Decision 42 COM 7A.54

Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves (Niger) (N 573)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7A.15, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
3. Welcomes the State Party’s continued efforts to implement the corrective measures, in particular the recruitment of additional staff for the property and the continued engagement of local communities to enhance surveillance of the property, and requests the State Party to continue and further strengthen these efforts;
4. Noting that the development of a Surveillance Plan and a Management Plan remain urgent needs, also welcomes the State Party’s initiative to submit an International Assistance Request (IAR) with the aim of addressing these needs, and encourages the State Party to submit a revised IAR in line with the comments provided by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN;
5. Notes with significant concern that support for the captive breeding programme of Red-necked Ostrich in the property remains inadequate, and reiterates its request to the State Party to secure the necessary funding for the effective operation of the captive breeding programme through close collaboration with other States Parties to develop and implement a regional action plan for the conservation of this species, and strongly encourages the State Party to seek expert advice of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Conservation Planning Specialist Group to evaluate and improve the efficiency of the programme and to develop a strategy for a potential reintroduction of the species;
6. Also notes with significant concern the reported presence of uranium, oil, and gold exploration and exploitation permits in the close vicinity of the property, as well as the continuation of illegal gold panning, and also requests the State Party to provide maps clearly showing the location of these permits in relation to the property, and to ensure that all exploration and exploitation activities are subject to a prior rigorous Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, to ensure that these activities do not have a negative impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and submit these EIA to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, prior to authorizing these activities, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
7. Also reiterates its request to the State Party to provide detailed information and data on poaching and timber harvesting within the property and its vicinity, as well as the actions taken to combat these threats;
8. Also noting the State Party’s ongoing efforts to monitor key species in the property, and to restore degraded areas, including those affected by the invasive alien species (IAS) Prosopis juliflora, further requests the State Party to clarify whether any new information regarding the presence of Cheetah has emerged since the 2015 mission to the property, which considered this species to be locally extinct, and further reiterates its request to the State Party to:
   1. Submit to the World Heritage Centre the monitoring results for each species in order to demonstrate their conservation status and trends,
   2. Design and implement, in consultation with IUCN’s Species Survival Commission Invasive Species Specialist Group, an eradication plan or IAS Management Plan for Prosopis juliflora, as appropriate;
9. Also encourages the State Party to seek advice from the World Heritage Centre and IUCN with a view to preparing the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR);
10. Requests furthermore 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;
11. Decides to retain Air and Ténéré Natural Reserves (Niger) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.