Kendrapara: Bhitarkanika with the status of a national park and RAMSAR site status awarded by UNESCO, was denied prestigious World Heritage Site status.
Sensitive zone monitoring committee member Srikant Nayak, environmentalist Hemant Kumar Rout, social activists Sanjay Kumar Behura and Pradeep Kumar Tarai recently alleged that the status was denied to the Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) due to its several drawbacks.
They said, the meeting of Internal Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) held at Krakow in Polland July 2017 turned down the request to confer the World Heritage Site status on BNP. Besides its negative aspects, the dossier submitted did also carry certain misinformation regarding the park.
They further alleged that no assessment has so far been done as to why the status was denied. They said the mangrove is the life of the BNP. While it acts like a protection wall during natural disasters, it helps provide a safer environment to wild animals, birds and marine creatures.
They said a report was prepared by M Doak and Remko Van Merm, who were the two-member of the technical evaluation team of IUCN, deputed by UNESCO in November 2016. In the report, they stated that the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 has already been implemented for the BNP and despite it, there are personal lands inside the park, people are moving freely, farming activities are being carried out, cattle are grazing and there are prawn gheries too.
Similarly, in the report, Doak and Merm expressed their concern, saying the boundary line of the park lacks proper management. Over 400 villages inside the park along with the proximity of Dhamra port and missile testing at Wheeler Island are posing a threat to the park. Similarly, drinking water is essential for the sustenance of mangroves and other animals, however, the flow is gradually decreasing. On the other hand, there is a lack of fund to carry out effective management and check erosion.
Most importantly, the guidelines of an eco-sensitive zone are not being properly implemented at the park, the duo reported.
The negativities mentioned in the report along with other similar issues were discussed at the IUCN meeting and taking them into consideration, the meeting concluded that the BNP is not eligible for the World Heritage Site status.
Several environmentalists including Nayak, Rout, Behura and Tarai demanded that all the negative aspects of the BNP should be analysed and necessary corrective steps should be taken.
In this regard, Rajnagar DFO Jagyandatt Pati said that the hindrances working against BNP to achieve World Heritage Site status are being studied and efforts are being made to get it enlisted again as one of World Heritage Sites.
PNN