Guwahati: Conservation efforts at the Manas Tiger Reserve and National Park are expanding beyond wildlife protection, with authorities, local communities and NGOs working together to tackle waste management challenges at the Unesco World Heritage Site.A structured waste recovery system – ‘The Root Connect Model’ – has been introduced in the park after years of accumulation of plastic wrappers, bottles, sachets, multilayered food packets and other non-biodegradable waste due to rising tourism and increased use of packaged goods in nearby villages and forest camps.“Earlier, there was no structured system to bring this waste back into a recovery chain. Through this collaboration, we are trying to make waste management a regular part of protected area management,” said C Ramesh, the park’s field director.He said waste in Barengabari, a forest-fringe village near the park, was often burnt, buried or dumped due to the lack of a collection mechanism. Similar challenges existed inside the park, where remote forest and anti-poaching camps regularly received packaged supplies but lacked a system to recover and recycle the resulting waste.The growing volume of unmanaged waste raised concerns beyond sanitation. Burning plastic risked polluting air, soil and water, while discarded materials near forest areas threatened the ecosystem and biodiversity at the park.Shirshendu Shekhar Das, involved in implementing the programme through an NGO, said around 15 tonnes of waste had been collected and channelled for recycling.“About 533 households are currently involved in the waste segregation, and we have made a revenue of Rs 33,757 from the sale of recyclable items,” he said.Das said the project began with extensive household outreach, encouraging residents to segregate dry and wet waste. A collection chain was established to connect households with a plastic waste management unit developed under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin framework.“A breakthrough came with this collaboration with the forest department, as dry waste generated from more than 100 forest and anti-poaching camps across Manas is now being collected through departmental systems and transported for sorting and recycling,” Das added.Tourism operators have also joined the initiative through the Manas Accommodation & Tourism Society (MATS), with several resorts adopting improved waste management practices.
