by militants belonging to the Bodo tribe in Assam was estimated to be about US$1.6 million and that although the Park infrastructure had suffered considerable damage, habitats in the inaccessible parts of the Sanctuary appeared to be intact. Concerned by the information reported by the Representative of IUCN that the area is still not completely free from encroachments by militants belonging to the Bodo tribe, and that illegal cultivation was spreading into parts of the Sanctuary, the Committee at its last session, in accordance with Article 11, paragraph (4), of the Convention, included the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary in the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Bureau was informed that the Centre had drawn the attention of the Indian authorities to the fact that they have not yet provided a formal written report on the state of conservation of Manas, despite repeated requests from the Committee since 1989, and had reiterated the Committee's request for a comprehensive report providing a full assessment of the damage to the site and remedial measures that are being taken. Noting that the Indian authorities have not yet provided the report requested by the Committee, the Bureau asked the Centre to continue its efforts to obtain such a report for submission to the seventeenth session of the Committee.