Decision 40 COM 7B.70

Iguaçu National Park (Brazil) (N 355)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.82, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Welcomes the information provided by the State Party that cooperation on the ground between Iguaçu National Park and the contiguous Iguazú National Park in Argentina has been ongoing;
4. Also welcomes the signature of the letter of intent between Administración de Parques Nacionales de Argentina, ICMBio, the Iguaçu National Park in Brazil and the Iguazú National Park in Argentina, on 7 June 2016, that confirmed the resolve of the parties to strengthen their collaborative efforts and to examine modalities of improving cooperation between the two National Parks;
5. Further welcomes the confirmation that the management plan for the property is currently being revised and requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, an electronic and three printed copies of the revised management plan;
6. Notes with appreciation that the Colono Road remains closed, that the approval in the Senate of Bill 61/2013, which would provide a legal basis for the reopening of the road, is considered unlikely and that, in case any Bill regarding the reopening of the road is positively voted on by the Senate, it can be still vetoed by the President of the Republic;
7. Recalling that the illegal opening of the road in 1997 led the Committee to inscribe the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, notes the conclusions of the 2015 IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission that the reopening of the Colono Road would represent a clear ascertained danger to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and the integrity of the property, and considers that the situation where Bill 61/2013 remains pending continues to represent a potential threat to the property;
8. Urges the State Party to ensure that the proposed Bill 61/2013 is not approved, and also considers that failure to resolve this issue could create conditions to re-inscribe the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Noting that progress has been made by the State Party on the implementation of some of the 2015 mission recommendations, also requests the State Party to ensure that the construction of the Baixo Iguaçu hydropower dam complies with all recommendations of the 2015 mission with regards to this project, in particular:
   1. In addition to the existing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), develop a specific assessment of any potential impacts of the construction and operation of the Baixo Iguaçu hydropower plant specifically on the OUV and integrity of the property,
   2. Ensure that ICMBio has the opportunity to review this assessment and undertake appropriate coordination with the relevant Argentinian authorities, in order to confirm whether ICMBio would still give its authorization for the construction of the dam and/or whether the conditions it has already elaborated should be further amended or completed based on the results of the assessment,
   3. Ensure that further development of the project does not proceed prior to a copy of the specific assessment and the conclusions of ICMBio having been submitted to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN,
   4. In case authorization is given by ICMBio, ensure that the conditions it sets are duly fulfilled before the construction of the dam proceeds, and submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, the conclusions of ICMBio on the degree to which the conditions have been fulfilled;
10. Calls upon and encourages the State Party to continue its efforts in the field of key species monitoring and to increase its cooperation in this regard with the State Party of Argentina;
11. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018.