Guwahati, March 13: Unesco has deputed a conservation expert to decide whether the 100-year-old Manas National Park can be given back the status of a World Heritage Site.

The park had been declared a World Heritage Site in 1985, but its status was downgraded to that of a World Heritage Site in Danger in 1992.

Kishore Rao, the deputy director of Unesco?s World Heritage Convention, will visit Manas later this month along with P. Lal from the Union environment and forest ministry. The duo will take stock of the situation in the national park, including the condition of infrastructure and availability of funds, to arrive at a fair assessment of whether it deserves to get back its previous status.

The Assam government has been trying to revive the wildlife sanctuary?s fortunes, which took a beating when militants made inroads into its territory.

A team from the World Heritage Convention visited the area in early 2002 for a survey of the adjacent Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan, which had just been nominated for the status of a World Heritage Site. The objective was to promote conservation of the Manas ecosystem on either side of the international border.

Manas, incidentally, is one of the earliest Project Tiger sites. The last census pegged the tiger population in the park at 65.

The park authorities have chalked out a management plan for habitat and species conservation. The incidence of poaching has already come down.

According to official records, 225 foreign tourists and 7,165 Indians visited the park in 2004-05. Officials say the tourist traffic will increase if infrastructure improves. ?The condition of the bridges, especially on the southern boundary, is still very bad. The roads have, however, improved,? one of them said.

Another problem is shortage of manpower. As many as 135 posts are vacant, which is hampering surveillance. The park authorities are now focussing on increasing people?s participation in ecology management.