The World Heritage Committee,
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Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7A.Add,
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Recalling Decision 38 COM 7A.38, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
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Notes that the impacts of the Ebola crisis have seriously affected the implementation of the corrective measures in the Guinean part of the property and have suspended the implementation of important transboundary activities, and expresses its concern that the impacts of the crisis could present important additional challenges for the management authority, CEGENS, in Guinea, which has limited capacity and needs technical and financial support;
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Welcomes the important efforts, which have been undertaken since the end of the conflict by the State Party of Côte d’Ivoire, in particular the management authority, OIPR, to re-assert its authority over the property and re-build its management capacity as well as the on-going work to restore the integrity of the property, develop community forests to act as a buffer zone and intensify the cooperation with the local communities;
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Urges the States Parties to continue their efforts to implement the corrective measures approved by the Committee in its Decision 37 COM 7A.3;
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Requests the States Parties to work with UNDP and the Global Environmental Facility to develop a second phase of the Nimba project, covering the components in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, and possibly part of the Nimba mountains in Liberia, to assist with the implementation of the corrective measures in order to safeguard the integrity of the property;
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Expresses its utmost concern that the preliminary review of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), which was completed for the exploration concession granted to West Africa Exploration, indicates that the ESIA seems not to have been carried out in accordance with international standards, as was requested by the Committee in Decision 37 COM 7A.3;
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Reiterates its request for a thorough Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), in accordance with international standards, which must qualify and quantify all potential impacts of the different planned mining projects on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in accordance with the recommendations of the 2013 monitoring mission to the property and the IUCN World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessments, and to submit the results to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, prior to any decision on these projects, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
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Also reiterates its request to the State Party of Guinea to revise the boundaries of the exploration permit granted to SAMA resources in order to ensure that they do not overlap with the property;
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Also requests the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2016, an updated joint report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016;
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Decides to retain the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire/Guinea) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.