The Bureau recalled that the Honduran authorities had requested the Committee, at its last session, to include this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee had suggested at that time that the Honduran authorities submit a request for international assistance from the World Heritage Fund. The Bureau noted that such a request had not yet been received and urged the Secretariat and IUCN to work through national MAB and IUCN networks in order to bring forward a request for the consideration of the Committee at its forthcoming session.
The Bureau noted with concern that the integrity of this site continues to be threatened by the invasion of a resistance movement which has burnt buildings, destroyed bridges, killed a number of park guards, looted most Park facilities, poached numerous rhinos, elephants, tigers and other wildlife, removed valuable trees and depleted fish stocks in the Manas River. The Bureau recalled that the Indian authorities were requested by the Committee, in 1989 and in 1990, to nominate this site to the List of World Heritage in Danger. Although the Bureau acknowledged that the survey of the ...
Sites: Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
Since this site was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1988, IUCN, in co-operation with the Direction des Parcs Nationaux du Senegal (DPN) and the Netherlands Research Institute of Nature Management, has prepared an up-date of actions on the management plan with special emphasis on the interactions between the Park and the surrounding communities. IUCN's Regional Office in Dakar, Senegal, organized a Wetland Management Training Course, from 4-15 March 1991, for twelve students from Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Senegal, as part of IUCN's Wetland Programme activities, ...
The Bureau noted that its recommended study of the ecological and socio-economic impacts of the traces of the two roads -across or around the Park - had been successfully carried out by an independent team which had reached the following conclusions: though both roads would adversely affect the integrity of the Park, the road across it would be less damaging in the long term, provided that a number of accompanying measures (specified in detail) were taken before, during and after the work. The Bureau expressed its concern regarding the potential consequences on the integrity of the site ...
Sites: Niokolo-Koba National Park
The Bureau recalled that the integrity of this site was threatened by intensive poaching of its elephant and rhino populations during the 1980s. The Bureau was concerned by a proposed plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to open a route through this reserve to drive cattle from the north to the south of Tanzania. Livestock from northern Tanzania carry several bacterial and viral diseases which are easily transmitted to wildlife. The Bureau noted that IUCN's specialist veterinary group have outlined a number of conservation risks of opening the proposed route, and ...
Sites: Selous Game Reserve
The Bureau was informed that this site was threatened by a proposed hydropower project which would affect water quality in the Tara River and flood a portion of the Tara Canyon, which is one of this site's World Heritage values. The Bureau was also concerned that the Government of Montenegro, who have authority over the Park, is constructing a large asphalt plant upstream beside the Tara River which is already causing some water pollution. The Bureau requested the Secretariat to contact the Yugoslav authorities in order to clarify the current status of plans for the development of the ...
Sites: Durmitor National Park
The Bureau was concerned that this Park has been abandoned by the staff due to the civil unrest in the region and that destruction of forests and park facilities, hunting of bears and dynamite fishing were occurring due to lack of any supervision of the Park. The Bureau requested the Secretariat to convey its concern to the Yugoslav authorities and urge them to seek a speedy solution to the problem. The Bureau also suggested that if the situation in the region improved in the immediate future, then the Yugoslavian authorities be requested to invite a joint IUCN/UNESCO mission to assess ...
Sites: Plitvice Lakes National Park
The Bureau was pleased to note that two more rhino calves were born in this site and the rhino population has now risen to 28, almost double that of 1985 when the site was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Bureau was satisfied that the budget for this site has increased by 400% and that as suggested by the Committee at its last session, the Zairois authorities have requested that this site be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Bureau recommended that the Committee recognize that the small rhino population is still vulnerable and therefore continue ...
Sites: Garamba National Park
Since the last session of the Committee, IUCN has conducted an impact study and recommended that the proposed new road not go through the park but be re-routed around the northern boundaries of the park. The Bureau noted that the study is now being reviewed by the donor financing the road-construction project (KFW and the GTZ of Germany) and that the project also has several implications for the ecology of the region. The Bureau requested IUCN and the Secretariat to follow the progress and submit a report at the next session of the Committee.
Sites: Kahuzi-Biega National Park
After having taken cognizance of document SC.91/CONF.001/5, the Bureau approved request for international assistance in the amount of US$ 30,000 submitted by Cuba for the purchase of 183 cubic metres of timber for the restoration of the structural frames and panelling of a group of XVIIIthe and XIXth century houses situated in the historic centre of Trinidad.
The Bureau wished the architects of the Regional Office for Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Havana and already involved in the international campaign for the preservation of the Plaza Vieja in that city, to ...
10. The Committee adopted the agenda as it had been set out in Document SC-91/CONF.002/1.
11. Mr. Azedine Beschaouch (Tunisia) was elected Chairman of the Committee by acclamation. Mr. Diaz Barrio (Mexico) was elected as the Rapporteur, and the following members of the Committee were elected as Vice-Chairpersons: Brazil, France, Senegal, Thailand and the United States of America.
15 COM VII
Monitoring of the State of Conservation of the World Heritage Cultural Properties: Situation in Iraq and Future
31. Two other observers drew the attention of the Committee to the situation of the cultural heritage in Iraq. One of them requested UNESCO to send a mission to Iraq in order to evaluate the restoration work required on the sites damaged by war. The Secretariat informed the Committee that the Director-General of UNESCO was ready to send an intersectoral mission to Iraq as soon as he receives the agreement of the United Nations Security Council.
32. The Secretariat announced that following a Resolution of the General Conference, a report would be prepared concerning the possibilities for ...
27. Special attention was given by the Committee to the dangers threatening the World Heritage sites during armed conflict. The Secretariat informed the Committee of the situation of the historical City of Dubrovnik. It also announced the decision of the Director-General to launch an international campaign for the restoration of Dubrovnik.
28. Aware of the fact that it represents 123 States, including Yugoslavia, which are signatories of the Convention, the Committee expressed deep concern about the armed conflict, devastating a region that comprises several sites inscribed on the World ...
Sites: Old City of Dubrovnik
15 COM VII
Monitoring of the State of Conservation of the World Heritage Cultural and Related Technical Problems
18. The monitoring report presented by the Secretariat dealt with the following sites: Xanthos-Letoon (Turkey), the City of Valletta (Malta), Shibam (Yemen), National Historical Park - Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers (Haiti), Kathmandu Valley (Nepal), Moenjodaro (Pakistan), and the Madara Rider (Bulgaria). Monitoring visits had been made to seventeen sites by an expert who was in charge of coordinating action for the preservation of 115 Mediterranean sites within the framework of the UNEP - Barcelona Convention. These visits had yielded a wealth of information and documentation which ...
Sangay National Park (Ecuador)
The Committee was satisfied to note that the Secretariat, based upon the information provided by IUCN, had sought clarification on the construction of an eight-kilometre highway through this Park. The Committee was pleased to note that the Sub-Secretariat of Forestry and Natural Resources in Ecuador had been able to halt the construction of this road until environmental impact studies are completed. The Committee complimented the Ecuadorean authorities for taking timely action and requested the Secretariat to remind them of the. possibilities for obtaining ...
Sites: Sangay National Park
Mt.Nimba Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire/Guinea)
The Committee recalled that the Bureau at its last session requested the Guinean authorities to submit a new file stating the boundaries of the property receiving adequate protection, and the long-term guarantees for that protection. The Committee was glad to note that such a file had been submitted by the Guinean authorities and that IUCN had undertaken a field mission to evaluate the information provided in that file.
The Committee noted that the proposed iron-ore mining site was within the boundaries of the Mt.Nimba Nature Reserve ...
Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras)
The Committee noted that there had been a recent change in the national agency responsible for the management of this site. The Vice-President of Honduras requested the Committee at its last session to include this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee was informed that the new management authority would submit to the Secretariat a request for international assistance in order to enable the Committee to consider including this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (India)
The Committee recalled that this site had been threatened by the invasion of the Sanctuary by the people of the Bodo tribe in 1989. The Committee was concerned that there had been no response from Indian authorities to its recommendation, made in 1989 and 1990, to nominate this site to the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee noted that a survey undertaken by WWF of the surrounding villages might lead to a more co-operative approach to management in the future and a programme for implementing corrective measures has been suggested by members of ...
Sites: Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
Royal Chitwan National Park (Nepal)
The Committee was pleased to note that the Irrigation Department and the Nepal Planning Commission have formally dropped their plans for a US$30 million irrigation project to divert the Rapti River which would have seriously threatened the integrity of this Park. A study undertaken by the Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank, following the intervention of the Committee, showed the project was environmentally unacceptable and its economic benefits to be doubtful. The Committee commended the Nepalese authorities for taking decisive action ...
Sites: Chitwan National Park