Guwahati: Forest officials of the Manas National Park and the Royal Manas National Park, Bhutan, are meeting in Thimphu on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the need to include a larger area under the Transboundary Manas Conservation Area.

TraMCA encompasses the whole of Manas tiger reserve in India and the group of protected areas in southern Bhutan.

Sources said the ongoing TraMCA agreement should be enlarged to a larger landscape with an integrated network of biodiverse areas along the entire stretch of the border between India and Bhutan.

The meeting will discuss the India-Bhutan transboundary co-operation on conservation and the future framework.

The current status of transboundary tiger monitoring will be discussed.

Land use and infrastructure development in both the national parks will also feature in the meeting.

Altogether 21 tigers were camera-trapped during a trans-boundary tiger-monitoring programme conducted across the Manas National Park in India and the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan in 2015.

River basin management is also on the agenda and a transboundary approach to mahseer conservation will also be discussed.

Sources said wildlife trafficking requires more co-ordination and collaboration between the two countries.

The increasing demands for wildlife products and forest resources, habitat loss and human wildlife conflicts are some of the prime concerns.

Manas National Park is already grappling with encroachment issues.

Bhutan wants to discuss the idea of a Bhutan-India Friendship Park in the 50-year celebrations of the diplomatic relations of the two neighbouring countries.