The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7A.Add,
- Recalling Decision 41 COM 7A.4, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
- Notes with utmost concern the results of the census that reveal that the decimation of large wildlife continues endlessly and has already resulted in the disappearance of the elephant and that the progressive degradation of wildlife has, for several years, compromised the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
- Expresses its concern as regards the persistent threats from poaching by armed groups, transboundary transhumance, artisanal mining exploitation and insecurity and congratulates the States Parties of the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Chad for the signature of the transboundary Tripartite Anti-Poaching Agreement and the development of a regional strategy to combat transhumance and poaching and requests these States Parties to secure the technical and financial means to urgently implement this strategy;
- Warmly welcomes the continued efforts of the State Party, with support from the ECOFAUNE+ (Wildlife Ecosystem of north-eastern CAR) and PCBAC-SEAC (Central Africa Biodiversity Conservation Programme – Protecting Central Africa’s Elephants) projects and technical partners, including the Wildlife Conservation Society, to improve the management and protection of the property and its surroundings and launches an appeal to donors to support the ecological restoration process of the property, to avoid the probable and imminent loss of its OUV;
- Regrets that the State Party did not inform the World Heritage Centre in advance of the rehabilitation of the National Road 8, recalls that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the project must take into account the “IUCN Advisory Note on World Heritage: Environmental Evaluation” to assess eventual impacts on the OUV of the property and also recalls the importance of avoiding acceptance of any new project that could aggravate the existing threats and could compromise the progress achieved in the management of the project;
- Takes note of the invitation of the State Party for a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission, for autumn 2018, security situation permitting, to evaluate the state of conservation of the property and determine whether there remain perspectives for the regeneration of the characteristics of the property justifying its OUV;
- Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2019, 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 43rd session in 2019;
- Decides to continue to apply the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism to this property;
- Also decides to retain Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park (Central African Republic) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.