The Bureau was informed of a meeting between a representative of CEGEN (Centre for Environmental Management of Mount Nimba) and Centre staff during the Representative's visit to the Centre from 17 to 21 April 2000. The Bureau noted with satisfaction several initiatives currently underway to revive international co-operation for the protection of Mt. Nimba. The feasibility study phase of a GEF project has already commenced and is expected to be followed by a medium-sized (US$ 300,000 or more) GEF grant. There are negotiations between GEF and other potential donors for mobilising additional resources for the long-term conservation of Mt. Nimba. The Centre has had discussions with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on possible collaboration to develop a project concept to address impacts and pressures caused by refugees resident in and around this site that straddles the border between Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire. The Representative of the CEGEN informed the Centre that under the framework of the GEF project a sub-regional meeting of Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, as well as Liberia which also has parts of the Mt. Nimba ecosystem, and all concerned stakeholders is likely to be convened in the near future and that CEGEN will invite participation of the Centre and IUCN at that meeting. The meeting will provide an opportunity for implementing the recommendation of the Committee, made at its twenty-second (Kyoto, 1998) and twenty-third (Marrakesh, 1999) sessions, that IUCN's West Africa Office undertake a mission to the site and prepare a detailed state of conservation report. Furthermore, the Bureau noted that the Centre has established contacts with Birdlife International and Fauna and Flora International (FFI) which is developing initiatives for conservation of the Mt. Nimba ecosystem in Côte d‘Ivoire and encouraged the Centre to effectively use these opportunities to develop a harmonised transborder approach to the conservation of the Mt. Nimba ecosystem.
The Bureau noted with satisfaction that new opportunities for strengthening conservation of this transborder World Heritage area are emerging under the GEF project. The Bureau requested the Centre to co-operate with CEGEN and GEF as well as the relevant authorities in Guinea and Côte d‘Ivoire in order to expedite the fielding of an IUCN mission to the site and the preparation of a detailed state of conservation report. In addition, the Bureau recommended that IUCN and the Centre co-operate with the States Parties and possible donors to re-explore possibilities for establishing a long-term financial mechanism, such as the setting up of a Foundation for Mt. Nimba, as suggested by the past sessions of the Bureau and the Committee, for the conservation of Mt. Nimba. The Bureau recommended that the Committee retain this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger.