Decision 40 COM 7A.44

Rainforests of the Atsinanana (Madagascar) (N 1257)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7A.11, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Commends the State Party for the evident political will to halt the illicit trafficing of precious wood with the Act N°2015-056 creating a special tribunal to injudicate the traffickers and reinforce the penalties;
4. Welcomes the progress achieved by the State Party towards attaining the indicators of the Desired state of conservation for removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), but considers that all the indicators have not yet been achieved;
5. Also welcomes the efforts made by the State Party to ensure the involvement of the local communities in the conservation activities of the property, as demonstrated by the surveillance of the property by the Local Park Committees;
6. Notes with concern that even although the volume appears to be diminished, the exploitation of rosewood in the property continues and that the quantity of illegally exploited rosewood still remains to be clarified, and urges the State Party to fully implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) action plan;
7. Requests the State Party to prepare and implement a plan to acquire sufficient resources to ensure the long-term implementation of the strategy to seize the illegal stocks of precious wood;
8. Also requests the State Party to clarify the nature and destination of the products to be delivered by the proposed treatment factory to evaluate the impact on the future demand of precious wood and consequently the potential impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
9. Also notes with concern the artisanal and illegal mining, notably in the Zahamena and Ranomafana National Parks, as well as poaching of lemurs in several components of the property, including the Marojejy, Zahamena and Andringitra National Parks, also constituting serious threats to the OUV and the integrity of the property;
10. Further requests the State Party to implement all the other recommendations of the 2015 mission;
11. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and on the implementation of the corrective measures, as well as the above points, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017;
12. Decides to retain Rainforests of the Atsinanana (Madagascar) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.