Banc d'Arguin National Park

• Illegal fishing;
• Mechanical shellfish harvesting;
• Oil exploitation;
• Tourism and increased accessibility due to the new Nouadhibou-Nouakchott road;
• Lack of management capacity and resources. 

150000 USD in the framework of the World Heritage marine programme

A joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission visited the property from 6-13 January 2014. A report is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/506/documents/.

The mission assessed the status of the major threats to the property:

• A solid legal framework is available restricting fishing to the local Imraguen communities using only traditional methods. An efficient surveillance system is in place. Nevertheless, fishing has become increasingly a commercial activity, leading to an increase in catch and the targeting of commercial species, in particular certain ray and shark species. In addition, there is clearly a problem of overfishing in the waters outside the property;
• In 2011, a new road was constructed through the property to the village of Mamghar, without a proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The road has damaged several archaeological shell mounds. Works were stopped and an EIA was conducted “aposteriori”. The mission was informed that the alignment was changed following this EIA, although this was not evident to the mission;
• Several other important infrastructure projects include the new city of Chami close to the property’s eastern boundary, the extension of the mineral port in Nouadhibou, the development of a free trade zone and a new airport in Nouadhibou and the construction of a high voltage power line along the Nouakchott – Nouadhibou road;
• A substantial extension of the gold mine of Tasiast, located 60 km away from the property, is planned. This will increase water requirements for the mine and it is planned to source the additional water from the sea, 5 km away from the property. A draft EIA is available and was shared with the mission. In addition numerous exploration permits have been attributed around the property;
• No oil exploration concessions are overlapping with the property, but exploration is on-going in several blocks in its immediate vicinity. The drilling of several exploratory wells is foreseen this year.With the possibility of more future oil exploitation close to the property, but also given the significant shipping traffic close to the property, risk preparedness to deal with a possible oil spill is important. A plan to deal with a potential oil spill is in place and was tested out recently. In addition, with technical support of the World Heritage Centre, efforts are underway to request the status of Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA).
• A consultative and participatory “Territorial Diagnostic” aimed at examining all the new development projects and their cumulative impacts on the property has been initiated by the property’s Scientific Council.

Since the inscription of the site, the State Party with support of its technical and financial partners has made important progress in terms of the protection and management of the property: its legal protection has been strengthened, a functional management authority and management system is in place and a trust fund is under development, which could contribute to its sustainable funding. In view of increasing challenges in the governance of the site, a system of shared governance should be put in place, involving all stakeholders. The development of the new management plan should take into account the recommendations of the monitoring mission and the funding for the property from the trust fund should be linked to the management effectiveness of the property and the conservation of its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).

While acknowledging the progress made in managing fishing in the property, there is concern about the increasing catch size, in particular of threatened ray and shark species. It will be important to ensure the sustainability of the surveillance system and to maintain the restrictions on fishing foreseen in the law. A solution to limit the catch of threatened species needs to be agreed.

The new road to Mamghar, constructed using material from neolithic shell mounds, is clearly impacting on the cultural values of the property but also presents serious integrity issues. The EIA, which was prepared when the road was largely completed, is not up to international quality standards and does not assess the impacts on the OUV of the property.To mitigate the impact of the road, its use should be restricted and a system of control of access to the property should be put in place.

There is concern about the many infrastructure projects being developed around the property, which could potentially impact its OUV. No infrastructure should be authorized inside the property or in its vicinity, without having been subject to a proper EIA which clearly assesses the potential impacts on OUV, respecting the highest international standards and taking into account IUCN’s “World Heritage Advice Note: Environmental Assessment”. Before taking a decision, all EIAs should be validated by the Scientific Council of the property and submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review.

Although the Tasiast mine exists since 2007, no EIA was ever submitted to the World Heritage Centre. The draft EIA for the water sourcing system linked to the extension of the mine does not assess the potential impacts on the OUV of the property and should be completed to assess these impacts and be submitted to the World Heritage Centre.

It is recommended that the Committee welcome the fact that no oil or mining exploration permits were attributed within the property. Nevertheless, concerns remain about potential impacts if any of the on-going exploration projects lead to exploitation. In particular, oil exploitation in blocks close to the property where exploratory drilling is going forward in 2014 would further increase the risk of oil spills. The emergency MARPOL plan should be updated urgently to ensure that an operational system is in place to address a potential oil spill. In addition, the request to designate the Banc d’Arguin marine region as a PSSA should be submitted to the International Maritime Organisation as soon as possible.

The mission concludes that so far, the OUV of the property has been preserved in part thanks to its isolation. However the region of the park is undergoing rapid changes characterized by numerous planned infrastructure developments, and it will be important not only to assess the individual impacts of each of these projects but also their cumulative impacts. The planned “Territorial Diagnostic” seems an important tool to achieve this.