Salonga National Park

• Armed conflict, lack of security and political instability
• Poaching by the army and armed groups
• Conflicts with local communities concerning Park boundaries
• Impact of villages located within the property

• Impact due to conflict
• Increased poaching and illegal encroachment affecting the integrity of the site

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/280/documents/. However, core indicators of the results of the inventory of flagship species still needs to be quantified.

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4575

Total amount granted: USD 320,000 from the United Nations Foundation and the Governments of Italy and Belgium 

On 3 March 2015, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/280/documents/ (pages 57 – 74).

Conservation activities have been hampered by the outbreak of Ebola close to the property, which resulted in a 4 month shut down of all activities to minimize the risk of spread of the virus.

Following progress is reported in the implementation of the Corrective Measures:

• The security continued to improve thanks to the continued cooperation with the administrative, political and military authorities in the framework of “Operation Bonobo”, but there has been no further formal meeting of all parties engaged;
• Anti-poaching efforts continue to be strengthened through the training of park rangers, however, armed incursions of poacher gangs continue in particular in the north-east and south of the property. Law enforcement is regularly monitored and the introduction of SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) is underway. Patrols report more sightings of elephants. Most permanent poacher camps have been removed from the property, and there is a marked decrease in the number of heavy weapons confiscated from poachers;
• The planned inventory was again postponed, as a result of the Ebola outbreak. There is not yet a comprehensive ecological monitoring system in place, although key species like Bonobo are monitored in certain areas with the assistance of research projects;
• Efforts for the participatory boundary demarcation are continuing, with works in two more problematic areas completed. No progress was made in creating an ecological corridor to link the two sectors of the park;
• Socio-economic studies in the Yaelima communities living inside the park have started, in order to develop an appropriate strategy to address this issue. “Operation Bonobo” also visited the villages occupied by the Kitawala sect, which had never been visited by park staff before.

The management plan is still not validated but implementation is nevertheless underway and management tools have improved with the development of a business plan, an operational plan and regular monitoring of implementation. Funding remains an important issue especially with the expiration of EU funding through RAPAC – (Réseau des aires protégées d'Afrique central-Central Africa network of Protected Area)

“Operation Bonobo”, which started in 2011, seems to be gradually bringing tangible results in terms of securing the property, restoring the authority of the State, and in particular of the park management authority, and curbing the widespread poaching by armed gangs and uncontrolled military.

At the same time, important efforts are underway to put in place basic park management operations. It deserves to be reminded that the challenges are enormous, given that Salonga National Park is one of the largest and one of the most remote terrestrial World Heritage properties, lacking basic management infrastructure. The on-going efforts of the State Party, in cooperation with its financial and technical partners, need to be welcomed. At the same time, it is clear that time and significant financial resources will be needed to build up the management of the property. For the moment, the property is totally dependent on donor funding to cover even its running costs. Given the challenges, it is crucial that donors ensure a long-term engagement in order to build up management capacity and infrastructure and support the ecological restoration of the property. The State Party should also gradually take more financial responsibility to cover recurrent costs and a sustainable financing mechanism should be developed.

It is unfortunate that the inventory had to be postponed again, as a result of the Ebola outbreak. The results will be crucial to understand how far the wildlife populations have been eroded, to quantify the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) and to estimate the timeframe needed for the ecological restoration of the property. It will also provide more insight in how far the poaching has been brought under control.

The report states that no progress was made in securing a biological corridor between the two components of the property, but no further information is provided. The creation of this corridor is important in terms of the integrity of the property. With human populations moving into the area, its establishment is urgent.

The start of the socio-economic studies in the Yaelima communities is a positive development and should provide useful data to develop a strategy on how to address the issue of these resident communities in the park, in a participatory way.  In particular, it will be important to quantify the impact of their subsistence activities on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and get a better understanding of the population dynamics in the villages. The dialogue started with the Kitawala settlements is also a positive development. The progress made on the participatory boundary demarcation will further diminish tensions with the communities.

It is recommended that the Committee express its utmost concern that, once more, the State Party didn’t provided information on the status of oil exploration and exploitation projects, in spite of the repeated requests by the Committee (36 COM 7A.7, 37 COM 7A.7, 38 COM 7A.40) and firmly reiterate its demand to provide the information and to annul any concessions, which would overlap with the property.

It is also recommended that the Committee retain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger and to continue the application of the reinforced monitoring mechanism.


General Decision on the properties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Current conservation issues

On 17 February 2015, the State Party submitted a report on the implementation of Decision 38 COM 7A.42, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/136/documents/ (pages 7– 9). The report notes the following progress in the implementation of the Kinshasa Declaration:

• In August 2014, the National Superior Defence Council, chaired by the President of the Republic, announced that instructions were given to reinforce security in the protected areas of the country and to strengthen the capacity of the park guards with assistance from the army;
• In November 2014, the Vice Prime Minister reiterated the commitment of the Government to implement the Declaration;
• A special anti-poaching brigade is being created in order to assist in protecting national parks. The Presidential Decree underway will formalize its creation;
• The cooperation with the army has been greatly improved;
• Efforts are underway to ensure that the mining cadastre includes updated information on the location of protected areas in order to ensure that there is no overlap between concessions and protected areas;
• The Interministerial Committee has not yet been officially established, but several interministerial meetings were held to discuss issues related to protected areas. At provincial level, these issues are dealt with by the Provincial Consultative Councils on Forests;
• The Strategic Plan of Action, which was adopted at the high level meeting of 2011, will be updated in 2015.

The report further notes that the new Hydrocarbons Code was adopted by both the Parliament and the Senate, but will still be discussed in the mixed Committee of the two Chambers, allowing for further discussion on Article 160, which foresees the possibility of degazetment of protected areas to allow for oil exploitation.

In relation to the oil exploration in Virunga, it is noted that the Government is planning to submit to the World Heritage Centre a proposal with “options for exception mechanisms for further negotiation”. This seems to be in line with the reply by the Prime Minister to the letter of 8 January by the Delegation Heads of the European Union, World Bank, UNESCO and United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Ambassadors of Germany and Canada, where he pointed out that in the event the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) would want to go forward with oil exploitation, it would seek a minor boundary modification (see also report on Virunga National Park, item 4 of Document WHC-15/39.COM/7A).

Analysis and Conclusions of the World Heritage Centre and IUCN

The statement by the Vice Prime Minister of DRC reiterating the commitment of the Government to implement the Kinshasa Declaration should be welcomed. In particular, it is encouraging that concrete measures have been taken to implement one of the most important elements of the Declaration, namely to create the conditions for implementation of the corrective measures by securing the sites.

The intention to create a special anti-poaching brigade is also noted. Widespread poaching is without doubt the single most important threat to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of all five properties. Results of the different inventories clearly show that since the start of the conflict, the biodiversity values of the properties have been seriously affected and their populations of emblematic species, such as Northern White Rhino, Okapi, Grauer’s Gorilla, Bonobo and Elephant, were severely reduced. Decisive action is needed to turn the tide. Recently, the increasing demand for ivory has in particular further increased pressure on the remaining Elephant populations. It is estimated that the DRC Elephant population, most of which is living in the World Heritage properties, has dwindled by over 90%, from more than 100 000 at the start of the 1980s to less than 10 000 today. Securing the sites and strengthening anti-poaching efforts are important, but additional efforts will be needed in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to identify and take legal action against the criminal networks involved in the illegal traffic. Efforts to reduce demand in consumer countries are also needed.

The reported efforts to ensure that the mining cadastre uses accurate mapping information of the properties to avoid the attribution of mining concessions overlapping with the properties also responds to a long standing demand of the Committee. It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its requests to the State Party to annul all existing permits, which overlap with any of the properties.

It is also recommended that the Committee express its utmost concern about Article 160 of the new Code for Hydrocarbons, which foresees the possibility of degazetting protected areas, including World Heritage properties, as well as the statement made by the Prime Minister of DRC that the State Party might seek a boundary modification of Virunga National Park to allow for oil exploration activities to proceed. These are in clear contradiction to the Kinshasa Declaration, which committed to uphold the protection status of the properties. It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its position on this issue, as expressed in previous decisions.