Manas Wildlife Sanctuary

• Construction of a dam (issue resolved);
• Bodo people insurgency;
• Destruction of Park infrastructures (issue resolved);
• Illegal removal of vegetation;
• Poaching;
• Need to enable trans-border collaboration in the management of the site

The field visit to Manas Wildlife Sanctuary was organized during an IUCN mission to Assam from 5 to 16 February 2002, organized with the cooperation of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), the UNESCO Office in New Delhi, and the World Heritage Centre. The principal findings of the mission with regard to the state of conservation of Manas are:

(a)  The insecurity situation has provided an “enabling environment” for several negative elements to misuse the resources of the site. There appears to be considerable levels of organized poaching of wildlife, illegal felling of trees, encroachment and canalization of facilities within the site.  There is a noticeable sense of uncertainty and hesitation amongst site staff;

(b)  Of the three Ranges established to allocate management and protection activities, only the Bansbari Range (i.e. the central area of the site) can be described as being reasonably functional. Insurgency is precluding the resumption of protection activities in the Eastern and Western Ranges where reports allege widespread poaching and illegal harvesting of trees and non timber forest products (NTFPs), including medicinal plants;

(c)  Site management is finding it difficult to actively address protected area related issues. For example, there is no approved management plan. Lack of reliable data makes it difficult to formulate appropriate management strategies and/or sustainable development activities. However, a draft Management Plan is nearing completion;

(d)  The operating budget, infrastructure, equipment and the present management structure are inadequate. There is insufficient staff with experience and training in routine aspects of protected area management;.

(e)  Limited and/or poorly maintained infrastructure (i.e. roads, communications etc) and basic public services in the towns and villages around the site (for example, limited tourism, transportation and marketing infrastructure) reduces the options for developing and implementing conservation-linked rural, sustainable economic development projects; and

(f)  Poverty and population pressures make the development and implementation of community-based economic/poverty alleviation alternatives a challenging task, which are probably beyond the experience, capacity and resources of present staff.

Community eco-development programmes appear to be focusing on providing infrastructure and are only weakly linked to engendering support for the Site’s primary nature conservation objectives. They do not adequately contribute to resolving many of the problems facing the management of the site. Unpredictable levels of financial and technical resources limit the ability of the Director and staff to implement management and development programmes in a phased and orderly way. The Site requires a comprehensive and integrated conservation and interpretation strategy. This needs to be linked to a transparent and consultative management planning process and directed towards a wide range of stakeholders, including: local communities, schools, visitors, protection and site staff, as well as local government and other organizations that are active within and around the site.

The Director and staff report that only a very small population of the Asian One-horned rhinoceros is still present in the site. Researchers met by the mission suggest numbers could be below ten individuals. As both the Eastern and Western Ranges are effectively “no go” areas for visitors, and the presence of protection staff is limited to a few locations, it was difficult to accurately assess the impacts of the measures designed to minimize poaching threats to the rhinos. It is certain however that the status of the rhino population in and around Manas is seriously threatened.

With respect to the progress achieved in implementation of the rehabilitation plan adopted in 1997 and the sustainability of the rehabilitation efforts, the mission reported that all of the US$165,000 allocated by UNESCO as emergency assistance has been used on approved projects and equipment procurement. These activities are helping, albeit slowly, to re-establish staff presence for on-site management actions in Manas. The two fibre-glass outboard powered boats purchased as part of the second instalment appear unsuitable for the work they were expected to undertake.

A trust account has been established by the Assam Forest Department, which has the potential to cover ongoing enforcement and management costs at both Manas (and Kaziranga) World Heritage sites. The site Director has developed a list of priority projects; if funding could be made be available, these projects could significantly help contribute to establishing effective management in most areas other than those threatened by insurgency and militant activities.

An effective working relationship between Manas Wildlife Sanctuary and Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan) exists and the mission had an opportunity to hold informal discussions with a staff member from Royal Manas National Park. One staff member from the Royal Manas National Park indicated that the current climate is unfavourable for progression towards a transboundary World Heritage proposal. The present scale of poaching and insurgency on both sides of the international border is of serious concern to the Bhutan authorities and the Royal Forest Department of Bhutan has closed the local school and other community facilities, relocated families from the Park base and is anticipating, in the near future, replacing the staff of the Department of Forests  and the National Park staff with an army unit.