The Transboundary Manas Conservation Area receives the Conservation Excellence Award, 2020

The Transboundary Manas Conservation Area receives the Conservation Excellence Award, 2020

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Tiger Reserves; Wildlife Conservation

In news

• Recently, The Transboundary Manas Conservation Area receives the Conservation Excellence Award, 2020.

Key takeaways

• Conservation Excellence Award recognises one site that has achieved excellence in two or more of these five themes: (1) Tiger and prey population monitoring and research; (2) Effective site management; (3) Enhanced law enforcement & protection & ranger welfare improvement; (4) Community based conservation, benefits and human-wildlife conflict mitigation; (5) Habitat and prey management.

Important value addition

Transboundary Manas Conservation Area (TraMCA)

• It was established in 2011. 
• Vision: To jointly develop and manage a transboundary conservation area between Bhutan and India, for the benefit of people and wildlife.
• The TraMCA landscape forms a vital mosaic of conservation spaces across the Eastern Himalayas.
• It covers the entire Manas Tiger Reserve in India, four protected areas in Bhutan and also two biological corridors.
• The Manas Tiger Reserve in India and Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan form the core of this biologically outstanding trans-boundary region. 
• It is home to tigers, elephants, rhinos and more than 1,500 species of mammals, birds and vascular plants.
• The Manas River also flows through them. 
• The number of Tigers in the Indian Manas increased from 9 in 2010 to 25 in 2018 
• In the Bhutan Manas, the number more than doubled from 12 in 2008 to 26 in 2018.