Decision 29 COM 7A.1

Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park (Central African Republic)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-05/29.COM/7A,

2. Recalling Decisions 28 COM 15.1, adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004), and 25 COM VIII.3, adopted at its 25th session (Helsinki, 2001),

3. Requests the Chairperson of the Committee and the Director of the World Heritage Centre to transmit on behalf of the Committee their heartfelt condolences to the families of the game scouts who lost their lives in the antipoaching activities to protect the values of the property;

4. Regrets that the monitoring mission to the property could not take place due to the security situation in the region and reiterates its request for the World Heritage Centre and IUCN to undertake this joint mission as soon as the security situation allows;

5. Commends the European Union for its ongoing efforts to conserve the property and the natural resources in the areas adjacent to the property, in particular the development and implementation of the anti-poaching strategy;

6. Urges IUCN and the World Heritage Centre to cooperate closely with the “Conservation et Utilisation rationelle des ecosystems forestières de l’Afrique centrale” (ECOFAC) programme as well as with other organisations active in the region to get more details on the state of conservation of the property and on the urgent measures to be implemented in order to ensure the recovery of the property;

7. Further urges the State Party of Central African Republic to establish a dialogue with the Governments of Sudan and Chad in order to prevent transborder poaching activities, as requested by the Committee at its 25th session, and to provide adequate means to the game scouts to combat poaching;

8. Requests the State Party to submit a report by 1 February 2006 on the state of conservation of the property, in particular indicating the progress made in implementing the recommendations of the joint 2001 UNESCO/IUCN mission, for examination by the Committee at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006);