Decision 45 COM 7B.28

Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape (Chad) (C/N 1475)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 40 COM 8B.15, 42 COM 7B.64, and 44 COM 7B.71 adopted at its 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016), 42nd (Manama, 2018) and extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively,
3. Expresses concern that once again the State Party has provided little information on the state of conservation of the property or on the actions taken to implement the requests of the Committee at the time of inscription and in subsequent decisions;
4. Welcomes the actions of the State Party and its partner, the African Parks Network (APN), to strengthen the protection and management of the property, especially the efforts to put in place basic surveillance and resourcing for the property, undertaking field visits and ecological monitoring, implementing studies, and working with local communities who live in and around the property;
5. Also welcomes the initiation of archaeological and environmental anthropology studies on the property and requests the State Party to submit the initiated studies and others to the World Heritage Centre;
6. Notes with further concern however that several of its previous requests and recommendations, including those made at the time of inscription of the property, are yet to be addressed, and therefore urges the State Party to:
   1. Strengthen the legal protection status of the property with a regime of protection adequate to the values of the property and meeting the protection requirements of the Convention,
   2. Finalize a revised Management Plan to provide continuity of management and conservation for the whole property, which meets international standards and includes an operational implementation calendar for all steps needed to achieve this goal and, which clarifies how the responsibilities of the new management system will be integrated with the established traditional management systems. The Management Plan should clearly:
      1. Detail the measures foreseen to address the main potential threats and spell out management operations to conserve World Heritage values,
      2. Include zonation which supports strict protection of the key areas for biodiversity,
      3. Specify the institutional, staffing and budget regime to ensure effective management of the property,
      4. Guarantee the full participation of local communities and of their traditional authorities in the management of the property,
   3. Establish a detailed botanical inventory of the site, to identify all important refugia and areas for relict flora to further document the attributes of the property supporting criterion (ix),
   4. Develop cartographic documentation and mapping of the sites so far inventoried in order to have a baseline for protection, conservation and management purposes,
   5. Provide to the World Heritage Centre a detailed report on the extent of the damage and measures taken to rehabilitate the rock art sites affected by recent past vandalism;
7. Requests the State Party to submit the revised Management Plan and relevant updated legislation to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
8. Reiterates its recommendation to the State Party to extend the northern boundaries of the property to include all attributes bearing the OUV, including the rock art sites, and urges again the State Party to consult with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies before finalizing the proposal for the boundaries of the Natural and Cultural Reserve of Ennedi so as to guarantee that all important areas are included and that an appropriate buffer zone is foreseen, and to submit a request for boundary modification for examination by the World Heritage Committee;
9. Also requests the State Party to present more details on the status of biodiversity, including flagship species such as the relic crocodile population, as well as on the planned species reintroductions;
10. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2024, 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 46th session.