Pending the status report which the Committee requested the Bulgarian authorities to submit in 1998, the Bureau recommended the Committee to retain this property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Bureau commended the Croatian authorities for their initial rehabilitation activities and recommended to the Committee to maintain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger because, although there was no longer threat of armed conflict to World Heritage values, there were potential and ascertained threats such as visitor impacts, water contamination and other conditions identified in the mission report.

The Bureau commended INEFAN on its actions but at the same time reiterated the Committee's concerns about the road construction and its request for an Environmental Impact Assessment.

The Bureau took note of a Round Table on Mount Nimba which was held in Conakry (Guinea) on 17 and 18 April 1996 organized by the Ministry for Energy and Environment in collaboration with the "Mission Française de Cooperation et d'Action Culturelle". The Round Table included representatives of the following donor countries and organizations: France, Germany, Japan, Canada, the Wallonian Region of Belgium, The World Bank, UNDP, the European Union, and USAID. The Bureau took note of the recommendation that UNESCO considers supporting the establishment of a working group to create an "International Foundation for Mount Nimba".

The Bureau commended the States Parties for their efforts. However, given the uncertainties concerning the adequate management of the site, and the shortcomings with regard to the on-site management, the Bureau recommended to the Committee to retain the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

In the absence of any precise information, uncertainties remain concerning the state of conservation of the site, the Bureau reiterated its request to the State Party for a detailed updated report. In the meantime, the Bureau recommended to the Committee to retain the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Bureau was informed that an IUCN project of 1 Million US$ is underway at the site to assist in re-establishing the management regime and that a report from the project will be available in August 1996. The Delegate of Niger underlined that a mission would be necessary to evaluate the situation.

The Bureau recommended that the 20th extraordinary session of the Bureau in November 1996 may wish to examine the report that will be provided by IUCN on the site, and subsequently may wish to consider whether the site should remain on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Due to the long-term nature of the rehabilitation activities and further to the conclusions of the Committee, the Bureau recommended that the site remain on the List of World Heritage in Danger until further rehabilitation is demonstrated.

The Bureau recommended that the site be retained on the List of World Heritage in Danger until such time as the mining-related Environmental Impact Study required under domestic law is completed and considered, and actions taken on other issues previously identified.

The Centre wrote to the authorities requesting that the World Heritage Committee be informed about any action to be undertaken to stop poaching operations within the site and to improve control in the Park. The Centre and IUCN are in contact with several NGOs working in the area and a mission was organized together with WWF to the site in order to evaluate its state of conservation and to strengthen cooperation between the different international assistance agencies working to protect the site. The mission was carried out from 15 to 30 April 1996 and the report indicates serious threats to the site, including impacts due to the location of refugee camps involving more than 700,000 persons in the vicinity of the Park (deforestation, poaching etc.). The report indicates detailed recommendations for an urgent safeguarding plan, collaboration between different organizations (WWF, GTZ, UNHCR, DNDP, GEF and UNESCO) as well as specific recommendations for international assistance requests to be submitted by the authorities.

Taking into account the presence of thousands of refugees, the Bureau expressed its concern about the continuing degradation of the Park and recommended to the Committee to retain the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Bureau recommended that the Bureau at its twentieth extraordinary session in November 1996 examines the Task Force report.

The Bureau concluded that serious problems exist, such that immediate remedial actions are essential to safeguard the values of the World Heritage site and the surrounding marine areas, while recognizing the considerable efforts already made.

i) Notably, the Bureau calls upon the President and the Congress of Ecuador to enact "special legislation" as an emergency measure, as discussed on the mission, most importantly to halt immigration from the mainland to the islands and to ensure the protection of the marine area surrounding the islands of the Galapagos.

ii) The Bureau requests that its Chairman transmit the mission report to the Ecuadorian authorities, outlining the threats to the site and actions necessary to redress the serious situation. The Bureau offers its continued collaboration and assistance in dealing with these problems and welcomes generous offers of assistance in training and preparing management schemes from the United States and Australia.

iii) The Bureau recommends further that the World Heritage Committee examines the measures taken by the authorities of Ecuador in the months to come on which the authorities are requested to report by 1 November 1996. The Committee will examine this information and decide whether the site should be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Upon adoption of the above text by the Bureau, the Delegate of Ecuador expressed his great satisfaction about the recognition of the problems that the management of Galapagos Islands is confronted with and the cooperative spirit with which the Bureau addressed this issue. He declared his gratitude for all international assistance provided to the Galapagos. He furthermore informed the Bureau that the President of Ecuador has received the final version of the special legislation for the Galapagos Islands and will submit it to the Congress within the shortest delay possible.

1) Support a planning and coordination meeting at the regional level, involving major stakeholders of the Simen Park area, with the general objective to update management planning of the Park and its buffer zone.

2) Organize a technical mission by the World Heritage Centre in the near future, i.e. September/October 1996, with the objective of assisting in the formulation of a possible submission to the Centre for technical assistance for (1) above.

3) Within the World Heritage Centre's mandate for better monitoring of African conservation sites, provide financial support for the finalization of the recent Simen Mountains Baseline Studies carried out in 1994-96, in order to make available to all stakeholders the informatioon collected in the studies for the above planning meeting.

On the basis of the report provided by IUCN's regional office, the Bureau recommended the Committee to inscribe this property on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Bureau recalled that the report provides eleven points of corrective actions and that the Minister of Environment has endorsed this report, including the recommendation that the site be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Government of Honduras has submitted a technical assistance request and the Bureau recalled that priority should be given to international assistance requests for sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Delegate of Mexico informed the Bureau that in July 1994 the ESSA Salt Mining Company submitted to the National Institute of Ecology an environmental impact study proposal to extend its installations. This proposal was refused by the National Institute of Ecology (INE) in February 1995. On 23 June 1995 the ESSA Company expressed interest in submitting a new study for evaluation by the INE.

In 26 February 1996, INE created a Committee comprising seven national and foreign experts, which held a first meeting in March 1996, participated in a public conference attended by nearly 300 persons and presented 42 documents to define aspects to be included in the new environmental impact study.

The Minister of the Environment, Natural Resources and Fish (SEMARNAP), has indicated, through the National Institute of Ecology, that the proposal could only be authorized on the understanding that it respects the legislation and the ecological standards in force.