Decision 41 COM 7B.29

Lorentz National Park (Indonesia) (N 955)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7B.12, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Welcomes the on-going review of the zoning system of the property and urges the State Party to ensure that it results in a simpler, more manageable zoning of the property, taking into account the traditional uses of local communities and the conservation of its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
4. Notes that large-scale poaching has not been recorded so far at the property, encourages the State Party to implement the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) for patrols in the property, to ensure an efficient use of limited resources and consistent data collection to inform park management;
5. Recalling previous concerns on the potential threat posed to the property by the trade in wildlife species from Papua Province, requests the State Party to provide further information about patrolling activities, including how much of the property is covered, and which species are being monitored;
6. Also welcomes the continued research on the dieback of Nothofagus species; also notes that, while road construction is considered a potential contributing factor, the major causes for the dieback are considered to be related to impacts of climate change; and also encourages the State Party to continue monitoring Nothofagus species in order to further the understanding of their population dynamics and response to the impacts of climate change;
7. Notes with concern that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Habbema-Kenyam road has identified significant environmental impacts which may affect the property, and considers that the construction of the road represents a significant additional risk for the fragile alpine environments of the property, which may exacerbate the impacts of climate change;
8. Also requests the State Party to invite an IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property in order to assess the current status of road construction and to review of the implementation of the Environmental Management Plan and its effectiveness in avoiding and mitigating impacts on the OUV;
9. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, 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 43rd session in 2019.