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28COM 15B.18 - Tubbataha Reef Marine Park (Philippines)

Decision Text

The World Heritage Committee,
1. Commends the State Party for providing information on the current status on
actions taken to mitigate illegal fishing and for launching studies that may enable
comparative analysis of current ecological conditions with those at the time of
inscription of the property on the World Heritage List; and congratulates the
State Party for the comprehensive state of conservation report received 15 June
2004 as well as for the conservation actions taken to date to conserve the
property;
2. Notes that the major threats facing the Tubbataha Reef are related to:
a) the lack of sufficient resources for the management of the property,
b) national and international illegal fishing activities, which in turn have strong
connection with poverty as well as to insufficient law enforcement, and
c) lack of awareness. Future threats for the site include shipping, oil exploration
and potential growth of tourism;
3. Urges the State Party to take necessary measures to secure the conservation of
Tubbataha Reef. These measures should include:
a) strengthening the financial sustainability of the site management through a
range of actions, including establishment of an endowment fund,
b) institutionalizing the park management through better application of
legislation relevant to protected areas,
c) ensuring proper enforcement of illegal fishing cases by strengthening the
functioning of the judicial system, and
d) other related measures identified in the state of conservation report submitted
by the State Party ;
4. Urges also the international community to provide technical and financial
support for conservation of the property ;
5. Encourages the State Party to consider extending the property to include
adjoining Jezzie Beezly and Bastera Reefs in order to increase the integrity of
the property ;
6. Recommends that the State Party host a sub-regional or regional forum, in
consultation with IUCN, the World Heritage Centre and other relevant partners,
to address the issue of illegal fisheries in East Asian seas, including the Sulu Sea,
and reports on the result to the 29th session of the Committee in 2005, and
encourages the State Party to request international assistance to implement this
forum ;
7. Requests the State Party to submit a status report on progress achieved with
follow-up action of all those conservation measures that were identified in the
report submitted by the State Party by 1 February 2006 for review at the 30th
session of the Committee in 2006.

Documents

• Original Decision Document