GNHP Himachal Gets its Second World Heritage Site

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GNHP Himachal Gets its Second World Heritage Site

Anni This Week, Kullu

Himachal has got its second world heritage site in the form of the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, first being the Kalka-Shimla railway line. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Committee at Doha in Qatar granted the status to the park under the criteria of exceptional natural beauty and conservation of biological diversity. The GHNP has now come in the league of Indian World Heritage Sites such as the Taj Mahal, Ellora, Kaziranga National Park, Keoladeo National Park, Manas National Park, Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve and the Sunderbans. The world heritage tag to GHNP would help in boosting ecotourism in the hill state, said Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri. What is noteworthy is that there would be no dislocation of villages or families living in the core park area and their rights had been recognised and would stay protected, he said. Notably, the GHNP was declared a National Park under the Wildlife (Protection Act), 1972, by the Himachal Pradesh government in 1999. A total of 832 plant species, representing 128 families and 427 genera, which cover 26% of the total flora of Himachal Pradesh, have been recorded in the GHNP. It is also home to a number of threatened species, providing them with habitats critical to their survival. It supports self-sustaining populations of near-threatened, vulnerable and endangered species like leopard, Himalayan Black Bear, Royle’s Vole, Himalayan thar, Himalayan serow, Himalayan goral, Himalayan musk deer, western tragopan and cheer pheasant. The endangered snow leopard and the critically endangered Red-headed vulture are also present.

Heritage Tag Will Integrate other Contiguous Protected Areas

GHNP has more than 35 peaks of over 5,000m height and two greater than 6,000m height which taken together are arguably more exceptional than a few isolated higher peaks in the region. The boundaries of GHNP are also contiguous with the recently established (2010) Khirganga National Park (710 sq km), the Pin Valley National Park (675 sq km) in Trans-Himalaya, Rupi-Bhabha Wildlife Sanctuary (503 sq km) in Sutlej watershed and Kanawar Wildlife Sanctuary (61 sq km). Together these four protected areas add 1,949 sq km to the area around GHNP and its buffer zone, making the total contiguous protected area associated with the nominated property approximately 2,854.4 sq km, not including the Eco zone. The tag would serve to expedite integration of other protected areas into a huge GHNP conservation area.

Local Communities Get Some Relief, Yet Miles to Go

Anni This Week

Declaration of Great Himalayan National Park as world heritage site at Doha with certain conditions recently is a significant victory for locals and people who are struggling for their cultural and traditional rights yet still local communities have miles to go, feels Himalaya Niti Abhiyan (HNA). Guman Singh, President of HNA said that UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) has taken only 12 minutes to discuss Great Himalayan National Park case, which showed the triviality to discuss about the local communities concerns who were fighting and agitating against GHNP since 1996. This also shows the Indian delegation non seriousness on the issue of community bona-fide livelihood along with cultural and religious rights in GHNP. Locals feel cheated and are apprehend that this new status of WHS may further alienate them from their forest and forest rights in the days to come, feels Singh. The park was created in 2001, and thousands of families were displaced from their cultural rights, traditional livelihood base and forest and forest rights. The communities are still fighting for the rights and promise made in the 1999 Award and during the declaration of GHNP by the authorities, which are yet to be fulfilled. During the declaration of the GHNP the forest department made a commitment to give the alternate pastures for grazing, alternate forests and forest rights and provide alternate livelihood base which has not been fulfilled as yet. The process of declaration of the Park as UNESCO world heritage site was started in 2012 without prior information, consultation with host community and Gram Sabhas.  The Forest Department has tried its best to keep the voices of traditional rights holders at bay, and has misled everyone (HP State Govt, Indian Govt, its people) by presenting a single sided story, especially to ICUN and UNESCO. Everybody feared that the history will be repeated  itself after 15 years and the local community is again going to be deprived of their cultural, traditional livelihood and forest rights which they had been practicing since ancient time. Tarun Sridhar, Principal Secretary (Forest) assured the locals that they would continue to enjoy their traditional rights. “People residing in the area will continue to be an integral part of the natural heritage whose protection now will be the responsibility of the global community after the bestowing of the UNESCO world heritage site,” he stated. The HNA considers it as a major and significant victory for the local community and people who compelled changes in favour of thousands of families dependent on forest resources however, the struggle doesn’t end here. Everyone, including the forest officials, HP government officials, have to make concerted efforts about awareness of FRA-2006 and proper implementation of this Act needs to be ensured