17 May 2012 The Supreme Court has directed all states to demarcate and notify buffer zones around each of their tiger reserves within three months. While conservationists say the order would curb commercialisation of revenue land around tiger habitats, tribal rights activists think its implementation will result in repression of forest dwellers by forest departments. Click on date for more details

15 May 2012 A forest ranger and a forester were recently beaten up by the illegal mining mafia in the core area of the Rathambhore reserve. For more information click on date

08 May 2012 Aptly titled, 'Corbett, now on sale', a story in a weekly magazine brought an open secret out in print: The land around - and even inside - the Corbett Tiger Reserve is up for grabs, controlled by the country's Who's Who. It highlighted how tourism resorts have destroyed the Kosi river corridor, cutting off access for animals to a crucial water source. This matter had in fact first come to light in a report, 'Impact of tourism on tigers and other wildlife of Corbett', published in January 2010. Click on date for more details

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary on the road to recovery

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary in the eastern Himalaya foothills of India has been removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger, following the advice of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

A UNESCO/IUCN monitoring mission to the sanctuary earlier this year noted the progress made so far to increase the population of key species, including tigers, Indian elephants and the great one-horned rhino.

Other threats such as illegal logging and wildlife poaching in the Pambari Range have declined significantly and the park infrastructure has improved, according to the mission report.

'The great efforts by the Indian authorities to support recovery of wildlife populations and improve the overall park management have brought about a positive change for one of India's natural treasures,' says Tim Badman, Director of IUCN's World Heritage Programme. 'The Sanctuary is on a good track, but the work and funding to secure its future need to be sustained.'

The reintroduction of the one-horned rhino is underway and funding is secure until the end of the year. But the monitoring mission found out that the swamp deer population will not recover unless a swamp deer restoration programme is in place. A tourism management plan developed with local communities should address the high expectations for ecotourim as an alternative livelihood.

Indian authorities have repeatedly requested that the site is removed from the Danger List and its reputation as one of India's richest wildlife areas reinstated. The rapid decline in wildlife and the eradication of the rhino during a decade-long insurgency, led to the inscription of the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1992.

More information on http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/manas-wildlife.html%23cr