Decision 41 COM 7A.8

Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (N 137)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 7A.37, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Addresses its most sincere condolences to the families of the guards killed in the line of duty and to all the staff of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN);
4. Notes with satisfaction the evacuation of the armed groups, the recovery of control of the posts and the deployment of guards in the lowlands, and encourages the State Party to continue its surveillance efforts to combat illegal activities (mines and poaching);
5. Also notes with satisfaction the recruitment and training of new guards and the infrastructures established to strengthen surveillance and, furthermore, also encourages the State Party to deploy personnel in all the sectors of the property to ensure an effective surveillance;
6. Expresses again its utmost concern as regards the conclusions contained in the report of Wildlife Conservation Society/ Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation/Fauna and Flora International report indicating that the Grauer’s gorillas population has recorded a decrease of an estimated 77% since 1994 and emphasizes the crucial importance of increasing efforts to protect the great apes, to ensure their survival, as well as the other flagship species of the property, including the elephant and chimpanzee ;
7. Notes with concern that the mining, hunting and associated illegal trade of bush meat are the most serious threats for the habitat of the gorillas and other species and urges the State Party to close down all the remaining mines in and around the property and to ensure that they are not reoccupied, to urgently take measures to halt the consumption and commerce of bush meat and to concentrate its action on the halt of illegal commerce of great apes;
8. Takes note of the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission that took place in 2017 and requests the State Party to implement the corrective measures, as updated by the mission, from the current date until 2020:
   1. Pursue the evacuation of armed groups, close down all the artisanal quarry mines both inside and around the property, and terminate the illicit traffic of the natural resources, including wildlife poaching, and more particularly the great apes,
   2. Strengthen the anti-poaching combat and continue the joint patrols with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and enforce the law in collaboration with the legal authorities,
   3. Continue recruitment and training of qualified staff, motivated and well equipped and deploy teams in all the posts of the property,
   4. Pursue efforts to implement the recommendations resulting from the “National Forum for Governance and Enhancement of the Property” (April 2015) to resolve the issues of illegal occupation and evacuate the ecological corridor, and take the necessary measures to limit the impacts of encroachment, restore the vegetation and the connectivity between the lowlands and the highlands,
   5. Maintain an efficacious surveillance coverage, throughout the year, of at least 60% of the property by increasing the scope and frequency of the patrols and provide the technical and financial resources to the management authority, to attain this objective,
   6. Continue to develop the infrastructures of the Park and to acquire the necessary equipment to enable an efficient protection and management of the property,
   7. Continue and strengthen the activities for the economic development of the local communities to reduce their dependence on the resources of the Park and support conservation efforts, including the continued implementation of the “Community Conservation Strategy” and the “local development plans” in all the chiefdoms of the property,
   8. Complete the participative marking process and undertake a socio-economic study in the lowlands (Nzovu sector) to assess human presence in this sector,
   9. Work for the sustainable funding of the management of the Park;
9. Also encourages the State Party to request International Assistance from the World Heritage Fund before 31 October 2017, to develop indicators for the draft Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), as soon as the final results of the wildlife inventory are available ;
10. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2018, 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 42nd session in 2018;
11. Decides to continue to apply the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism;
12. Also decides to retain Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.