Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Royal Manas National Park

The document outlines a site-specific management plan for the Royal Manas National Park (RMNP) to ensure that infrastructure and conservation activities in 2020 comply with both Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) laws and WWF's Social Safeguards Integrated Policies and Procedures (SIPP). It identifies seven key activities—including the construction of a Tiger Research Field Station and a guard post, and the restoration of lowland grasslands—and provides specific mitigation measures for risks such as waste generation, worker health and safety, and potential increases in poaching. The plan establishes a monitoring framework involving weekly field visits and quarterly reports to ensure compliance, with project funding contingent upon meeting these safeguard requirements.

• The Bhutan for Life (BFL) project is a 14-year initiative designed to secure biodiversity conservation, human well-being, and climate resilience in Bhutan, with specific goals to help the country "remain carbon neutral by increasing forest and vegetative cover within the Protected Area System".
• The Royal Manas National Park (RMNP) covers 1057.28 sq. km and serves as a critical habitat for several endangered species, including the pygmy hog and golden langur, and is a "potential population source of Royal Bengal Tiger", with recorded populations increasing from 10 in 2011 to 24 in 2018.
• For the BFL project, WWF's Social Safeguards Integrated Policies and Procedures (SIPP) prevail over Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) legislation in cases of discrepancy, particularly regarding the eligibility of "non-title holders and informal land use" for compensation and the requirement for "extensive community consultations".
• Planned activities for 2020 in RMNP include seven primary interventions: the construction of a Tiger Research Field Station (USD 130,000), maintenance of the Umling Range Office (USD 25,000), construction of a gabion wall for the Specialthang river (USD 9,500), zonation and pillar fixing (USD 10,000), grassland management at Specialthang (USD 10,000), and the improvement of salt licks, waterholes, and snags (USD 4,761.9).
• The ESMP identifies several potential adverse impacts for the 2020 activities, including dust pollution and waste generation from construction, and a specific risk of "Increase poaching" associated with the improvement of waterholes and salt licks.
• Mitigation measures for construction activities focus on waste management—prohibiting the "Burning of construction waste" and dumping on "fragile slopes, forests, religious or other culturally sensitive areas"—and ensuring worker safety through the prohibition of "underage workers, or children".
• Implementation and monitoring are managed by the BFL focal person in RMNP, with a system of weekly field visits and quarterly reports to ESS consultants. The document explicitly states that "Disbursement of project funds to the PA will be contingent upon their full compliance with the safeguards requirements".

APA

WWF International (2020). Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Royal Manas National Park. https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/3yikg9jjss_RMNP_ESMP.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Royal Manas National Park. 2020. https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/3yikg9jjss_RMNP_ESMP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Royal Manas National Park |date=2020 |url=https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/3yikg9jjss_RMNP_ESMP.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2020bhutan, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Royal Manas National Park}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2020}, url = {https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/3yikg9jjss_RMNP_ESMP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }