Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary

• Invasive species;
• Integrated water management system not operational and lack of hydrological monitoring;
• Soils salinity;
• Cattle grazing;
• Poaching and illegal fishing;
• Lack of management plan and sustained funding (issue resolved);
• Poor management capacity and constant changes in staff;
• Poor visitor management.

Total amount granted: USD 300,000 from the Government of Norway for the period 2020-2022

A joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property in February 2022 (mission report available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/25/documents), and on 1 February 2022 the State Party submitted a state of conservation report available at the same address, providing the following information:

• The proliferation of numerous agricultural and agro-industrial projects located in the buffer zone continues to threaten the integrity of the property. To remedy this, the State Party redefined and established the boundaries of the property and its buffer zone, and it systematically required any company wishing to set up on the periphery of the property to submit an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) or a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in line with international standards;
• Furthermore, following the studies carried out between 2016 and 2019 to determine the areas of encroachment in the buffer zone, their extent and the flow of agricultural effluents towards the central core of the property, a 36 km channel with a dyke has been built with the support of the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the collaboration with OMPO (Migratory Birds of the Western Palearctic), to intercept the flow of pollutants in the catchment area, collect and drain the polluted water towards the outfall of the drainage delta and fight against the straying of livestock;
• UNESCO's support, thanks to funds from the Government of Norway, has contributed towards strengthening surveillance activities with watchtowers and to combating the proliferation of invasive species, with in particular the grubbing of 40 hectares of Typha australis and the cleaning of 30 km of canals;
• The strengthening of the ecological monitoring system makes it possible to continue monthly observations of ornithological fauna. In addition, thanks to emergency assistance from the World Heritage Fund, regular epidemiological surveillance of birds continues in connection with the avian flu epidemic which has been raging in the property since 2021. In this context, the Governorate of the Region of Saint-Louis issued Order No. 059/GRSL/AA supplemented by a memorandum from the Ministry of Livestock and Animal Production to coordinate interventions and contain the epizootic;
• The operational capacities of the management team and conservation efforts must be strengthened for the complete eradication of invasive species, the fight against poaching and the straying of animals, revitalizing transborder cooperation and supporting the resilience of local communities;
• The State Party has invited the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission to assess the state of conservation of the property.

The updated information provided by the State Party is to be welcomed, as many actions requested in Decision 44 COM 7B.83 are underway and should improve the management of the property and the threats to its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). Collaboration with OMPO and UNESCO within the framework of funding from the Governments of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Norway is noted.

Regarding the development of rice cultivation and the resulting encroachment, the revision of the boundaries of the property and its buffer zone and the legal requirement of an ESIA or SEA for agricultural companies before any new installation likely to impact the OUV are noted. It is recommended that discussions be initiated with the stakeholders concerned to resolve the encroachments observed and restore the territorial integrity of the property.

Noting that existing agricultural and agro-industrial projects continue to pollute the waters of the property, the 36 km long canal coupled with a dyke upstream of the watershed should make it possible to divert agricultural discharges towards the Delta emissary and limit the straying of livestock. However, the mission noted that the construction of the canal remains to be finalized, since it is blocked 2 km from the Delta emissary pending authorization from the authorities and due to a lack of funding. Highly polluted waters continue to accumulate inside the park, thus weakening its ecological integrity. The construction of the canal should therefore be finalized urgently to avoid impacts on the OUV. It is also recommended to reiterate the need for in-depth reflection for an effective water pollution control plan and the urgency of taking appropriate measures as soon as possible to evacuate all pollutant flows to the delta outlet. and to strengthen the monitoring of the physico-chemical parameters of the property's waters.

Considerable efforts have been made to combat the proliferation of invasive species, including Typha australis. However, the colonization of waterways by a new invasive Ludwigia erecta is worrying. It is imperative to develop a specific plan for the management of invasive plants integrated into the Development and Management Plan (DMP) of the property being finalized. In view of the multiple conservation issues, it is recommended that the DMP be sent to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN before its validation.

The regional coordination put in place by the State Party in consultation with the management team of the Diawling National Park in Mauritania to contain the epizootic of avian influenza which is raging in the property is positive. It is recommended to continue efforts in accordance with the guidelines of the Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds until the eradication of this threat, and to initiate an analysis of the impact of avian influenza on the OUV of the property and implement the recommendations resulting from the said study.

The mission was informed that last August the State Party validated the ESIA of the rehabilitation/construction project of the “rice loop road”, financed by the African Development Bank. This is of great concern, as the road would cross the property over approximately 10 km and according to the ESIA, would negatively impact the OUV of the property. It is also regrettable that the management team was not fully involved in the ESIA development and validation process. It is recommended to revise the ESIA to specifically assess the potential impacts on the OUV of the property and submit the revised ESIA to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, before approving this project. It is important to ensure that its implementation will not have a negative impact on the OUV of the property.

Considering the current state of conservation of the property and the management efforts undertaken by the State Party and its partners, the mission concluded that the conditions for a new inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger are not met at this stage, and recommendations have been formulated for the preservation of the OUV of the property. However, the mission considers that if these recommendations are not fully implemented in an urgent and timely manner, the property may soon qualify for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines.