25 BUR III.52
Report on the activities undertaken by the Secretariat since the twenty-fourth session of the Committee
A meeting of a small Drafting Group to prepare the revision of the Operational Guidelines will be held at UNESCO Headquarters from 8 to 12 October 2001 instead of 10-14 September 2001 as originally arranged.
On an exceptional basis, the Bureau decided to allocate the sum of US$30,000 from the World Heritage Fund in 2001 (Chapter III – International Assistance) for the organisation of the meeting of the Drafting ...
V.122 The Bureau noted that IUCN informed the Centre that a severe shortage of funds is impeding the anti-poaching operations and affecting the management of Kaziranga National Park. It is estimated that more than 200 rhinos have been poached and 60 poachers have been killed in the Park in the last decade. More resources are needed to improve the protection of the Park. However, it has been reported that there have been problems with designated funding provided to the Regional Government actually reaching the Park. Consequently, few of the patrol vehicles are in ...
Sites: Kaziranga National Park
V.150 The Bureau was informed that on 9 May 2001 a fax was received from Parks Canada providing new information on a number of developments since November 2000, which was transmitted to IUCN for review.
V.151 The Delegate of Canada informed the Bureau that staff from Gros Morne continue to work directly with the forestry company and the provincial government to ensure that the ecological integrity and the World Heritage values of the national park are recognized, taken into account and maintained in the context of forest operations. Canada ...
Sites: Gros Morne National Park
V.146 The Bureau noted that IUCN reviewed the information from the Minister of Environment and Water (MOEW) of Bulgaria dated 20 October 2000 and that no further information had been provided by the State Party. IUCN noted that the ski developments of 1985/86 were in compliance with the then existing Nature Protection Act and occupy an area of 48 ha. On 18 ha of this area, however, two ski runs and one chair lift do not function properly and there are consequent problems of overcrowding and traffic congestion on narrow roads. The Territorial Development ...
Sites: Pirin National Park
V.142 IUCN received reports in relation to the Bialowieza Forest, Poland, which state that the Government has abandoned its plans to enlarge the Park due to the lack of funds, and that funding for the existing Park remains at minimal levels. There are also disturbing reports about a doubling of cutting rates in the commercially-managed part of the Forest outside the World Heritage site, and lobbying to cut areas of old growth forest. While this information does not pertain to the part of the Forest designated as the World Heritage site, it can be ...
Sites: Białowieża Forest
V.138 The Bureau noted a progress report received for the development of the Action Plan for Canaima National Park from the Venezuelan authorities in December 2000. The aim of the Action Plan is to promote dialogue between all the stakeholders of the National Park in order to create favourable collaboration for the protection of the Park. To this end, three workshops were held in 2000 for the Pemon Communities living within or near the National Park. The themes discussed included community participation, environmental education, ecotourism and protection of flora ...
Sites: Canaima National Park
V.130 The Bureau was informed that on 16 January 2001, the Ecuadorian oil tanker Jessica ran aground at the entry to the port of Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island. It was carrying 160,000 gallons of diesel oil and 80,000 gallons of bunker fuel. Most of the oil leaked into the sea covering an area of 3,000km2 reaching the shores of the Islands of Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, Floreana and Isabela. Species affected by the oil include sea lions, marine birds, sea turtles and iguanas. Given the quantity of fuel spilled, the immediate impacts could have been far worse, ...
Sites: Galápagos Islands
V.128 The Bureau noted that no information was received from the State Party concerning the proposed IUCN/UNESCO monitoring mission. IUCN informed the Bureau that an IUCN representative would visit Colombia in November 2001 that would be an opportunity to obtain more information to be made available for the Committee meeting in December in Finland.
V.129 The Bureau requested the Centre and IUCN to collaborate with the State Party to schedule the mission to the site. The programme of a field visit should review the state of ...
Sites: Los Katíos National Park
V.126 The Bureau noted that IUCN has been alerted to the planned construction of a road through the centre of Royal Chitwan National Park. A bridge is apparently already under construction at Kasara, over the Rapti River, and is high enough to provide access across the River during the monsoon season. The road is being constructed to provide access to the area south of the Park, especially the Madi Village area. Given the large scale of the bridge, it is expected that the road will also be a substantial one. The road will effectively cut the Park in half and may ...
Sites: Chitwan National Park
V.79 The Bureau examined the report on the state of conservation as presented within WHC-2001/CONF.205/4 concerning the Shalamar Gardens. The Bureau recalled that the property faced threats caused by the lack of a comprehensive management strategy and plan, urban encroachment and ad-hoc public works. The need for enhancing the capacity of site management authorities in conservation techniques, project elaboration, and site presentation was also noted. The Centre informed the Bureau that the reformulated international assistance request had been received ...
V.119 The Bureau noted that the Government of Bangladesh has approved a plan for Shell to explore blocks of the Sundarbans for oil and gas. The block known as ‘Block 5’ contains the Sundarbans Reserved Forest, which includes the World Heritage site. 40% of this Block constitutes the Sundarbans Reserved Forest. The IUCN Office in Bangladesh is maintaining contact with Shell who have advised that they intend to conduct aero-magnetic and seismic surveys in Block-5. Aero-magnetic surveys will involve low flights by specialized aircraft. Activities related ...
Sites: The Sundarbans
V.113 It has been reported to IUCN that a mining company, Centennial Coal, has lodged a development application with an environment impact statement for a major mining lease extension for the Clarence Colliery. The Clarence Colliery is located on Newnes Plateau that adjoins the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area to the east. The report received by IUCN notes three environmental concerns related to this proposal which are likely to directly affect the World Heritage values of the Greater Blue Mountains Area. These are: water pollution, water conservation ...
Sites: Greater Blue Mountains Area
V.2 The Bureau was informed that the Minister of State for the Environment, by letter of 19 June 2001, notified the Centre that the Colon Road had been definitively closed as of 13 June 2001. Nearly 300 cadres belonging to the Brazilian Federal Police took part in the operation, sinking the raft used as transport and scarifying the 17 km road. Replanting of the impacted area with native species is now completed. The local people are not happy about the closure of the road and the Government of Brazil is seeking the co-operation ...
Sites: Iguaçu National Park
V.6 The Bureau noted that the State Party has yet to respond to the recommendations of the twenty-fourth session of the Committee (Cairns, 2000). The Bureau learnt that the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences prepared, with financial support from the Ramsar Small Grants Fund for Wetlands Conservation and Wise Use, a management plan for Srebarna. The Ramsar Bureau has recommended the establishment of an indicator system with several simple, specific and easily measurable parameters to systematically monitor and rapidly detect changes in the ...
Sites: Srebarna Nature Reserve
V.8 The Bureau noted that representatives of the Centre, IUCN, the State Party and the Earth Conservancy, a conservation NGO working closely with the State Party to protect the site, undertook a site visit from 5 to 13 May 2001 to assess the state of conservation and prepare a rehabilitation plan for the site. The Bureau took note of the detailed conclusions and recommendations of the mission report, including description of urgent actions needed for the rehabilitation of the site, outlined in ...
V.259 An ICOMOS expert mission was undertaken to the site in order to assess the impact of a road construction project on the universal values of the site. ICOMOS presented the conclusions of the mission.
V.260 The Bureau notes the conclusion of the ICOMOS expert mission to Weimar, that the proposed bypass road (Variant 1): (i) will bring relief to the centre of the city of Weimar, (ii) will not have a negative impact on the fabric of the Tiefurt Schloss and its grounds and (iii) that mitigation measures will be able to conceal the road and ...
Sites: Classical Weimar
V.261 The Secretariat informed the Bureau that an ICOMOS mission visited the site on 11 and 12 May 2001 to evaluate the damage caused by acts of vandalism that occurred between 12 and 13 April 2001 at Mnajdra, a part of the World Heritage site.
V.262 During his intervention, the ICOMOS Representative indicated that this report comprises several recommendations and in particular:
the need for a more complete management plan for all the Megalithic Temples of Malta
the need to reinforce security measures for the whole site
the need to ...
Sites: Megalithic Temples of Malta
V.268 The Secretariat introduced this item by summarising the report that had been received from the Polish Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration on the Government Strategic Programme Oswiecim, the International Group of Experts and the matter of the buffer zone around the World Heritage site. In this context the Secretariat referred to and projected on the screen the delimitation of the site and its buffer zone as proposed in the nomination that was submitted by Poland in 1978. Furthermore, the Secretariat informed the Bureau that it had received a ...
V.15 This site too has been threatened by coltan miners. Efforts to control poaching and mining have been somewhat more successful in Okapi than in Kahuzi Biega. The armed forces of Uganda assisted the staff to evict several poachers from Okapi in late 2000. The leader of the rebel group in control of this part of the DRC territory had ordered the removal of all miners from the site. Effective action is being taken by the staff and the rebel forces in the area and the threat to this site from miners and poachers has been brought under some degree of ...
Sites: Okapi Wildlife Reserve
V.18 This was the only site under direct control of ICCN-Kinshasa. In Salonga, the Director General of ICCN has developed a number of small projects supporting the conservation of key wildlife species in co-operation with NGO partners like the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) and the Max Plank Institute (MPI) of Germany. IUCN has been informed by ICCN that uncontrolled poaching of elephants and the bonobos, lack of equipment for staff for anti-poaching work, insufficient numbers of guards and inadequate training available for guards are some ...
Sites: Salonga National Park