Decision : 31 COM 7A.7
Salonga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (N 280)

  The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 30 COM 7A.5, adopted at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006),
3. Expresses its concern about the serious threats to the outstanding universal value and integrity of the property as documented by the 2007 monitoring mission, in particular the large scale poaching of large mammals, illegal fishing and the impact of villages within its boundary; 
4. Commends the conservation NGO and international donors for their support to the Park authority ICCN which have allowed to gradually put in place a management mechanism for the property;
5. Urges the State Party to implement immediately the corrective measures identified by the 2007 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN mission in order to safeguard the outstanding universal value and integrity of the property:

a) Organize urgently a large scale joint operation between ICCN and its conservation partners and the Congolese army (FARDC), in cooperation with MONUC and the National Disarmament Commission (CONADER) to evict the armed poaching gangs from the property, and conduct a disarmement campaign in the villages around the property. This operation should capitalise on the experiences of a similar successful operation in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.The State Party might want to submit an international assistance request to help fund this urgent operation;

b)  Establish a permanent consultation mechanism between ICCN and the political and military authorities in the 4 provinces covered by the property, in order to address in a coordinated way the illegal activities in the property, in particular the large scale poaching;

c) Implement urgently the anti-poaching strategy developped recently, in particular by reinvigorating park staff and improving their efficiency through specialised training and introducing law enforcement monitoring;

d)  Continue and strengthen the recent efforts to resolve longstanding conflicts with the local communities on the use of the natural resources in the property, using a participatory approach and capitalising on traditional control mechanisms. A clear demarcation of the boundaries of the park will be an important first step;

e)  Develop and implement a strategy to minimize and mitigate the negative impacts of activities associated with villages located within the property;

f)  In the framework of the development of a management plan, establish an ecological corridor between the two sectors of the Park;

g)  Establish a trust fund for the rehabilitation of the DRC World Heritage properties, to which the Government of the DRC committed itself to contribute at the 2004 UNESCO conference on Heritage in Danger in DRC;

6.   Calls on international donors to support the efforts of the State Party to rehabilitate the property;

7.   Requests the State Party, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, to develop a draft Statement of Outstanding Universal Value for the property, including the conditions of integrity, for examination by the Committee at its 32nd session in 2008;

8.   Further requests the State Party, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, to develop a draft statement of the desired state of conservation for the property based on its Outstanding Universal Value;

9.   Also requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with an updated report by 1 February 2008 on the state of conservation of the property and progress made in the implementation of the corrective measures developed by the 2007 monitoring mission, for examination by the Committee at its 32nd session in 2008;

10.  Decides to retain Salonga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.