Decision : 38 COM 7A.38
Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (N 137)
The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7A,
- Recalling Decision 37 COM 7A.5, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
- Welcomes the reported improvement in the security situation which has allowed the park staff to again start patrolling the areas previously out of control and notes that restoring the security is a pre-condition for implementing the corrective measures and restoring the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
- Also welcomes the ongoing efforts of the State Party to carry out a survey of the main populations of wildlife in the lowland sectors of the property to enable an assessment of the state of its OUV, as well as the establishment of a timetable for the rehabilitation of the property;
- Also notes that the area of the property covered by ranger patrolling remains limited, and requests the State Party to take urgent measures to improve the efficiency and security of patrols and curb the illegal activities, in particular poaching and mining;
- Expresses its concern that no progress was made in evacuating the ecological corridor, which is crucial to ensure ecological connectivity between the highland and lowland sectors, nor in the cancelling of mining concessions and reiterates its request to the State Party to cancel land rights illegally granted in the property as well as mining concessions encroaching on the property, in conformity with the commitments made in the Kinshasa Declaration, and the Committee’s established position that extractive activities are incompatible with World Heritage status;
- Urges the State Party to continue its efforts to implement the corrective measures to restore the OUV of the property;
- Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre / IUCN reactive monitoring mission to the property as soon as the results of the wildlife survey are available, in order to re-assess the state of conservation of the property, to update the corrective measures, to establish a new time frame for their implementation and to finalize the Desired state of conservation of the property for removal from the List of World Heritage in Danger;
- Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2015, a detailed report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property, including an update of progress achieved in the implementation of the corrective measures, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015;
- Decides to continue the application of the Reinforced monitoring mechanism to the property;
- Also decides to retain Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Decisions Report
Decision Code: 38 COM 7A.38
Themes: List of World Heritage in Danger
States Parties (1): Democratic Republic of the Congo
Properties (1): Kahuzi-Biega National Park
Year: 2014
State of conservation reports:
2014 Kahuzi-Biega National Park
2014 Kahuzi-Biega National Park
