Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas

• Water infrastructure (major hydropower development on all main rivers and related infrastructure)
• Mining (in and near the property)
• Management systems/management plan (absence of overall serial property-wide management system and plan including tourism planning; unclear property boundaries and absence of demarcation)
• Major visitor accommodation and associate infrastructure (tourism infrastructure conflicting with conservation objectives)
• Commercial hunting (apparent decline in wildlife populations suspected to be a result of trade in wildlife and wildlife derivatives)

On 30 November 2018, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1083/documents, and responds to Committee Decision 41 COM 7B.27 (Krakow, 2017), as follows:

• All mineral exploration and extraction has been terminated, including illegal mining and quarrying, and all permits inside the property and in the buffer zone suspended;
• Envisaged ecological restoration of mining sites is hampered by the absence of clear technical guidance and responsibilities and is relying on natural restoration processes;
• Commitment to monitoring landscape connectivity and wildlife between the Hongshan and Haba Snow Mountain components where active mining continues;
• A 2016 draft of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) focusing on mining, hydropower and associated infrastructure requires additional work due to limited experience and guidance available, the scale and topographic complexity of the property, as well as paucity of data. A summary of the draft SEA was annexed to the report;
• All hydropower projects planned or under construction are located outside the property and its buffer zone and therefore considered to have no direct impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). While no hydropower development is reported on the Nujiang River, several projects have been completed on the Lancang and Jinsha Rivers. The impacts of the power transmission lines and transformation facilities on the OUV of the property will be assessed;
• Acknowledgement that both the SEA and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) need to be improved, and assistance of the World Heritage Centre and IUCN will be sought;
• Impacts of the Dianzhong Water Diversion Project at the Shigu section of the Jinsha River are negated on the grounds of the selected location outside of the property and its buffer zone, and the water quantity to be removed (8% of the water flow);
• Acknowledgement of the need for systematic Management Effectiveness Assessment (MEA) after current institutional reform since 2018;
• In 2018, Yunnan Province ratified an “Ecological Conservation Redline”, which prohibits all development inside the property and its buffer zones;
• Elaboration of both a Strategic Master Plan for Regional Development and Conservation Management Planning for the property is underway;
• A pilot programme to initiate a “National Park” category in China is expected to reach conclusion in 2020;
• Numerous ecological research projects are on-going;
• Rural poverty is suggested to be the main factor threatening heritage protection. The State Party is making efforts to alleviate poverty in the property area by engaging local communities including indigenous peoples in park management and tourism services. Some villages have been or are going to be relocated upon consensus by the residents to improve their living conditions as well as heritage protection.

On 25 March 2019, the State Party submitted additional information on the EIAs of four ongoing power transmission projects involving the property and its buffer zones upon request of the World Heritage Centre. The information is under technical review by IUCN.   

The confirmation of the closure and termination of mines inside the property and its buffer zones, as a follow up to previous commitments to consider the whole area off limits, is welcomed. The overdue closure of active mining and permanent suspension of all permits should be followed up by site restoration to mitigate impacts and risks. In order to prevent any illegal mining activities, continued monitoring and law enforcement will be required. It is welcomed that monitoring is foreseen between the Hongshan and the Haba Snow Mountain components, an area excised from the property in 2010.

Follow-up on the SEA and the objective to increase EIA standards are similarly welcomed. It is noted that the main conclusion of the draft SEA is that the general state of conservation of the property is good; however, the primary objective of an SEA is not to assess conservation status. It is recommended that the SEA be further revised, in line with the IUCN World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment; the World Heritage Centre and IUCN are available to provide guidance to the State Party to identify opportunities to cooperate on the elaboration of the SEA and EIAs.

Further completion of hydropower developments on the Lancang and Jinsha Rivers and the physical location of all hydropower infrastructure outside the property and its buffer zone are noted. However, the modification of entire river systems inevitably comes with major changes of aquatic systems beyond the visible physical footprint. It is well documented that hydropower development can also result in disturbance, loss of connectivity, improved road access facilitating illicit activities and species invasions on land. Furthermore, it is noted with concern that some power transmission lines also cross the property, as confirmed by the State Party in the additional information it submitted. From the brief summary of the EIAs developed for the transmission lines, submitted by the State Party, it appears the EIAs do not specifically assess potential impacts of such infrastructure on the OUV of the property, particularly on its values recognized under criterion (vii). Such a specific assessment will therefore need to be developed in order to understand the level of impacts on the property resulting from the construction of the power lines.

It is noted that, although hydropower development on the Nujiang River has repeatedly been suspended in the past, a decision in favour of such development appears to be pending still. Considering that the Nujiang River is now the only river – out of three that gave the property its name – which retains its relatively natural state, it is important that the State Party continue to protect its natural flow. The State Party should also ensure that no further development is considered until the SEA for the property and buffer zone has been completed.

The State Party’s engagement with local communities including indigenous peoples to alleviate poverty is welcomed. The reported institutional reforms can positively enhance the management coherence across the vast serial property under the leadership of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The Strategic Master Plan for Regional Development and the Conservation Management Plan for the property should be harmonized, fully taking into account the evolving management framework.

Finally, the Community Management of Protected Areas for Conservation (COMPACT) initiative offers a proven model for promoting sustainable development near and within World Heritage sites, while engaging indigenous and local communities in conservation and governance of these properties. Building on this experience, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) and the World Heritage Centre propose a joint Asia-Pacific COMPACT capacity-building workshop in the region to extend the COMPACT model. It is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to organize this activity in Yunnan Province prior to the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) in Yunnan in October 2020. This will allow to present the GEF SGP project sites around World Heritage properties in connection with the workshop.