Decision 40 COM 7B.84

Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas (Zimbabwe) (N 302)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.97, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Welcomes the implementation of the environmental safeguards in the development of the new Mana Pools Lodge at Vine Camp, and the State Party’s assurance that any further developments will be located in more peripheral areas, away from the Zambezi riverfront, and requests the State Party to ensure regular monitoring of the effectiveness of the environmental management and monitoring plans at Vine Camp, and to adopt an adaptive approach to its management;
4. Notes with significant concern that the 2014 national aerial survey of key wildlife species has revealed a decline in the Zambezi Valley populations of elephants and other mammals which are key attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, and that the threat of poaching is currently too high to consider a feasibility study for a possible reintroduction programme of black rhinoceros;
5. Notes the development of an anti-poaching strategy for the property and a broader elephant management plan for the Zambezi Valley, and also requests the State Party to ensure that they are fully resourced and effectively implemented so as to restore and maintain the property’s OUV;
6. Regrets that the State Party has not been able to complete the new management plan for the property due to lack of funds and encourages it to apply for International Assistance to support this work;
7. Also notes with appreciation the information provided by the State Party of Zambia that the approved open cast copper mine in Lower Zambezi National Park has not been developed due to an injunction by the High Court, and reminds the State Party of Zambia of its obligations under Article 6.3 of the Convention;
8. Further requests the State Party of Zambia to ensure, in any case, that the potential impacts of copper mining in Lower Zambezi National Park on the OUV of the property are carefully assessed, in accordance with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, before taking any decisions that may be difficult to reverse;
9. Also welcomes progress made by the States Parties of Zimbabwe and Zambia to establish a trans-frontier conservation area linking the property with Zambia’s adjacent Lower Zambezi National Park, and also encourages them to finalize the Memorandum of Understanding and further enhance joint operations to protect and manage the area;
10. Reiterates its recommendation to the States Parties to consider nominating the Lower Zambezi National Park, in order to eventually constitute a joint trans-boundary inscription on the World Heritage List, in line with the World Heritage Committee's recommendation at the time of inscription of the property;
11. Requests furthermore the State Party of Zambia to keep the World Heritage Centre informed on the status of the decision regarding the Kangaluwi and Chisawa opencast mine in Lower Zambezi National Park and its potential impacts on the property’s OUV;
12. Requests moreover the State Party of Zimbabwe to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2017, a detailed 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.