Prepared by- Jay Kalsariya. Kaustubh Morjekar.

Manas Wildlife SanctuarySubject- Heritage & Conservation

Presented By : Kaustubh Morjekar Jay Kalsariya

Location

• The Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas in the Bhabar area of western Assam. 

• The Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is segregated into three ranges, with the central range at Bansbari, the western at Panbari, and the eastern range based at Bhuyanpara.

• The area of the park covers five districts of Assam, namely, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Darrang, Udalguri and Baska. 

Source-mapsofindia/maps/wildlife/assam-wildlife-map.gif

Introduction

• The Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is named after the Manas River, which flows through the heart of the park and is the major tributary of the Brahmaputra River.

• It also shared boundry with Bhutan so it is contiguous with the neighbouring country Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park.

• Manas was proposed a Reserve Forest in 1905, and declared a Reserve Forest in 1907.• The Manas National Park was declared a Sanctuary on October 1, 1928 with an area of

360 km².• On 25 February 2008 the area was increased to 950 km².• It was declared a Natural World Heritage Site in December 1985 by the UNESCO.• Manas Wildlife Sanctuary  is a National park, an abode of endangered and rare wildlife, is

predominantly famous for its Tiger Reserve and Elephant Reserve and a Biosphere Reserve.• Due to terrorist activities and heavy poaching, the UNESCO in 1992 enlisted it as one of the

World Heritage Sites in Danger. • On 21 June 2011, due to its commendable efforts in preservation, the UNESCO removed its

name from the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger.• There are rare and endangered species found in sanctuary are Assam Roofed Turtle, Hispid

Hare, Golden Langur and Pygmy Hog. 

Source- mapsofindia/assam/tourism/manas-national-park

Why it is important??• The property, which has six national and international designations (i.e. World

Heritage Site, National Park, Tiger Reserve (core), Biosphere Reserve (national), Elephant Reserve (core) and Important Bird Area)

• It has the highest legal protection and strong legislative framework under the provisions of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 , Indian Forest Act 1927 and Assam Forest Regulation 1891. 

• The Manas Wildlife Sanctuary provides habitat for 22 of India’s most threatened species of mammals. In total, there are nearly 60 mammal species, 42 reptile species, 7 amphibians and 500 species of birds, of which 26 are globally threatened.

•  The range of habitats and vegetation also accounts for high plant diversity that includes 89 tree species, 49 shrubs, 37 undershrubs, 172 herbs and 36 climbers. Fifteen species of orchids, 18 species of fern and 43 species of grasses

• There are species which represent a small sample of iconic and/or IUCN Red Listed animals and plants found in the property.

• The property benefits from government support at both national and regional levels as well as involvement of national and international conservation organisations.

• The property is managed under the administration of the Assam Forest Department & Bodoland Territorial Council.

Source- unesco.org/manasnationalpark

Some Important Species

Source-https://www.google.co.in/search?q=Some+important+species+in+manas+wildlife+sanctuary

Management• The property is managed under the administration of the

Assam Forest Department & Bodoland Territorial Council. • The provision of adequate infrastructure, skilled personnel

and monitoring arrangements for the property are all essential requirements.

• The property is home to 400 varieties of wild life, also making the management of its biodiversity values of high importance to food security.

• Provision of effective tourism facilities, visitor information and interpretation is also a priority for the park management.

• A comprehensive and approved Management Plan is an essential requirement, together with effective patrolling and enforcement capacity to deal with the threats of encroachment, grazing and poaching.

Conservation Measure• Manas wildlife sanctuary is lying at the confluence of the Indo-Gangetic and Indo-

Malayan biogeographical realms which has great natural diversity as well as spectacular scenery. 

• It is the core of an extensive tiger reserve and also protects an important migratory corridor for elephants and other wildlife along the West Bengal - Arunachal Pradesh - Bhutan borders.

• Its wetlands are of international importance. It is also the single most important site for the survival of golden langur, pygmy hog and hispid hare.

• The UNESCO in 1992 enlisted it as one of the World Heritage Sites in Danger. • After that Manas Maozigendri Ecotourism Society (MMES) & Bodoland Territorial Council

(BTC) were formed NGO.• MMES’ main aim is to clear Manas from the UNESCO List of the World Heritage Site in

Danger and to bring about a sustainable conservation in Manas Tiger Reserve.• MMES has focused its initiatives on the following -Awareness campaign on conservation.Direct patrolling in Manas National Park jointly with MNP Authority (anti-poaching and

anti-felling operation).Maintenance of park roads.Training to its volunteers in ecotourism and conservation.Tourists reception and guiding.

IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources)• The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an

international organisation dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges".

• The organization publishes the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses the conservation status of species.

• It works for the enlistment and preservation of endangered species of plants and animals.

• Now known as the World Conservation Union, it aims to impart information about the distribution and status of threatened species, develop awareness about the importance of threatened biodiversity and guide their conservation programmes and actions.

Some Legal Provision

Some important legal provisions related to wildlife protection and conservation:

Project Tiger, 1973

Forest conservation act, 1983

National forest policy, 1988

Wildlife protection act, 1972

Project Tiger Reserve

• Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. 

• The project's task force visualized these tiger reserves as breeding nuclei, from which surplus animals would migrate to adjacent forests.

•  The government has set up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers and funded relocation of villagers to minimize human-tiger conflicts.

•  For each tiger reserve, management plans were drawn up based on the following principles:

Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance from the core area and rationalization of activities in the buffer zone.

Restricting the habitat management only to repair the damages done to the ecosystem by human and other interferences so as to facilitate recovery of the ecosystem to its natural state

Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and carrying out research about wildlife

Forest conservation act, 1980

• India is one among a few countries in the world which has a Forest Act since 1927.

• The act was reformulated in 1980 and later amended in 1988.

• The Act empowered the government and the forest department

To create and manage reserved forests, protected forests and village forests.

To protect non-governmental forests and forest land.To control movement of forest produce.To control and regulate cattle grazing.

National forest policy, 1988

• In the year 1952, India formulated first forest policy which laid more emphasis on revenue generation than on sustainability of forests and their natural functions.

• The forest policy emphasises conservation of forests as a natural heritage and ensures environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance including atmospheric equilibrium which is so vital for life and growth of all life forms including wildlife.

Wildlife protection act, 1972

• The act was passed by the Parliament of India to protect India’s wildlife.

• Before 1972,India only had five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established schedules of protected plant and animal species; hunting or harvesting these species was largely outlawed.

• The main objective of the Act are as follows: Prohibition on hunting of specified plants and/or animals. Setting up and management of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Control of trade and commerce in wildlife, and wildlife products. Setting up of wildlife advisory board from state level to block and

panchayat levels and empowering zoo authorities with control and management of zoos and for captive breeding.

• The amendment to this Act in 2002 brought in the concept of Community Reserves and made the provision of the Act more stringent by altering several definitions in the previous Act.

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