The Bureau recalled that the Committee included this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1996, and requested the State Party to implement the eleven-point corrective action plan that had been endorsed by the Minister for the Environment of Honduras. The Bureau noted that the elaboration of a management plan is being carried out with a contribution of US$ 30,000 from the World Heritage Fund, as part of a large scale project for strengthening the conservation of Rio Platano financed by GTZ-KFW (Germany). Furthermore, the Bureau learnt from IUCN that a hydroelectric development project (Patuca II), is proposed for implementation near the Reserve. Terms of reference for a draft environmental impact assessment have been prepared; potential impacts of the project would include opening of new access roads, reduction in downstream water flow and quality, and the loss of scenic and bio-diversity values.
The Bureau urged IUCN and the Centre to obtain more details concerning the hydroelectric development project and to report to the twenty-second session of the Committee. It recommended that the Committee retain this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger pending a review of its state of conservation foreseen during 1999.