CHITWAN: A UNESCO team will begin inspecting the condition of the Chitwan National Park that has been facing many threats due to urbanisation and human settlement.

The team is scheduled to arrive here on Wednesday.

The team will be inspecting whether the rapidly growing human settlement is encroaching the diversified wildlife residing in the Park, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1984.

Inspection of the Park will be held for three days and it will include discussions with the stakeholders, Chief Conservation Officer of the Park, Ram Chandra Kandel, informed.

The recent construction of roads, bridges, temples and the possibility of construction of East-West Railway through the Park in near future have sparked UNESCO’s attention towards the preservation of endangered species, said the Assistant Conservation Officer Nurendra Aryal.

He further said the team suggested conducting security checks at both ends of the newly constructed bridge over the Rapti River. Also they have asked to maintain security along the roads through the Park.

It has been learned that in the five districts, which the Park stretches to, 1,211 hectares of land have been encroached and 2,330 households were found living in the encroached area.

Kandel said the UN agency has been conducting such inspection programmes time and again regarding similar concerns for the wildlife.

Chitwan National Park, established in 1973, is popular for housing the rare one-horned rhinoceros and royal Bengal tigers.