Context
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The Raimona National Park in western Assam’s Kokrajhar district has boosted the protection of the Greater Manas Landscape besides fulfilling the recommendation of the UNESCO World Heritage Site committee.
About Raimona National Park
- The Assam government recently notified Raimona and Dehing-Patkai to take the State’s count of National Parks to seven.
- The others are Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang and Dibru-Saikhowa.
- It is located in Gossaigaon subdivision of Kokrajhar district.
- The boundary of Raimona National Park forms with the Sankosh River on the west along the inter-state boundary of West Bengal and Assam from Indo-Bhutan border
- Kaziranga and Manas were declared World Heritage Sites in 1985. But while Kaziranga maintained its status and continued to upgrade,
- Manas slipped because of extremism-linked poaching and felling of trees before getting back on track a few years ago.
- Raimona National Park is of huge conservation significance, strengthening the Greater Manas Landscape.
- Raimona adjoins the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal to the west, the Phipsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Namgyal Wangchuk Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan to the north and Manas National Park to the east. This translates into more than 3,000 sq. km in the Greater Manas Landscape.
- The Bhutan wildlife sanctuaries contiguous to Raimona present the possibility of a transboundary peace park.
- India and Bhutan have an arrangement for transboundary conservation of Manas, whose Bhutan part is called the Royal Manas National Park and covers 1,000 sq. km.
- Flora & Fauna: Raimona’s high biodiversity with 11 different forest types and subtypes could be a boon for nature lovers. The National Park has a sizeable population of golden langur, elephant, tiger, clouded leopard, wild buffalo, and more than 150 species of butterflies, and 170 species of birds. Raimona National Park is famous for Golden Langur, an endemic species which has been named as the mascot of Bodoland region.
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