Decision 41 COM 7A.6

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d’Ivoire/Guinea) (N 155bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 7A.36, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Notes with appreciation the continued actions by the States Parties to undertake anti-poaching patrols and ecological monitoring;
4. Noting that the borders between Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia have reopened, reiterates its request to the States Parties of Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea to implement a joint monitoring system of the property to control all anthropogenic pressures, and to collaborate with UNDP and Global Environmental Facility (GEF) to develop the second phase of the Nimba Project, to concern the entire property, in order to promote the implementation of the corrective measures to safeguard the integrity of the property;
5. Welcomes the development of a protocol for collaboration of managers between Guinea and Liberia, and encourages all three States Parties, to consider extending this protocol to also include Côte d’Ivoire;
6. Requests the State Party of Côte d’Ivoire to provide further details on the decree for the redefinition of the boundaries, in order to confirm that it does not exclude degraded areas of the property;
7. Also reiterates its request to the State Party of Guinea to strictly ensure that the preparation of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the West Africa Exploration Company is in accordance with international standards as requested previously, and to submit this ESIA to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, before authorizing the project, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
8. Further reiterates its request to the State Party of Guinea to develop a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in line with international standards, to qualify and quantify all the potential cumulative impacts of all planned mining projects in proximity to the property on its Outstanding Universal Value, in line with the IUCN World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, and submit the report to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, before making any decision on these projects, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Reminds the State Party of Guinea of its position regarding the fact that mining exploration and exploitation is incompatible with World Heritage status, policy supported by the declaration of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) not to undertake such activities in World Heritage properties, and also requests the State Party to continue its efforts in order to ensure that no mining will be permitted outside the boundaries of the property if it could have a negative impact on OUV;
10. Further requests the States Parties, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, to prepare a Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) and the corresponding set of indicators;
11. Requests furthermore the State Party of Guinea to submit a map of the revised boundaries of the exploration permit granted to SAMA Resources Company in relation to the property;
12. Requests moreover the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2018, a joint 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;
13. Decides to retain Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.