Decision 43 COM 7A.4

Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras) (N 196)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decisions 41 COM 7A.3 and 42 COM 7A.44, adopted at its 41st (Krakow, 2017) and 42nd (Manama, 2018) sessions respectively,
3. Commends the State Party on the re-activation of the Ad-Hoc Committee dedicated to the management and protection of the property, as well as the Presidential Campaign “SOS Honduras: Stop the Destruction of Forests”;
4. Also commends the governmental and non-governmental partners on their continued support for the conservation of the property and progress made in land titling and granting negotiated local access to natural resources in the buffer and cultural zones of the Biosphere Reserve;
5. Notes with concern that the efforts to date have not resulted in significant progress towards achieving the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), and urges the State Party and governmental and non-governmental partners involved to ensure that the proposed activities match the scale and complexity of the well-documented challenges, in order to make progress towards the completion of the corrective measures and achievement of the DSOCR;
6. Welcomes the inclusion in the State Party’s Tentative List of Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve as a requirement for the planned Significant Boundary Modification of the property and strongly encourages the State Party to continue the proposal for a Significant Boundary Modification as a crucial step towards achieving the DSOCR, and in particular to:
   a) Coordinate the many governmental sectors and institutions involved at various levels,
   b) Seek support from the World Heritage Centre, Advisory Bodies and other States Parties, as appropriate,
   c) Ensure the full involvement of indigenous peoples and local communities as a core component of the proposal,
   d) Guarantee full consideration of the archaeological heritage of the property and corresponding actors;
7. Reiterates its utmost concern that the State Party did not report on the possible impacts of the Patuca III (Piedras Amarillas) hydropower project, despite repeated requests, at a time when construction is reported to be ongoing or completed, and strongly requests the State Party to immediately report on the status of the project and how it will ensure that current and potential impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property are specifically assessed in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment;
8. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 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 44th session in 2020;
9. Decides to retain Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.