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Lorentz National Park

Indonesia
Factors affecting the property in 2015*
  • Financial resources
  • Ground transport infrastructure
  • Human resources
  • Illegal activities
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Other Threats:

    Nothofagus dieback

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Mining
  • Security limitations
  • Development threats
  • Exploitation of marine resources
  • Absence of a co-ordinating agency
  • Absence of a finalized strategic management plan
  • Park boundaries not physically demarcated
  • Inadequate financing
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2015
Requests approved: 2 (from 1996-2001)
Total amount approved : 41,400 USD
Missions to the property until 2015**

January 2004: IUCN mission; March-April 2008: Joint UNESCO/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission; January-February 2011: Joint UNESCO/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission; March 2014: IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2015

On 23 January 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/955/documents. On 20 April 2015, the State Party submitted a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) undertaken for the Habema-Nduga-Kenyam road. The State Party reports the following progress on the implementation of Committee Decision 38 COM 7B.67 (Doha, 2014) and the recommendations of the March 2014 IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission:

  • All construction activities on the Habema-Nduga-Kenyam road have been suspended until the completion of the EIA and until effective monitoring and strict control of the impacts of the road can be implemented. Regular site visits are being conducted to monitor compliance with this decision;
  • Identification of measures required to rehabilitate areas affected by road construction is ongoing. Additional budget is being allocated to the Lorentz National Park Authority (LNPA) to enable rehabilitation;
  • Resort-based management, which is the standard approach to monitoring and patrolling protected areas in Indonesia, is considered an effective means to ensure strategic monitoring of priority areas and response to management needs. A Forest Ranger Partnership scheme ensures the participation of local people in monitoring and patrolling activities;
  • The management plan and zonation scheme of the property are being revised to integrate the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). The current zoning scheme of the National Park was defined in consultation with indigenous communities, taking into account their traditional use areas as “core zones” where hunting and felling trees are forbidden, and there may be scope to expand these “core zones” to include areas that are currently categorized differently;
  • No progress is reported on efforts to assess the level of poaching in the property, but it was reported that the indigenous people of Papua preserve the environment of their own living space as the source of their livelihood and respect the inviolability of the territory of other tribes;
  • Further research has been undertaken on the Nothofagus dieback, which appears to be mainly caused by drastic climatic fluctuations. The road is not considered to be the main cause of dieback. Further research is planned in 2015;
  • A number of measures to improve the management capacity of the LNPA are reported, including 38 percent increase of the budget for the Lorenz National Park in 2015 from the previous year, and the proposed elevation of its status to a higher government level, which would enable it to have higher ranking officers and a higher number of staff.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2015

It is recommended that the Committee welcome the State Party’s decision to suspend further construction of the Habema-Nduga-Kenyam road until the completion of the EIA and until effective monitoring and strict control of the impacts of the road can be implemented. The EIA that was submitted in April 2015 is currently being reviewed by IUCN. Preliminary review suggests that, although the State Party states that the EIA integrates the property’s OUV, an assessment of impacts on the OUV is not clearly made in a dedicated chapter. It appears that attributes bearing the OUV are considered as part of a more general assessment of impacts on geological, ecological and biological values. A definition of the property’s OUV also appears to be lacking. It is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to ensure that the EIA is revised to include a specific assessment of impacts on the attributes bearing the OUV, which should be clearly identified.

The ongoing revision of the management and zonation plan of the property to incorporate its OUV is noted with appreciation. While the current zonation of the property takes into account traditional use zones and areas that are traditionally considered by indigenous communities to be inviolable, the 2014 mission noted that the zonation is very patchy and difficult to monitor. It is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to ensure that the revision of the zonation plan results in a simplified zonation that is based on a clear definition of the OUV and its associated conditions of integrity. The State Party is encouraged to refer to the methodology developed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in Australia to support World Heritage site managers in breaking down OUV according to its clearly defined and manageable attributes. It is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to consider this methodology both for the revision of the management and zonation plans and for the review of the EIA.

Some progress is also being made with the implementation of a number of other recommendations from the March 2014 mission, including further research on the causes of Nothofagus dieback, and various measures that are being taken to improve the management capacity of the LNPA, including a 38% increase in budget allocation and the proposed elevation of the LNPA’s government level, which the mission considered a crucial step to increase the LNPA’s capacity to coordinate and negotiate with other government agencies. However, the implementation of most mission recommendations is still in an early stage, therefore it is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to continue its efforts to implement all recommendations of the March 2014 mission. In particular, it should be recalled that both the 2011 and 2014 missions identified poaching as a significant threat that may be affecting the property, partly due to the difficulty to detect and monitor poaching in such a large and difficult to access property. Both missions noted that significant trade in protected and endangered species from Papua exists, although it is currently impossible to define whether the species marketed originate from the property. It is therefore crucial that additional resources are invested in anti-poaching activities, and that cooperation with provincial level authorities is increased. Therefore, it is recommended that the Committee reiterate its request to the State Party to conduct an assessment of the level of poaching in the property, and to also request the State Party to develop an adequately resourced anti-poaching strategy on the basis of that assessment. Meanwhile, the Committee may wish to commend the State Party for its commitment to allocate significant budget for Lorentz National Park in 2015, an increase of 38 percent compared to that of 2014.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2015
39 COM 7B.12
Lorentz National Park (Indonesia) (N 955)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7B.Add,
  2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.67, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
  3. Welcomes the State Party’s decision to suspend further construction of the Habema-Nduga-Kenyam road until the completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and until effective monitoring and strict control of the impacts of the road can be implemented;
  4. Notes that a preliminary review of the EIA suggests that the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property is not clearly defined therein, and urges the State Party to submit a revised EIA, as a matter of priority, in order to include a specific assessment of impacts on the attributes bearing the OUV clearly defined;
  5. Notes with appreciation that the State Party is undertaking a review of the management and zonation plans of the property and increased allocation of budget for the Lorentz National Park in 2015, and also urges the State Party to ensure that this revision results in a simplified zonation scheme that is based on a clear definition of the OUV and its associated conditions of integrity, and to submit to the World Heritage Centre, one electronic and three printed copies of the revised management and zonation plans, as soon as they are available;
  6. Encourages the State Party to consider the methodology breaking down OUV in clearly defined and manageable attributes, to support both the revision of the EIA and for the revision of the management and zonation plans;
  7. Also notes the reported progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the March 2014 mission, in particular the research undertaken to identify the causes of the Nothofagus dieback, and ongoing measures to improve the management capacity of the Lorentz National Park Authority, and further urges the State Party to continue its efforts to implement all the recommendations of the 2014 mission;
  8. Reiterates its request to the State Party to undertake an assessment of the level of poaching in the property, and requests the State Party to develop an adequately resourced anti-poaching strategy for the property on the basis of this assessment, including increased cooperation with provincial level authorities, as required;
  9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017.
Draft Decision: 39 COM 7B.12

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7B.Add,
  2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.67, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
  3. Welcomes the State Party’s decision to suspend further construction of the Habema-Nduga-Kenyam road until the completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and until effective monitoring and strict control of the impacts of the road can be implemented;
  4. Notes that a preliminary review of the EIA suggests that the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property is not clearly defined therein, and urges the State Party to submit a revised EIA, as a matter of priority, in order to include a specific assessment of impacts on the attributes bearing the OUV clearly defined;
  5. Notes with appreciation that the State Party is undertaking a review of the management and zonation plans of the property and increased allocation of budget for the Lorentz National Park in 2015, and also urges the State Party to ensure that this revision results in a simplified zonation scheme that is based on a clear definition of the OUV and its associated conditions of integrity, and to submit to the World Heritage Centre, one electronic and three printed copies of the revised management and zonation plans, as soon as they are available;
  6. Encourages the State Party to consider the methodology breaking down OUV in clearly defined and manageable attributes, to support both the revision of the EIA and for the revision of the management and zonation plans;
  7. Also notes the reported progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the March 2014 mission, in particular the research undertaken to identify the causes of the Nothofagus dieback, and ongoing measures to improve the management capacity of the Lorentz National Park Authority, and further urges the State Party to continue its efforts to implement all the recommendations of the 2014 mission;
  8. Reiterates its request to the State Party to undertake an assessment of the level of poaching in the property, and requests the State Party to develop an adequately resourced anti-poaching strategy for the property on the basis of this assessment, including increased cooperation with provincial level authorities, as required;
  9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017.
Report year: 2015
Indonesia
Date of Inscription: 1999
Category: Natural
Criteria: (viii)(ix)(x)
Documents examined by the Committee
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2015) .pdf
arrow_circle_right 39COM (2015)
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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