Decision 44 COM 7A.50

Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) (N 153)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decisions 42 COM 7A.55 and 43 COM 7A.15, adopted respectively at its 42nd (Manama, 2018) and 43rd (Baku, 2019) sessions,
3. Takes note of the efforts undertaken by the State Party to implement some of the corrective measures, especially those concerning the monitoring of certain populations of threatened and key species for the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), improvement in the marking of the boundaries of the property and the speed limit of traffic on the section of National Road N°7 within the property;
4. Also takes note of the results of the ecological monitoring, but regrets the absence of data on some characteristic species of the OUV and requests the State Party to strengthen its ecological monitoring mechanism to provide reliable data on the state of conservation and the current population trends of all the characteristic species of the OUV;
5. Thanks the donors who continue to support the conservation of the property, notably the Government of Norway through its contribution to the World Heritage Fund;
6. Expresses its grave concern regarding the continued menace that weighs on the threatened population of 15 chimpanzees present in the impact zone of the Petowal Mining Company (PMC) and also requests the State Party to continue implementation of the actions aimed at mitigating the impact of the major threats hindering the conservation of the species;
7. Warmly welcomes the progress made by the State Party in the control and elimination of illicit mining exploitation, but expresses its grave concern as regards damage to the aquatic habitat and the significant increase in the level of suspended sediments in the Gambia River following illegal mining exploitation, and further requests the State Party to continue its efforts in eliminating this threat in the property, while undertaking urgent measures to restore the damaged habitats and control pollution;
8. Reiterates its grave concern regarding high concentrations of nitrate, sulphate and iron in the groundwater, and aluminium in the waters of the Gambia River, and requests furthermore the State Party to continue monitoring the quality of the groundwater and surface waters to detect the causes of these anomalies, carry out microbiological analyses of the waterways likely to be affected by the project and to take urgent measures to limit the impact of this pollution;
9. Also regrets that the State Party has not provided any information concerning the combat against invasive species and requests moreover that it continues its efforts to eliminate this threat;
10. Further regrets the postponement until mid-2021 of the closure of the Mansadala quarry, reiterates its request to the State Party to proceed immediately to the closure of the quarry given its negative impact on the OUV of the property, and urges the State Party to undertake urgent measures to mitigate the impacts of this activity;
11. Further takes note of the suspension of the construction work for the Sambangalou Dam due to lack of funding and requests in addition the State Party not to undertake work before an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) has been realized in conformity with the IUCN Advice Note and submitted to the World Heritage Centre;
12. Takes note furthermore of the submission to the World Heritage Centre of the ESIA of the Barrick Gold Company mining project, and requests the State Party not to deliver a certificate of environmental conformity to the Company before the examination of the ESIA by IUCN;
13. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2022, 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;
14. Decides to retain Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.