Decision 38 COM 7B.59

Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda (Gabon) (C/N 1147rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.33, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Commends the State Party for its efforts to monitor the property and perform regular patrols in spite of limited human resources, and urges the State Party to take measures to significantly increase the number of surveillance staff for the property, including staff trained in cultural heritage;
4. Expresses its concern that the proposed upgrading of the Alembé-Mikouyi Road could impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in particular on its archaeological sites, and could also exacerbate the threat of poaching;
5. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, as soon as possible, full details of the various possible alignments of the road in relation to the specific cultural attributes of the property; as well as the revised environmental, social and heritage impact studies taking into account the impact on the overall cultural landscape of the River Ogooué Valley and not just on individual sites, for examination by the Advisory Bodies, before any decision is taken on the approved route;
6. Takes note of the Environmental Impact Assessment which was submitted for the optical fibre project and requests the State Party to implement the proposed mitigation measures to avoid impacts during the construction phase on wildlife populations and on archaeology;
7. Welcomes the efforts of the State Party to develop management capacity for the cultural attributes of the property, and recommends that it further strengthens management structure, to ensure that it can engage fully with the impact assessments of the road project and with specific potential threats to the archaeological sites in the property;
8. Also takes note of the 2007 Law on National Parks and also requests the State Party to submit a copy to the World Heritage Centre, and to ensure its enforcement in order to enhance the effective long-term conservation and management of the property;
9. Further requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN reactive monitoring mission to the property to evaluate its overall state of conservation and capacity to manage cultural attributes, and also to assess the Alembe-Mikouyi Road Development Project and its potential impact on the OUV of the property as well as concerns over poaching;
10. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015 a detailed report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above-mentioned points for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.