Guwahati, Feb. 17: The World Heritage Committee of Unesco may consider taking the Heritage Site in Danger status off Manas National Park, but everything hinges on the efficiency of the park authorities.

The Unesco/IUCN monitoring team, which visited Manas last week, has asked the authorities to submit an adequate baseline information on the wildlife database of the national park within a month so that the international heritage committee can consider removing the danger tag.

The team, comprising experts from the IUCN and Unesco, toured Manas for three days last week to find out whether the government has been able to implement the recommendations by the World Heritage Centre. The team would now submit its report at the 32nd meeting of the World Heritage Committee at Quebec City, Canada.

A source said the monitoring team met forest department officials on Friday and asked them to submit an adequate baseline information on the animal database of the national park within a month, which the authorities have agreed up on.

The assessment of wildlife is a very positive step in understanding the status of the key species in a park.

“The problem, however, is that there is no reliable information on wildlife in Manas. In fact, no comprehensive survey has been carried out since the Bodo agitation in the 80s, which destroyed the national park,” he said.

“We will have to collect information available from different agencies, look at its reliability and then submit it to the mission team. This is a chance to get back the old glory and we should not falter this time.”

He added that the monitoring team, however, expressed its happiness on the progress made in infrastructure, community and eco-development activities and conservation efforts in the park.

The World Heritage Committee had found many inconsistencies in the last report sent by the forest department on Manas National Park and decided to retain it in the World Heritage Site in Danger category.

For instance, the 2006 report showed a substantial increase in the elephant population in the national park from 567 to 658, while the 2007 report indicated a decline from 567 to 247. There was no data showing the presence of swamp deer.

The deputy chief of BTC, Kampha Borgoyary, met the monitoring team and asserted the council’s commitment towards conservation of the national park.