Preparatory assistance for the identification of heritage in Ehotilé Islands National Park, Côte d’Ivoire

The Ehotilé Islands National Park is a group of six islands situated along the eastern shoreline of the Côte d’Ivoire that shelters a complex and diverse flora and fauna. It was listed as a Ramsar Site (see the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands) in October 2005.

The objective of this project was to respond to requests for expert assistance and support the Centre’s mandate to assist States Parties in the identification of heritage and provide preparatory assistance for a nomination dossier. An important phase is the identification of the Outstanding Universal Value. At the request of the African Union, under the framework of an International Assistance request and with the support of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, the Centre of Ecological Research supported a technical mission to the Côte d’Ivoire to study the feasibility of Ehotilé Islands National Park’s request for preparatory assistance for inscription on the World Heritage List. The expert assessment report underlined that there was insufficient data to justify the Outstanding Universal Value of the property as a natural site. However, the expert mission encouraged the State Party to consider and include the important cultural heritage on the islands such as the sacred forest where a local population perform unique practices connected to the wetland environment. Ehotilé Islands National Park is inscribed on the Tentative Lists since 2006.