Kahuzi-Biega National Park

• Presence of armed groups, lack of security and political instability rendering a large part of the property inaccessible to the guards
• Attribution of mining permits inside the property (issue resolved)
• Poaching by armed military groups
• Bush meat hunting
• Villages in the ecological corridor between the highland and lowland sectors of the park
• Illegal mining and deforestation

• Adverse refugee impact
• Irregular presence of armed militias and settlers at the property
• Increased poaching
• Deforestation 

A draft has been developed during the 2017 Reactive Monitoring mission (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/137/documents), but the biological indicators still need to be quantified based on the results of a census of large mammals available at late 2017

Proposed for adoption in the draft Decision below

Proposed for adoption in the draft Decision below

Total amount granted: USD 1,003,900 from the United Nations Foundation (UNF), and the Governments of Italy and Belgium and by the Rapid Response Facility (RRF)  

On 13 February 2017, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property. A joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property from 24 April to 3 May 2017. The two reports are available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/137/documents. The State Party reported the following:

• The intervention of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) has resulted in the evacuation and demobilization of some of the armed groups. The improvement in the security situation has enabled the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) to reopen the posts at the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (PNKB) in the lowlands (Itebero, Nzovu and Lulingu);
• For 2016, the patrol coverage was about 52% of the property (against 34% in 2015) thanks to funding support from external partners and the recruitment and training of 120 new guards, based in all the posts of the property;
• Ten houses for the guards have been built at Tshivanga and five are foreseen at Itebero for 2017 with financial support from the World Bank and the German Development Bank (KfW – Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau);
• No legal mining concession has been observed in the property. As regards the artisanal quarries, of the fourteen recorded two remain active.
• Concerning the monitoring of the “National Forum on Governance and Enhancement of the Property” (April 2015), a mixed commission, including ICCN and different provincial ministries, has been established to resolve land conflicts in the ecological corridor and to avoid the granting of new titles in the property;
• At the time of submission of the report, the wildlife inventories conducted by ICCN and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have enabled the coverage of four out of seven sectors of the PNKB. The general tendencies concerning the wildlife will be known at the end of the exercise in August 2017. Preliminary results indicate that elephants are almost absent in the lowlands, that gorillas located in the highlands are stable, with even an increase, and the chimpanzee population is stable in the zones visited;
• Control of the National Route 3 is limited to the verification and counting of vehicles. The ICCN envisages setting up a stricter system with support from the provincial authorities and customs.

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

• Current conservation issues

On 13 February 2017, the State Party submitted a report on the progress made in the implementation of Decision 40 COM 7A.42. This report is available at the following address https://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/41com/documents/#state_of_conservation_reports and contains the information below:

• The Corps responsible for the security of the National Parks (CorPPN) and related natural reserves, created in June 2015, is not operational due to lack of human and financial resources. Nevertheless, in 2016, the State Party made available to the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) arms and ammunitions that has benefitted the National Parks of Garamba and Virunga ;
• No activity linked to petroleum was observed, in 2016, at the Virunga National Park. However, the State Party notes that it wishes to officially request an IUCN advisory mission to discuss the petroleum issue at the property;
• The support programme of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) of the European Union continues to provide financial and technical support to the National Parks of Virunga, Garamba and Salonga. Through the German Development Bank (KfW - Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau), Germany supports the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, and the National Parks of Salonga and Kahuzi-Biega ;
• The Trust Fund « Okapi Fund for Conservation - FOCON » for a sustainable funding of the protected areas of the DRC now has the status of a charitable organization and an Administrative Council. The World Bank and the KfW have funded the FOCON to the amount of 30 million US dollars. Nevertheless, the report underlines that the decree for the establishment of the FOCON Headquarters in the DRC has not yet been signed by the national authorities. Without the decree, this Fund cannot be operational

The evacuation and recovery of control of the lowlands of the property is a commendable progress. However, the question of insecurity remains a major concern: the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission had to limit its visit on the ground to the Tshivanga sector, headquarters of the Park, and the highlands, three guards of the property were killed in 2016. It is recommended that the Committee address its most sincere condolences to the families of the guards and to the ICCN staff.

It is noted that there has been a clear improvement in surveillance efforts enabling the covering of 52% of the property thanks to an increase of staff numbers at ICCN and the deployment of guards at all the stations of the property. Nevertheless, the mission noted that ICCN continues to have limited access to a large part of the lowlands. However, this zone was visited, in 2016, in the framework of the wildlife inventory conducted by the Park team and WCS.  Additional efforts are therefore required to increase the frequency of patrol coverage in the lowlands. The ICCN foresees that the recruitment of new guards and the building of dwellings and infrastructure at Tshivanga and in the other posts of the property will lead to an improvement in the situation.

The progress achieved to complete the wildlife inventory, which should terminate in August 2017, is welcomed. The preliminary results, contained in March 2016 in the WCS/ICCN/FFI (Fauna and Flora International) report, indicating an estimated decrease of 77% in Grauer’s gorilla since 1994 and thus classifying it as a critically endangered species on the IUCN Red List, appears to be confirmed. Moreover, the data concerning elephants reveals that their presence in the lowlands is rare, if not non-existent.

Although most of the artisanal mines inside the property have been closed down, the mission had access to information indicating that there are operational mines on the periphery of the property and they also are a threat for wildlife. The principal threats for the habitat of the gorillas and the other species are these mines, the presence of armed groups and the illegal commerce and consumption of bush meat. It is recommended that the Committee once again express its deep concern about the preliminary results that show an important decrease in the major species. It is also recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to undertake all the necessary measures to close down the remaining mines within and around the property and to ensure that they are not reoccupied, and to take urgent measures to halt the consumption and illegal commerce of bush meat, in particular the great apes.

The recommendations resulting from the “National Forum on Governance and Enhancement of the Property” of April 2015 remain pertinent and the efforts undertaken by ICCN to cancel the land titles are commendable. However, the mission did not have access to the ecological corridor to assess the current state of encroachment. Map and photographic information are necessary to assess the situation of the illegal occupations and the deterioration of the ecological corridor between the lowlands and the highlands. It is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to implement the recommendations of the 2015 Forum and to undertake the necessary measures to resolve the encroachment issues in order to restore the vegetation of the property and to maintain its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).

It is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to implement the corrective measures and the timetable (from the present to 2020) developed by the Reactive Monitoring mission of May 2017. The State Party should also be encouraged to request international assistance from the World Heritage Fund before 31 October 2017, to prepare indicators for the draft Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), once the final results of the wildlife inventory are available.

Finally, it is recommended that the Committee maintain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger and continue to apply the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism.     

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

• Analysis and conclusions of the World Heritage Centre and the IUCN

The allocation of arms and ammunitions for the two properties, Garamba and Virunga National Parks, is an important effort on the part of the State Party; however, insecurity persists and is becoming more serious in the four properties located in the eastern part of the DRC. Technical and financial means must be made available to the ICCN to secure all the World Heritage properties and their surroundings.

The years 2016 and 2017 were dramatic for the ICCN staff and FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Eleven guards lost their lives and many others were seriously injured during attacks carried out against the National Parks of Garamba (2 victims), Virunga (5 victims) and Kahuzi Biega (3 victims). A guard was also killed at the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in May 2017. It is recommended that the Committee condemn this violence and address its condolences to the families of the guards and the soldiers killed during operations for the protection of the properties.

The delay incurred in the deployment of the CorPPN contingent is unfortunate. It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its request to the State Party to provide human and financial means to the CorPPN to render it operational and that it also requests the State Party to do its utmost to implement, in conformity with the Kinshasa Declaration (January 2011), and restore security conditions to enable the ICCN staff to carry out their mission.

With regard to the issue of petroleum exploration and exploitation projects, the State Party notes that no petroleum activity has been observed in the Virunga National Park. No information has been provided as concerns the petroleum interests at the Salonga National Park, expressed by the State Party during the 2012 Reactive Monitoring mission (see point 10 of Document WHC/17/41.COM/7A). It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its request to the State Party to officially confirm the definite cancellation of the petroleum concession overlapping the Virunga National Park and to clarify the situation as regards its petroleum interest in the Salonga National Park.

The efforts of the State Party to mobilize major funding for the DRC properties are favourably welcomed. Important progress has been achieved in organizing the Trust Fund for the Protected Areas of the DRC. Nevertheless, it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to take legal measures by adopting the necessary decree to render operational the FOCON Fund; these provisions will enable the properties of the DRC to benefit from substantial financial resources.