K anchenjunga Wildlife Park is all set to be enlisted as a World Natural Heritage site in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage by 2009. Along with Sikkim sanctuary ,The Rann, the last habitat of the wild ass in Kutch,Gujrat and Namdapha Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh too are expected to make it to the coveted list.
A proposal in this regard was submitted to UNESCO on March 15 last year to include these sites in the tentative list of World Natural Heritage list.
A proposal in this regard was submitted to UNESCO on March 15 last year to include these sites in the tentative list of World Natural Heritage list.
Speaking on this from Dehradun, Director, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dr V B Mathur said that a study in this regard was carried out by Mysore-based Nature Conservation Foundation and Bangalore-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) during December 2005. “Subsequently, we submitted the proposal in March and these three sites were included in the tentative list. The Western Ghat region with 39 sites spread across Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra has also made it to the list,” he said. The inclusion in the tentative list is the first step towards making it to the final list of world heritage.
For inclusion in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage, the site has to contain habitat for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including threatened species .
For inclusion in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage, the site has to contain habitat for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including threatened species .
Kanchenjunga National ParkWet temperate forests at the lower levels, rising to the bare rock, ice and snow of the peaks.The park is bounded by Nepal on the West with some of the world's highest mountains stradding the border : Tent Peak, Nepal Peak, Kabur North, Kabur South and, of course, Kangchendzonga itself ( 28,179 ft/ 8589 metres ).The park has an impressive range of animals and birds, leopards, clouded leopards, tahr, musk deer, bharal, scrow, snow leopard, red panda and binturong
Best time to Visit: April to May and August to October
Location: In East Sikkim compromising the mountainous regions of the Kangchendzonga Himalayas.
Size: 328 sq miles (850 sq km)
“These nominations from India have already been included in the tentative list and we hope that they’ll be inducted in the World Heritage list in a few years,” said Mathur. He pointed out that after submitting the initial proposal a detailed dossier on the sanctuary has to be sent to UNESCO for finalisation of the process. With the deadline for 2008 list already over, WII is trying to prepare the dossier and send it by February 2008, which is the deadline for submission of dossiers for 2009 list.
