East Rennell

• Changes to oceanic waters
• Commercial hunting (issue resolved)
• Fishing/collecting aquatic resources (Over-exploitation of coconut crab and other marine resources)
• Forestry/wood production (Commercial logging)
• Invasive/alien terrestrial species
• Storms
• Mining
• Management systems/management plans (Management planning and administration of the property)
• Legal framework (Legislation)
• Commercial fishing (issue resolved) 

• Logging
• Invasive species
• Over-exploitation of coconut crab and other marine resources
• Climate change
• Legislation, management planning and administration of the property

Adopted; see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/6965

Adopted; see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/7423

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/7423

Previous Committee Decisions  see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/854/documents/

Total amount granted: USD 56,689 UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust (2015): Technical Support to East Rennell; USD 35,000, UNESCO/Flanders Funds-in-Trust (2015): Support to East Rennell; USD 38,398, UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust (2019-present); and USD 298,000, UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust (2022-present): Developing sustainable livelihoods in East Rennell

On 9 May 2022 and 30 March 2023, the State Party submitted reports on the state of conservation of the property, which are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/854/documents/, reporting the following:

• Collaboration between the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) and the Lake Tegano World Heritage Site Association (LTWHSA) continues. During the 2021 Annual General Meeting of the LTWHSA, poor road access, climate change issues and food security were acknowledged as priority issues to address, commitment to protecting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property was reaffirmed, and a call on the government for more assistance was made, in particular to prioritise the East Rennell Road, and for climate change funding and support through an integrated climate vulnerability assessment. The application from Nickel Enterprise SI Limited proposal to mine East Rennell land boundary was also disregarded;
• Challenges remain in mobilizing the financial resources for completion of the LTWHSA Management Plan, including due to COVID-19. Rennell-Bellona province has been selected as one of the project sites for “Ensuring Resilient Ecosystems and Representative Protected Areas in Solomon Islands”, supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). A community inception meeting was held in East Rennell in February 2023 and the project is expected to promote better understanding of the Protected Areas Act 2010;
• An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted in June 2021 following the grounding of a barge (SAPOR 2302) in the Nukuma’anu coastal marine area in the property, damaging 30 ha of coral reefs. The environmental damages were valued at SBD 13,498,400 (about USD 1.6 million) for both market and non-market value, including cultural services. The EIA recommended that the responsible company Gulf Tree and Associates (Solomon Resource Limited) should ensure compensation for the damage caused;
• No EIA was undertaken for the proposed road construction by the Rennell and Bellona Provincial Government because it concerns road maintenance and upgrade only;
• The OTC logging company proposal to log the Agapogavu strip and to construct a 40-metre width road was cancelled;
• Food shortages for local communities at the property continue, which have been exacerbated by COVID-19 and climate change;
• With support from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust (NFiT), community and stakeholder consultation meetings were organized in April-May 2022, resulting in an Action Plan which identified priority actions for developing sustainable livelihoods in East Rennell that were subsequently endorsed by the Minister and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development;
• The UNDP-GEF Small Grants Programme supported the installation of a piggery-, apiary-, and poultry farm. Additional support for a sustainable livelihood project is being sought from the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust (JFiT) based on the aforementioned Action Plan;
• With support from the United Kingdom Darwin Initiative, BirdLife International initiated a project to mitigate and control impacts of invasive rats. Sixteen community rangers were hired for the project.

On 26 July 2021, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party regarding third-party information about the granting of bauxite mining exploration licenses to Nickel Enterprise SI Limited by the Ministry of Mines, Energies and Rural Electrification.

On 28 June 2022, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party conveying information from a third party about a reported change in management arrangements for some of the customary owned lands within the property.

No response has been received from the State Party on either of the letters at the time of writing.

The State Party’s continued efforts to implement the corrective measures and recommendations of the 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission are welcomed. While the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are acknowledged, the limited progress with the implementation of the corrective measures and other recommendations of the mission due to budget issues is of concern, and efforts should be strengthened. Since the allocation of budget depends on a new Cabinet Paper, it is recommended that the Committee reiterate once again its request to adopt, as a matter of urgency, this Cabinet Paper with the commitments and associated budgets of the respective ministries.

The continued and progressive efforts by customary landowners, local communities of East Rennell and the LTWHSA to safeguard the OUV of the property from destructive activities are appreciated. It is noted that communities took a clear position against the bauxite mining exploration proposal, but the State Party is yet to clarify the status of the proposal and should be reminded of the Committee’s position that mining, including exploration, is considered incompatible with the World Heritage status for natural sites (Decision 37 COM 7).

The process of providing legal protection for the property’s OUV while respecting customary rights of the local communities, pending finalization of the Management Plan and community dialogue on the Protected Areas Act 2010, should be accelerated. The opportunity for the new GEF-6 funded project to support this process should be explored, as there may be potential to facilitate the declaration of a Protected Area, in line with the recommendation of the 2019 mission, as a positive step in the development of the Management Plan for the property which is a key objective under the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR). The letter received from the third party is concerning in this regard as this relates directly to the establishment of a legal protection mechanism. Recalling the Committee’s position that the long term conservation of the property’s OUV can only be secured with the full consent of the customary land owners and land users in full respect of their rights, all parties concerned should be urged to develop a workable, long-term solution for the customary governance of the property throughout the process of establishing legal protection for the property, and the State Party should be requested to provide information in response to the letter of 28 June 2022.

The cancellations of the logging proposal and the associated new road in the property are welcomed. While the need to improve the condition of the only road to the property is acknowledged, caution is still warranted, as that road could still pose a threat through easier access for commercial logging, in the absence of adequate legal protection. It is therefore recommended that the Committee remind the State Party to undertake an EIA in line with the new Guidance for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context for all planned development to assess potential impacts on the property’s OUV, in accordance with Paragraph 118bis of the Operational Guidelines, and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN.

The continued food insecurity for local communities, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of climate change, is of great concern and should be urgently addressed. In this context, ongoing dialogues, including the community and stakeholder consultation meetings organized in April/May 2022, and activities towards the development of sustainable livelihoods for East Rennell’s communities should be welcomed and these efforts should be further supported in line with priority actions identified in the new Action Plan, notably through the NFiT, JFiT and GEF-6 projects.

It is regrettable that no information was provided in following up the previously reported mass mortality of flying foxes, a species recognized as an attribute of the property’s OUV. The State Party should be encouraged to urgently undertake a scientific investigation.

Joint action by the communities and BirdLife International to mitigate and control the impacts of invasive rats is welcomed and the State Party is requested to report on the progress. If initial research confirms that it will not be possible to completely eradicate invasive rats, the State Party might wish to propose an update of the DSOCR, in which the eradication of rats is currently listed as a method of verification, and the State Party should develop and implement an adequately resourced strategy to focus on minimizing the impact of already introduced invasive and alien species and fully operationalize effective biosecurity measures.

The submission of the extensive EIA on the impacts of the grounding of an industrial barge is appreciated. The estimated USD 1.6 million damage to the coral reefs, which hold important natural and cultural value to local communities, is significant and cause for concern. It is recommended that the Committee call upon the responsible company and licensee of SAPOR 2302 to adhere to the conclusions and recommendations of the EIA, with regards to compensation of the ecological, cultural and socio-economic impacts of the grounding.

In view of the multiple challenges faced by local communities, whose sustainable wellbeing is a prerequisite for the safeguarding of the property, the State Party should be encouraged to continue mobilizing additional international support, including via International Assistance under the World Heritage Fund, as well as to attract climate change funding to conduct the proposed integrated climate vulnerability assessment of the property.