The Bureau noted with satisfaction that this site has a population of more than 400 great one-horned rhinoceros and its success is partly attributable to the cooperation between the Nepalese Army and the staff of the Royal Chitwan National Park in anti-poaching activities.
The Bureau was informed that 80% of the total population (i.e. about 2,000) of the great one-horned rhinoceros, a species restricted in its range to South Asia, are found in the World Heritage sites of Kaziranga (India; 1,200) and Royal Chitwan (Nepal; 400). The Bureau, however, noted that intensive poaching can quickly lead to sharp declines in rhino populations, as observed in the World Heritage area of Manas (India), a site included in the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The Bureau encouraged the Centre to facilitate cooperation between the staff of Royal Chitwan (Nepal) and Kaziranga and Manas (India) World Heritage sites, and the CITES Convention for sharing of intelligence information on trading routes of rhino horns and the activities of commercially motivated poaching gangs in order to sustain the contributions which World Heritage sites have made to rhino conservation in South Asia.