Banc d'Arguin National Park
Factors affecting the property in 1997*
- Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation
- Management systems/ management plan
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
International Assistance: requests for the property until 1997
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 1997**
Information presented to the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee in 1997
The site manager has informed the Centre of ways and means of addressing questions of effective management and different projects carried out and provided the Centre with a copy of a plan, covering the period 1994-2003, and prepared with the assistance from the International Foundation for Banc d’Arguin (FIBA) and WWF. FIBA has informed the Centre, by a letter of 20 March 1997, that a Rally, “Trophée des Gazelles - Rallye des Sables” had traversed the area of the Park. FIBA expressed its concerns over the fact that such a Rally is incompatible with the fragility of the ecosystem and may have caused damage.
Action Required
The Bureau requests the State Party to inform the Committee on details of the Rally referred to by FIBA and its impacts on the integrity of the Park, and measures that have been taken or currently being implemented to mitigate threats to the integrity of the site. In addition, the Bureau recommends that the State Party inform the Committee of plans for entertaining any similar rallies in the future so that their potential impacts on the integrity of the site could be assessed in advance.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 1997
21 BUR IV.B.26
Banc d’Arguin National Park (Mauritania)
The Bureau was informed that the Centre's attention had been drawn by the International Foundation for Banc d’Arguin (FIBA) and WWF, to a Rally, “Trophée des Gazelles - Rallye des Sables”, that had traversed the area of the Park and to potential impacts which the Rally could have had on the fragile ecosystem within the Park. However, the Bureau noted that subsequently the Rally Organizers and FIBA have informed the Centre that the Rally did not traverse the World Heritage site and that there were no threats to the integrity of the site.
Mauritania
* :
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.
