Case Law

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7A.41, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Commends the efforts made by customary landowners, local communities and the State Party to protect the property, in particular by not allowing commercial logging and mining within the property;
4. Regrets however that a logging concession has been granted up to 200 meters from the boundary of the property without assessing the impacts on its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and before an understanding of the ecological connectivity between East and West Rennell is available, requests the State Party to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for this project, and urges the State Party to closely monitor the situation, ensure that the boundary of the World Heritage property is clearly demarcated on the ground, and extend the buffer zone as new scientific information becomes available;
5. Notes that the letter submitted to the World Heritage Centre on behalf of the Tuhunui Tribe of East Rennell in May 2018, indicating their wish to withdraw its customary land from the World Heritage property, has been revoked, and also notes the competing claims of customary rights among tribes and individual households;
6. Welcomes the State Party’s effort to initiate dialogue with customary landowners and local communities concerning the 2010 Protected Areas Act, but also regrets that little progress has been made with the implementation of the commitments made by the State Party at the 2017 Round Table, including the finalization of a Management Plan, which was recommended by the Committee at the time of inscription in 1998, and also urges the State Party to include those commitments in the work plan and budget of relevant ministries;
7. Adopts the following corrective measures and also requests the State Party to implement them, as a matter of urgency, to strengthen the protection of the OUV and integrity of the property while enhancing livelihoods of local communities:
   
   a) Adopt a new Cabinet Paper, prepared by the three Chairs of the 2017 Round Table, reconfirming the 2016 Cabinet Paper, reaffirming all Round Table Ministerial commitments for East Rennell and directing all ministries to provide a concrete timeline and budget for their implementation,
   
   b) Ensure that the Lake Tegano World Heritage Site Association (LTWHSA) can officially and immediately apply for National Protected Areas status for the World Heritage property in order to initiate the official consultation process by the Director of the Environment and Conservation Division, and to finalize the Management Plan (including zoning),
   
   c) Ensure that the World Heritage property is actively promoted, including on the website of the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau and on all relevant maps and promotional leaflets, and immediately begin actively promoting appropriate tourism using existing accommodations and facilities; 
   
   
8. Further requests the State Party to implement all other recommendations of the 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission, including:
   
   a) Clarify the consent provision of the 2010 Protected Areas Act, particularly what concerns the ‘interested parties’ who would need to be involved in the process,
   
   b) Provide the LTWHSA with the support needed to manage the World Heritage property to international standards,
   
   c) Improve access to the property for tourists and local communities and improve access to basic services and facilities, 
   
   d) Prioritize the development of sustainable livelihoods for the local communities, recognizing the important role played by women in East Rennell, including through a development plan, and seek technical and financial support from the international community for this effort,
   
   e) Ensure the Rennell-Bellona Constituency Development Fund reserves an allocation for East Rennell and its local communities,
   
   f) Develop a scientific research programme at Lake Tegano, seeking support from the international research community and also incorporating traditional ecological knowledge,
   
   g) Continue and expand the recently started bird monitoring program, and seek international support to mitigate the effects of invasive species, 
   
   h) Ensure that EIAs are carried out for all proposed developments within the property and its vicinity to guarantee that these do not have a negative impact on the OUV of the property, 
   
   i) Consider registering and surveying all lands under the Registration of Customary Lands Act, prioritizing the western shore of the lake, where most people live and where initial tourism lodges should be clustered,
   
   j) Record and map local culture, traditional and living knowledge, customary governance, genealogies and language of the East Rennell communities, 
   
   k) Consider assessing, in the 2020 state of conservation report, whether the current timeframe for implementing the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) is realistic;
   
   
9. Notes with great satisfaction the substantial support that the States Parties of Australia and New Zealand provided to the Solomon Islands in an effort to prevent the Kangava Bay oil spill from reaching the property, and calls upon the ship owner and insurer of the MV Solomon Trader to cover all expenses of the ecological and socio-economical impacts;
10. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020;
11. Decides to retain East Rennell (Solomon Islands) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 8B.16, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Welcomes establishment of an inter-ministerial committee for the management of the property, the completion of the Strategy for Water and Land Resources in Iraq (SWLRI) and the recognition of the Iraqi marshlands as a legitimate water user and, noting the competing demands for water between different users in Iraq, also welcomes the ongoing efforts for reform of water governance;
4. Urges the State Party to take appropriate measures for providing the property with the adequate amount of water within its national capacity;
5. Further welcomes the ongoing efforts towards the establishment of long-term water sharing agreements between the States Parties of Iraq, Iran and Turkey and strongly encourages all three States Parties to continue these efforts, so as to ensure the provision of adequate amounts of water for the property that can sustain its biodiversity, and considers that non-fulfilment of minimum water requirements could represent a potential danger to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines;
6. While acknowledging the prevailing conditions in Iraq, notes with significant concern the continued absence of adequate legal protection for the majority of the natural components in the property, as well as the State Party’s statement that law enforcement remains a challenge, and also considers that this situation could represent a potential danger to the OUV of the property, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines;
7. Also notes with concern the significant challenges reported upon by the State Party, related to illegal bird hunting and overfishing, and further considers that in the continued absence of legal protection for most of the property and without sufficient management capacity, these issues are unlikely to be effectively controlled;
8. Reiterates its request to the State Party to:
   1. Conduct further studies regarding minimum water flows needed to sustain the biodiversity and ecological processes of the property, and demonstrate that these water flows are being provided,
   2. Complete the designation of all of the natural components of the property as protected areas, as a matter of utmost urgency, and ensure effective legal protection to regulate oil and gas concessions, and other potentially impacting activities in the buffer zones of the property,
   3. Provide support for the maintenance of the traditional ecological knowledge held by the men and women of the Ma’adan “Marsh Arabs” communities, and for rights-based approaches to management, recognising the customary use of the property;
9. Further notes with significant concern the continued vulnerability of the property to oil and gas developments and, recalling its established position that oil and gas exploration and exploitation are incompatible with World Heritage status, strongly urges the State Party to make a permanent commitment not to explore for or exploit oil and gas within the property, and to ensure that any such activities outside the property do not cause a negative impact on its OUV;
10. Welcomes furthermore the re-instatement of international archaeological teams at Uruk, Ur and Eridu, and the decision to concentrate on conservation; notes progress with work on detailed maps and surveys; nevertheless, in the light of the dire state of conservation at the time of inscription and on-going losses of archaeological layers, also urges the State Party to accelerate work on surveys and maps in order, to develop baseline data for all future work, including monitoring;
11. Requests the State Party to put in place a structured approach for overall conservation work through the development of conservation plans for each of the three archaeological sites, coupled with operational action plans;
12. Takes note with concern of the increasing tourism interest in the property in light of the lack of adequate consolidation and maintenance of the excavated areas of Uruk, Ur and Eridu at the time of inscription, the on-going loss of the archaeological remains from erosion and collapse, and the sensitive ecosystem of the marshes, also requests the State Party to develop and implement an overall tourism plan for the whole property, to regulate visitation, ensure visitors’ safety, and sustainable and adequate tourism practices, infrastructure and facilities;
13. Recalls to the State Party its obligation to submit any planned construction projects to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before their commencement;
14. Further requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, to assess its current state of conservation and the potential impact of water flow, oil and gas exploration and exploitation, illegal bird hunting, over-fishing, archaeological conservation needs, increased visitation and lack of adequate legal protection, on the property’s OUV;
15. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2019, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session in 2019.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/7B.Add,

2. Recalling Decision 34 COM 7B.13, adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010),

3. Notes with satisfaction that an International Workshop on effective management of the property was held in November 2010 as requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session, and encourages the State Party to implement the workshop's recommendations;

4. Expresses its grave concern that road construction within the property has not ceased as repeatedly requested by the World Heritage Committee, that forest die-back continues to adversely affect the property, and that, in the absence of urgent and effective action, the property is likely to face a gradual irreversible loss of its Outstanding Universal Value;

5. Reiterates its request to the State Party to cease all road construction in the Lake Habema region and rehabilitate recently constructed roads, and urges the State Party to commission a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the integrated transport programme for Papua Province as it relates to the property, in order to identify the least environmentally damaging transport options for the alpine region of the property, including alternatives to road building;

6. Notes the State Party's commitment to investigate and address forest die-back, and also urges it to develop management guidelines for all relevant stakeholders undertaking activities within the property to contain the spread of the die-back disease;

7. Requests the State Party to fully implement the 2008 and 2011 mission recommendations, and to prioritise the following:

a) Develop and implement a strategy to engage customary owners in park management decision-making processes,

b) Review the budgeting for the property in order to ensure that resources are directed to address the major threats to its Outstanding Universal Value,

c) Review the draft management plan and zonation plan using protection of Outstanding Universal Value as the primary basis for zone allocation,

d) Build the capacity of park staff to manage complex ecological, technical and sociological issues;

8. Also encourages the State Party to submit an International Assistance request to support the implementation of the above recommendations related to the management effectiveness of the property;

9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2013, a report on the state of conservation of the property, including progress achieved in implementing the recommendations of the 2008 and 2011 missions and the international workshop, as well as a copy of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the integrated transport programme for Papua Province, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 37th session in 2013.