Decision 42 COM 7B.97

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

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 38 COM 7B.97 and 40 COM 7B.84, adopted at its 38th (Doha, 2014) and 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) sessions respectively,
3. Commends the State Party for its substantial efforts to enhance the property’s conservation with several initiatives underway, notably to strengthen anti-poaching efforts, and requests the State Party to continue these efforts, in particular to:
   1. Implement the Anti-Poaching Strategy and the Elephant Management Plan, and continue to report on progress made,
   2. Complete the review of the General Management Plan, and submit it to the World Heritage Centre once it is available,
   3. Report on the outcomes of habitat surveys and the elephant collaring project, as well as provide data on poaching and other available conservation indicators;
4. Appreciates the support by an increasing number of partners to the conservation of the property, including the CITES programme on Minimizing the Illegal Killing of Elephants and other Endangered Species (MIKES) in line with Decision 41 COM 7, and support from UNDP funded by the Global Environment Facility;
5. Takes note of the decision to suspend commercial sport hunting in Sapi Safari Area, the northern part of Chewore Safari Area and the buffer zone to promote the recovery of wildlife species, and also requests the State Party to clarify the status and extent of the areas referred to by the State Party as the buffer zone, which have not yet been formally adopted by the Committee;
6. Welcomes the collaboration between the States Parties of Zimbabwe and Zambia to strengthen transboundary conservation, including through regular joint border patrols, and to consider nominating Lower Zambezi National Park as an extension of the property, with a view to creating a transboundary property, as recommended by the Committee, and encourages again the two States Parties to finalize the Memorandum of Understanding for the Lower Zambezi-Mana Pools National Parks Trans-Frontier Conservation Area, and to request technical advice from the World Heritage Centre and IUCN as needed;
7. Reiterates its request to the State Party of Zambia to keep the World Heritage Centre informed on the status of the decision regarding the proposed Kangaluwi and Chisawa opencast mine in Lower Zambezi National Park which could have serious impact on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
8. Also appreciates the State Party’s confirmation that new tourism developments will be located away from the Zambezi River and that they will be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), in line with its previous commitment, and further requests the State Party to provide a map indicating the exact locations of the proposed tourism developments;
9. Further appreciates the State Party’s commitment to ensure regular monitoring of the effectiveness of the environmental management and monitoring plans of the Vine Camp lodge, adopting an adaptive approach to its management as the lodge moves into full operation, and requests furthermore the State Party to continue to report on monitoring and mitigation activities;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2019, a progress report, and by 1 December 2020 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 45th session in 2021.