The Bureau recalled that the Committee at its twentieth (Merida, 1996) and twenty-first (Naples, 1997) sessions approved a mission to this site to: evaluate the state of conservation of the site; determine the significance of prevailing threats to the site; compare data and information on the Reserve before and after its inclusion in the List of the World Heritage in Danger (1992); prepare a long-term action plan for the protection of the site with the assistance of the IUCN field project staff; and prepare a detailed report for the twenty-second session of the Committee. Although a contract, for an amount of US$ 22,000, was established with the Ministry for Hydraulics and the Environment for the organisation of this mission during February-March 1998, the mission had to be postponed due to the lack of security clearance from the UN Resident Co-ordinator's Office in Niamey. The Bureau however learnt that the UN Resident Co-ordinator has finally granted the security clearance needed in mid-June 1998 and that the proposed mission could now proceed without any further delays.
The Bureau recommended that the Centre and IUCN co-operate to field a mission to the site and prepare a detailed state of conservation report and a long term action plan for the site, including recommendations. These recommendations should address whether or not the Committee should retain the site in the List of World Heritage in Danger, for the consideration of the twenty-second session of the Committee.