Decision 39 COM 7B.31

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (Mexico) (N 1290)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 35 COM 7B.32, adopted at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011),
3. Expresses its utmost concern about the reported decline in the overwintering population of Monarch butterfly in the property, notwithstanding the increase recorded in 2014-2015;
4. Commends the States Parties of Mexico, Canada and the United States of America for their considerable efforts to address the decline of the Monarch butterfly population, including through the establishment of the Trilateral High Level Working Group;
5. Notes with appreciation the continued progress reported by the State Party in controlling illegal logging within the property, and requests the State Party to provide an update on progress achieved in the implementation of the recommendations of the 2011 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission;
6. Also requests the State Party to submit the trilateral action plan, once completed, to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, and to report on the outcomes of the trilateral meeting held in April 2015 and the upcoming North American Leaders’ Summit in late 2015;
7. Further requests the State Party of Mexico, in consultation with the States Parties of Canada and the United States of America, to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2016, a progress report, and by 1 December 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017.