Decision 44 COM 7B.120

Island of Saint-Louis (Senegal) (C 956bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 7B.110, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
3. Notes with satisfaction the efforts made by the State Party, in particular for the ongoing rehabilitation of the Cathedral and the Heritage House, as well as for the effective governance of the property and the fund-raising efforts;
4. Appreciates the progress made to establish an inventory of the private heritage and its rehabilitation, and requests the State Party to regularly update the inventory with continuous illustrated documentation to ensure a better appreciation of the ongoing developments and transformations of the urban fabric;
5. Recommends that the State Party establish a Conservation and Management Plan which also includes risk management, an updated action plan integrating the various authorities in charge and in particular the future Heritage House, as well as participatory coordination at the community level;
6. Acknowledges the efforts made to improve and enhance the property through the development of the former Place Faidherbe, renamed by the Saint-Louis municipality Place Baya-Ndar, and the Avenue Jean Mermoz, expresses its concern about the potential impacts of a traffic closure on the former Place Faidherbe, diverting and increasing traffic density on other parts of the island, in particular on the wharves that may be weakened therefrom, and also recommends that the State Party carry out an impact study of the development project of the former Place Faidherbe, to consider whether mitigation measures may be necessary;
7. Regrets that the State Party did not submit the development projects and an analysis of their impact on the property before their implementation for examination by the Advisory Bodies, and reminds the State Party to submit to it all major projects for examination by the Advisory Bodies in accordance with paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, to ensure that they do not have a negative and irreversible impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property;
8. Further recommends that the State Party provide more detailed information concerning the rehabilitation and extension project of the Grand Mosque (plans, sections, analysis demonstrating that the project complies with the regulations in force set out in the Safeguarding and Enhancement Plan of Saint-Louis and analysis of the project's impact on the authenticity of the property);
9. Takes note of the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas project by the oil and gas company BP in Senegal and Mauritania presented at a meeting with the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and IUCN on 28 January 2021, and also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre in particular the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for examination by the Advisory Bodies to assess the potential impact of the project on the property;
10. Taking into account the many major projects underway or under preparation at the property and the significant ongoing transformations, further requests that the State Party invite a World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to assess the general state of conservation of the property and the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations of the 2017 mission;
11. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 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 46th session.