Decision : 37 COM 7B.1
Dja Faunal Reserve (Cameroon) (N 407)

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Having examined Document WHC-13/37.COM/7B.Add,

2.  Recalling Decision 36 COM 7B.1 , adopted at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012),

3.  Notes with satisfaction that the State Party has undertaken an emergency safeguarding plan for the protected areas of Cameroon, and that this is evidenced by the assignment of agents and supplementary budgets for the property, and calls on the State Party to continue and strengthen this support;

4.  Welcomes the initiative of the State Party to revise the development plan for the property and to set up a framework for multi-stakeholder dialogue throughout the property and its periphery, as well as the funds obtained by the State Party from the Franz Weber Foundation to contribute to the sustainable conservation of the property over a five-year period; and also welcomes that this year the State Party has already undertaken a series of activities to mitigate the threats due to the impacts of development projects around the property, to strengthen the technical and operational capacities of the property’s management body, and to promote the involvement of local communities in the management of the property and the improvement of their living conditions;

5.  Further welcomes the decision of the State Party to reduce by 20% the size of the Venture Capital Company’s exploitation zone in order to halt encroachment observed by the Committee on the property, but considers that its proximity to the property could engender negative impacts on its Outstanding Universal Value and requests the State Party to undertake an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the operation and submit it to the World Heritage Centre in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines ;

6.  Notes that the State Party is considering a moratorium on mining exploration and exploitation in protected areas and also calls on the State Party to validate this commitment by a text of appropriate laws;

7.  Also notes that, although no exploitation activity has begun exploration activities continue at the GEOVIC mining site, and reiterates its request to the State Party to suspend the GEOVIC mining operations until a new ESIA meeting international standards is conducted on the basis of the terms of reference that will be developed with the support of the Franz Weber Foundation and submitted to the World Heritage Centre;

8.  Expresses its concern about the potential impacts of the Mekin Dam, the consequences of which could affect the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, and in particular its integrity;

9.  Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, explicit measures taken to prevent, reduce and offset the negative effects of the industrial plantation project of Sud Hevea on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, following the Memorandum of Understanding;

10. Further notes that the means of action of the management authority of the property are too weak in regard to the issues at stake, particularly in terms of equipment and logistics, and that an efficient environmental monitoring system for the property is slow to materialize;

11. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2014 , a detailed report on the state of conservation of the property, especially on progress made in mitigating threats to the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session in 2014.