Decision 44 COM 7B.71

Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape (Chad) (C/N 1475)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 40 COM 8B.15, 41 COM 8B.52 and 42 COM 7B.64, adopted at its 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016), 41st (Krakow, 2017) and 42nd (Manama, 2018) sessions respectively,
3. Regrets that the State Party provided little new information on the state of conservation of the property nor on the actions taken to implement the requests of the Committee at the time of inscription and in subsequent decisions;
4. Welcomes the ongoing actions of the State Party and African Parks Network (APN) partnership to strengthen the protection and management of the property, with financial support of the European Union and other partners, including the establishment of a new government Directorate and legislation for the protection of cultural heritage;
5. Reiterates its request to the State Party to urgently address the issues identified at the time of inscription of the property and to provide a clear timeframe for their implementation:
   1. Strengthen the legal protection status of the property by the creation as of December 2016 of a protected area with a regime of protection adequate to the values of the property and meeting the protection requirements of the Convention,
   2. Establish a revised Management Plan for the whole property, meeting the international standards, including an operational implementation calendar for all steps needed to achieve this goal and clarify the management responsibilities of the new system in coordination with the traditional one which has been in place until today, and which clearly:
      1. Spell out management operations to conserve the World Heritage values,
      2. Include a zonation which allows full protection of the key areas for biodiversity,
      3. Detail the measures foreseen to address the main potential threats,
      4. Guarantee the full participation of the local communities and of their traditional authorities in the management of the property,
      5. Clarify the institutional management regime of the property and provides a detailed staffing and budget consistent with the effective implementation of the required management,
   3. Include a strategy to establish a detailed botanical inventory of the site, to identify all important refugia and areas for relict flora that may further justify the application of Criterion (ix);
6. Noting the 2017 surveys and the inventory of rock art vandalism, also reiterates its request for the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre a detailed report on the extent of the damage and measures taken to rehabilitate the affected sites;
7. Urges the State Party to consult with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies before finalizing the proposal for the boundaries of the Natural and Cultural Reserve of Ennedi so as to guarantee that all important areas are included and that an appropriate buffer zone is foreseen, and to submit a request for boundary modification for examination by the World Heritage Committee;
8. 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.