Decision 40 COM 7B.82

Rwenzori Mountains National Park (Uganda) (N 684)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 36 COM 7B.4 and 38 COM 7B.93, adopted at its 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012) and 38th (Doha, 2014) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes further progress made in engaging local communities in the management and protection of the property;
4. Also welcomes the progress made in implementing the ecological monitoring plan for the property, encourages the State Party to develop additional monitoring protocols to assess population trends for key large mammal species, and reiterates its recommendation to the State Party to work with the Mountains Specialist Group of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) to safeguard the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property in the long-term;
5. Appreciates the decision not to allow the development of a mini-hydropower scheme partially inside the property on the grounds that it would adversely impact the OUV of the property;
6. Notes the difficulty of organizing coordinated patrols along the international border with the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) due to insurgent activity on the Congolese side of the border, and reiterates its encouragement to the States Parties of Uganda and DRC to continue their efforts towards developing a formal protocol to strengthen their collaboration;
7. Reiterates its utmost concern about the award of a 25-year concession to re-open the Kilembe copper mine adjacent to the property;
8. Reiterates its position that mineral exploration or exploitation is incompatible with World Heritage status, which is supported by the International Council of Mining and Metals’ (ICMM) Position Statement of not undertaking such activities within World Heritage properties, and urges the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre details of the concession awarded to Tibet Hima Ltd and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the potential impacts of any activity on both the property and the Virunga National Park downstream, in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, and in consultation with the State Party of the DRC;
9. Also appreciates the funding provided by different donors to develop tourism and management frameworks for the property, calls on further donors to support the site, and reiterates its request to the State Party to provide the revised management plan, including the sustainable financing strategy and the business plan for review by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, prior to approval;
10. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018.