The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-05/29.COM/7A,
2. Recalling its Decision 28 COM 15A.4, adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004),
3. Congratulates the State Party of Ethiopia and in particular the Amhara National Regional State Government for the considerable efforts undertaken to improve the state of conservation of the property and on the progress made in addressing the issues requested by the Committee at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004);
4. Takes note of the State Party’s concern that the reduction of the human population within the park is very difficult to achieve under the prevailing conditions, despite efforts to initiate a voluntary resettlement programme;
5. Encourages the State Party to continue its efforts to develop an alternative livelihood strategy to address this issue and invites the State Party to complete its request for international assistance from the World Heritage Fund;
6. Requests the State Party to undertake the following additional steps:
a) map the extent of the agricultural encroachment within the park and monitor the level of encroachment annually;
b) restrict use of the area by domestic livestock;
c) undertake a household by household census of the people living within the park;
d) continue the policy of zero tolerance of domestic dogs;
e) set up a system to continuously monitor the human population in the property; and
f) consider strategic extensions to the park or its buffer zone to ensure that no further increase in agriculture, livestock and human populations occur;
7. Also requests the State Party to continue to cooperate with the Canid specialist group of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission as well as other organizations (such as WildCODE, the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, the Frankfurt Zoological Society and Ethiopian Universities) to survey the population of Simien Fox at the property;
8. Further requests the State Party to invite a joint mission of UNESCO and IUCN to the property to assess progress and review the possibility of removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006);
9. Further requests the State Party to submit by 1 February 2006 a report on progress towards the achievement of the benchmarks set by the Committee for a removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger as well as on the implementation of additional recommendations by the Committee and to provide information on the development of a tourist lodge in the property;
10. Decides to retain Simien National Park (Ethiopia) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.