Decision 38 COM 7B.87

Sangha Trinational (Cameroun/Central African Republic/Congo) (N 1380rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 36 COM 8B.8 and 37 COM 7B.2 adopted respectively at its 36th (Saint Petersburg, 2012) and 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013) sessions,
3. Commends the States Parties of the Congo, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Cameroon for having taken measures to ensure security in the area of the property and to ensure the protection of the property and its adjacent areas and avoid the degradation of its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
4. Notes with satisfaction the adoption by the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) of a short and long-term plan and of an Extreme Emergency Anti-Poaching action plan at the regional and international levels, as well as the signing of a tripartite transboundary anti-poaching cooperation agreement between the CAR, Cameroon and Chad;
5. Requests the States Parties to accelerate the implementation of these mechanisms and launches an appeal to donors to assist in the mobilization of the necessary technical and financial support;
6. Also requests the States Parties to continue their actions for the security of the property and to allocate the necessary technical and financial means to sustain them over the long-term;
7. Expresses its grave concern with regard to the granting by the States Parties of the Congo and the CAR, of mining exploration and exploitation concessions encroaching upon the property and its buffer zone despite the legislation in force, and urges them to review the boundaries of these mining permits to eliminate any encroachment upon the property, in accordance with the position of the Committee that mining is incompatible with World Heritage status;
8. Further requests the States Parties of the Congo and the CAR to submit to the World Heritage Centre environmental impact studies (EIS) demonstrating that the mining activities outside the property do not impact on its OUV, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines and in conformity with IUCN’s advice note on Environmental Assessments for World Heritage;
9. Notes with concern the multiplication of infrastructure development projects within and around the property that could impact its OUV, in particular the Ouesso-Bangui road project and the project to distribute optical fibre around Ouesso, and moreover requests the States Parties of Congo and the CAR to carry out detailed Environmental Impact Studies (EIS) to identify potential impacts on the OUV in conformity with the IUCN advice note on Environmental Assessments for World Heritage and to submit them to the World Heritage Committee  before the continuation of these projects;
10. Requests furthermore the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, an updated report including a one-page executive summary on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above points for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.