Decision 43 COM 7A.8

Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (N 137)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7A.48, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Congratulates the State Party for the evacuation of the illegal occupants of the ecological corridor between the highlands and lowlands which answers a major concern of the World Heritage Committee and notes that it is crucial to guarantee the ecological connectivity between the highland and lowland sectors for the restoration of the integrity of the property;
4. Requests the State Party to develop a rehabilitation plan for this zone to facilitate the regeneration of natural vegetation and to submit to the World Heritage Centre all information, including maps, to assess the impact of encroachment on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
5. Expresses its concern as regards the continued reduction in the surveillance coverage of the property and encourages the donors to continue their financial and technical support to consolidate the important conservation efforts undertaken by the State Party for the entirety of the property;
6. Notes with satisfaction the capacity-building activities for new guards, the increase in bonuses and salaries as well as the development of infrastructures to strengthen surveillance and improve the difficult work conditions of the ICCN guards and also requests the State Party to continue these efforts;
7. Commends the State Party for the implementation of community conservation projects encouraging the autonomy of the local communities and the recognition of the rights and traditional means of subsistence of the local communities, and particularly those of the indigenous Batwa, and also encourages it to continue these actions in this direction;
8. Further requests the State Party to submit the results of the wildlife inventory to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN;
9. Reiterates its request to the State Party to prepare, in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, indicators for the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) project, once the results of the wildlife inventory are available;
10. Urges the State Party to continue the implementation of the corrective measures, as updated by the 2017 mission;
11. Requests furthermore 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;
12. Decides to continue the application of the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism;
13. Also decides to retain Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.