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Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve

Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea
Factors affecting the property in 2004*
  • Civil unrest
  • Commercial hunting
  • Identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community
  • Illegal activities
  • Mining
  • Subsistence hunting
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

Agriculture Pressure; Logging; Mining; Oil Gas and Exploration; Poaching/Hunting; Lack of capacity in conservation techniques; Lack of management mechanism (including legislation); Lack of monitoring system; Lack of human or financial resources; Lack of institution coordination; Armed conflict; Civil unrest.

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2004
Requests approved: 18 (from 1981-2002)
Total amount approved : 435,222 USD
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2004

On the Guinean part of the property, the 9-year UNDP Global Environment Facility-supported programme: “Conservation of the biodiversity of the Nimba Mountains through integrated and participatory management" will be launched in 2004. This project will support and strengthen conservation efforts in the full Nimba Mountains Biosphere Reserve, including the Nimba Mountains World Heritage property. In support of the programme, an initiative to understand hunting patterns, and its dynamics and impacts on the World Heritage property was approved for funding by the Netherlands Committee for IUCN. Managed by two non-governmental organizations, Sylvatrop and Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and in close collaboration with Guinean governmental authorities, the project will allow local villages and hunters to recognize the problem of over-hunting where it exists and to develop appropriate solutions to manage wildlife in a sustainable way. In addition, primate research and environmental awareness campaigns continue, based out of the Environmental Research Institute of Bossou, with support from the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute, the University of Stirling and the US Fish & Wildlife Service. As part of this project, efforts to establish a forested corridor between the World Heritage property and the Bossou Hills, to permit movements of chimpanzees between the two sites, continue. As part of a new project to provide emergency assistance to natural World Heritage properties in need, which was approved by the UN Foundation in 2003 and which will be implemented through the Centre and FFI, some funding is also earmarked for the property.

 

With regard to the refugee issue, a report commissioned by FFI, published in July 2003, entitled "Assessment of Refugee Activities Impact on the Mount Nimba Biosphere Reserve", mentions that the Mount Nimba range played host to a large number of refugees and that the refugee populations significantly increased local community populations within the buffer and transition zones of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve. However, as a result of a swift relocation of refugees in camps set up away from the property, the negative impacts to Mount Nimba property have been minimized.

 

The Centre and IUCN were informed that, in late 2003, the EuroNimba consortium repossessed the main mining exploration station in the mining enclave within the World Heritage property in anticipation of restarting exploration studies, including collection of environmental baseline information.

 

In spite of the cessation of hostilities, security remains tenuous in the part of the property located in Côte d’Ivoire. The European Union is taking steps to restart its 'Programme transitoire', channelling support through Conservation International (CI) to the appropriate authorities in the Directorate of Nature Protection (DNP) in Côte d’Ivoire.

 

Due to insecurity, no further progress has been made on transboundary collaboration since the tri-national meeting between Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia in N'Zérékoré in February 2002.  However, on 20 April, the Centre received a request for international assistance from the Government of Liberia, to assist them with the preparation of a tentative list. 

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2004
28 COM 15A.5
Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire/Guinea)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Recommends to the States Parties of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia that they follow up on the decisions and recommendations of the tri-national meeting held in N’Zérékoré (12-15 February 2002) to increase transboundary
co-operation and inform the World Heritage Centre on progress achieved; 

2. Requests the State Party of Guinea to provide more detailed information on the expected restarting of the exploration studies in the mining enclave for which the concession rights were acquired by the Euronimba consortium, including relevant information on the potential impacts to the integrity of the property;

3. Requests the State Party of Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea to submit by 1 February 2005 a report on the impact of hostilities on the conservation status of the property for examination by the Committee at its 29th session in 2005;

4. Invites the State Party of Liberia to assess the feasibility of having the States Parties of Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea extend the property boundary to their border with Liberia as part of its work to prepare a tentative list of properties for nomination on the World Heritage List;

5. Decides to retain the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

28 COM 15C.2
List of World Heritage in Danger

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Following examination of state of conservation reports of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger (WHC-04/28.COM/15A Rev),

2. Decides to maintain the following properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger:

  • Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam, Afghanistan (Decision 28 COM 15A.21)
  • Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan (Decision 28 COM 15A.22)
  • Butrint, Albania (Decision 28 COM 15A.28)
  • Tipasa, Algeria (Decision 28 COM 15A.16)
  • Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, Azerbaijan (Decision 28 COM 15A.29)
  • Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin (Decision 28 COM 15A.14)
  • Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park, Central African Republic (Decision 28 COM 15A.1)
  • Comoé National Park, Côte d'Ivoire (Decision 28 COM 15A.2 )
  • Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, Côte d'Ivoire/Guinea (Decision 28 COM 15A.5)
  • Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Virunga National Park, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Garamba National Park, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Salonga National Park, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Sangay National Park, Ecuador (Decision 28 COM 15A.12)
  • Abu Mena, Egypt (Decision 28 COM 15A.17)
  • Simien National Park, Ethiopia
  • (Decision 28 COM 15A.4)
  • Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras (Decision 28 COM 15A.13)
  • Group of Monuments at Hampi, India (Decision 28 COM 15A.24)
  • Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, India (Decision 28 COM 15A.10)
  • Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat), Iraq (Decision 28 COM 15A.18)
  • Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, Jerusalem (Decision 28 COM 15A.31)
  • Timbuktu, Mali (Decision 28 COM 15A. 15)
  • Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (Decision 28 COM 15A.25)
  • Air and Ténéré Natural Reserves, Niger (Decision 28 COM 15A.6)
  • Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan (Decision 28 COM 15A.26)
  • Chan Chan Archaelogical Zone, Peru (Decision 28 COM 15A.30)
  • Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Philippines (Decision 28 COM 15A.27)
  • Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, Senegal (Decision 28 COM 15A.7 )
  • Ichkeul National Park, Tunisia (Decision 28 COM 15A.9)
  • Everglades National Park, United States of America (Decision 28 COM 15A.11)
  • Historic Town of Zabid, Yemen (Decision 28 COM 15A.20)

Draft Decision28 COM 15A.5

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Recommends the States Parties of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia to follow up on the decisions and recommendations of the tri-national meeting held in N’Zérékoré to increase transboundary co-operation and inform the Centre on progress achieved;

 

2.  Requests the State Party of Guinea to provide more detailed information on the expected restarting of the exploration studies in the mining enclave for which the concession rights were acquired by the Euronimba consortium, including relevant information on the potential impacts to integrity of the property;

 

3.  Requests the State Party of Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea to submit by 1 February 2005 a report on the impact of hostilities on the conservation status of the property for examination by the Committee at its 29th session in 2005;

 

4.  Invites the State Party of Liberia to assess the feasibility of extending the property to Liberia as part of its work to prepare a tentative list of properties for nomination as World Heritage;

 

5.  Decides to retain the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Report year: 2004
Côte d'Ivoire Guinea
Date of Inscription: 1981
Category: Natural
Criteria: (ix)(x)
Danger List (dates): 1992-present
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 28COM (2004)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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