Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: The Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area (GHNPCA), located in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, has been granted the prestigious World Heritage site status by the UNESCO at its ongoing meeting in Doha, Qatar.
The announcement was made by the Ministry of Culture in a statement on Monday.
The GHNPCA has been chosen for inclusion in the World Heritage List on the basis of criterion (x) of UNESCO Guidelines.
The Criterion X is "To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation."
The GHNPCA has GHNP (754.4 sq km), Sainj (90 sq km) and Tirthan (61 sq km) Wildlife Sanctuaries. The 905.40 sq km GHNPCA includes the upper mountain glacial and snow melt water source origins of the westerly flowing JiwaNal, Sainj and Tirthan Rivers and the north-westerly flowing Parvati River.
The GHNPCA is home to several rare and threatened species including the Western Tragopan, Chir Pheasant, Snow Leopard, Himalayan Musk Deer, Asiatic Black Bear, Himalayan Tahr, Blue Sheep and Serow.
Built in 1984, the Great Himalayan National Park is a habitat to numerous flora and more than 375 fauna species, which are protected under strict guidelines of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
(With Agency Inputs)
