The World Heritage Committee,
1. Notes that the property’s conditions have improved substantially since it was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1996 and that the State Party is showing firm commitments to the conservation of the property;
2. Commends the State Party, non-governmental organizations, municipalities and communities in the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, and international organizations for their support to implement the recommendations since the 2000 mission;
3. Also commends the Government of Germany for having provided significant long term financial and technical assistance to the State Party, helping to strengthen management capacity for the property, and encourages the Government of Germany and others to help the State Party develop sustainable solutions for meeting the property’s continuing financial and other management requirements;
4. Urges the State Party, in view of possible removal of the property from the List of World Heritage In Danger, to meet the following benchmarks identified by the 2003 IUCN/World Heritage Centre mission and to collaborate with IUCN/World Heritage Centre in efforts to monitor their achievement:
a) complete the compensation and relocation of the seven families and 32 land owners remaining in the core zone,
b) cancel all Honduras Forestry Development Commission (COHDEFOR) resolutions related to dead wood harvesting in the Olancho, Colón and Atlándida departments,
c) prevent unauthorized activities in the buffer zone, including: agricultural expansion, illegal logging and poaching, specifically by putting into operation permanent and temporary checkpoints located at critical access points,
d) develop inter-institutional work plans that provide clear definitions of the roles and responsibilities of the various public and private entities involved in the Reserve’s management,
e) disseminate the environmental management plans related to the Ministry of Agriculture’s development strategy within the Valle de Sico’Paulaya zone;
5. Recommends that the State Party implements the remaining recommendations included in the 2003 IUCN/UNESCO mission report;
6. Requests the World Heritage Centre and IUCN in co-operation with the State Party to undertake a mission to the property in early 2005 to confirm progress in reaching the benchmarks established for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger and submit recommendations for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 29th session in 2005;
7. Decides to retain the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve on the List of World Heritage in Danger.