Decision 43 COM 7B.28

Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection (Panama) (N 1138rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.87, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Welcomes the confirmation that eradication of feral livestock from Coiba Island has significantly advanced and is expected to be completed in 2019;
4. Also welcomes the decision of the State Party to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the property, requests the State Party to suspend the implementation of any new tourism infrastructure or other development projects within the property, including those envisaged in the Public Use Plan, until the SEA has been completed and submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN;
5. Takes note of the confirmation provided by the State Party that the rehabilitation of the Central Camp Landing Strip would only involve upgrading of the facilities to meet the safety requirements and would not result in any modifications to flight frequency, also requests the State Party to ensure that this project is also considered by the SEA in light of the above indications;
6. Notes with utmost concern that while some recommendations of the 2014 and 2016 missions were reflected in the fishing regulations for the Special Zone of Marine Protection (SZMP) approved in January 2018, overall the regulations appear to be insufficient to prevent the decline of critical species that sustain the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) from unsustainable commercial fishing and therefore, urges the State Party to further improve the fishing regulations for the SZMP, in line with the recommendations of the missions, by:
   1. Establishing additional no-take zones, including the Hannibal Bank Habitat Protection Zone, considering the significantly larger percentage of area covered by no-take zones within the Coiba National Park,
   2. Reconsidering the current approach to commercial fishing within the SZMP in line with regulations in place for Coiba National Park, in order to further reduce pressures from fishing on the property;
7. Also urges the State Party to ensure the provision of adequate resources for the efficient enforcement of fishing regulations throughout the property, and the full functioning of the monitoring system envisaged for the SZMP and to align this system with the existing monitoring activities with Coiba National Park, particularly in terms of key indicator species;
8. Further 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, with a view to considering, in the absence of substantial progress in protecting the property from unsustainable fishing, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.