Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area on World Heritage list

The World Heritage Committee has included the Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area (GHNPCA) on the World Heritage List on the basis of criterion (x) of UNESCO Guidelines.

This was announced in a statement by the Ministry of Culture on Monday.

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 Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) is located in the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh, India.

The concept of environmental conservation in the Kullu Valley is very ancient. The names of many places in this valley commemorate saints who came here to meditate in the great sanctuary of Himalayas.

Some of these sanctuaries are still preserved as sacred groves of trees. The Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area (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.

Situated at the confluence of Oriental and Palaearctic realms, GHNP provides a unique opportunity for the species from both bio-geographic regions to thrive, disperse and evolve.