Decision 44 COM 7B.197

Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park (Costa Rica, Panama) (N 205bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 7B.25, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
3. Welcomes the States Parties’ ongoing efforts to combat illegal activities within the property, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, including through strengthened institutional arrangements and patrols in bilateral cooperation;
4. Notes the measures taken to ensure effective transboundary management of the La Amistad International Park area of the property, including the finalization and adoption of the General Management Plan for the La Amistad International Park in Costa Rica and encourages the State Party of Panama to finalise the Management Plan for the Panamanian area of the property by mid-2021 to ensure protection is consistent across this contiguous transboundary area of the property, and requests the States Parties to submit these plans for review by the World Heritage Center and IUCN ;
5. Reiterating its position that any development of new hydropower projects prior to the finalization and adequate review of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the entire property would represent a danger to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines, also welcomes that the construction project of the Changuinola II (CHAN II) dam has not been re-activated to date and also notes the State Party’s reaffirmed commitment to its obligations under the Convention and its confirmation that, should re-activation of the project be considered again, prior consultations with the World Heritage Centre would be undertaken;
6. Regrets that the SEA for the entire property was not completed in 2019 as requested by the Committee and also requests the States Parties to finalize the SEA for the entire property in 2021 and submit it to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, as soon as it becomes available and the latest by 1 February 2022;
7. Further notes the efforts of the State Party of Panama to monitor activities of the CHAN I dam and the Bonyic dam, and further requests the State Party to continue these efforts to establish long-term monitoring programmes for the projects, and use the findings to design appropriate mitigation measures to ensure the OUV of the property is not negatively impacted, and consider the monitoring processes and findings into the overall SEA for the entire property;
8. Requests furthermore the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2022, an updated joint 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.