Decision 45 COM 7B.9

iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa) (N 914)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.176 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Notes the report that the further clearing and burning of swamp forest for subsistence agriculture within the property has been halted, and the State Party support to communities through alternative means and requests the State Party to continue the dialogue with communities to resolve the issue and to report on the progress of implementing the rehabilitation plan;
4. Also notes the response by the State Party on the reports of alleged human rights violations against the Nibela Community, which remain under investigation, and requests the State Party to continue its dialogue with the communities living around the property in order to resolve outstanding issues, including to jointly identify solutions that conserve the property and address legitimate livelihood concerns;
5. Also requests the State Party to report on the provisions in the new Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for stakeholders, including communities, to be involved in the management of the property;
6. Reiterating its concern on the continued water stress in the Lake Sibaya ecosystem, further requests the State Party to maintain a moratorium on issuing licences for commercial forestry, to address unauthorised commercial forestry plantations identified as a key source of water use stress within the watershed of Lake Sibaya, and to report on the hydrological and ecological conditions of Lake Sibaya system;
7. Welcomes the State Party’s plan to establish a buffer zone to the property in an effort to reduce water stress on Lake Sibaya and recommends that the consultation process consider the overall land use planning affecting the property’s integrity;
8. Also notes the conclusion and recommendations of the report of the independent Panel of experts, tasked to review the impact of the January 2021 artificial breaching of the mouth of the St. Lucia Estuary and to develop guidelines for future management of the estuary so as to safeguard the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and urges the State Party to ensure that any intervention in the St. Lucia Estuary would be aligned with the Panel recommendations and subject to relevant Environmental Impact Assessments conducted in conformity with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage context, and further requests the State Party to revisit the recommendations of the GEF-funded study;
9. Further noting that the proposal to develop 20 tourism related projects within the property, which would be subject to relevant Environmental Impact Assessments conducted in conformity with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage context, requests moreover the State Party to assess the cumulative impacts of these tourism developments on the property’s OUV including its conditions of integrity, provide evidence that justifies the compatibility of the developments with the overall sustainable tourism strategy for the property;
10. Further welcomes the State Party’s commitment to ensure that adequate national level impact assessment for any extractive industry development proposal is conducted in conformity with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage context, and furthermore requests the State Party to keep the World Heritage Committee informed of any developments in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
11. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, 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 47th session.