Decision 45 COM 7B.72

Sangha Trinational (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo) (N 1380rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.174 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Welcomes the efforts of the States Parties and their partners to improve the effectiveness of the management of the property by continuing to update the various management plans, harmonizing the wildlife census methodology throughout the property by 2025, acquiring equipment for ecological monitoring and surveillance of the property, recruiting and strengthening the capacities of eco-guards to combat wildlife crime effectively, and consolidating local collaboration and cross-border cooperation;
4. Welcomes the strengthening of consultations with indigenous peoples and local communities with a view to the recognition and respect of their rights and empowerment, as well as their involvement in the management of the property, and recalling again the concerns previously raised in the independent review initiated by WWF International, requests the States Parties to continue to address all concerns in accordance with relevant international standards, the World Heritage and Sustainable Development Policy, while taking into account the recommendations of the independent review, and to report on the implementation of the recommendations of the independent review in the next state of conservation report for the property;
5. Noting the decrease in elephant poaching cases, remains concerned by the persistence of poaching in the property and its periphery, despite the continued efforts of States Parties, also requests the States Parties to intensify monitoring efforts in order to better control illegal activities in the property, notably through cross-border cooperation;
6. Also noting the consensus reached on the planning of synchronized wildlife inventories as early as 2025 for an estimation of animal populations throughout the property, further requests the States Parties to continue their harmonization efforts in order to obtain accurate and comparable data at the scale of the property for all species characteristic of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
7. Welcomes the decision to cancel the mining exploration permit straddling the Central African component of the property, as well as the confirmation of the non-existence of mining and petroleum exploration or exploitation activities currently encroaching on the property, in line with the Committee's position that mining exploration and/or exploitation is incompatible with World Heritage status;
8. Further requests the State Party of Congo to provide clarifications concerning the petroleum exploration permits around the property;
9. Notes with concern the various major infrastructure projects proposed around the property, in particular the Ouesso-Bangui-Ndjamena road project which will pass just to the south of the property, and which could have a negative impact on its OUV, particularly its integrity, takes note of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, regrets that the potential impacts of these projects, and in particular the Pokola-Enyellé-Bétou-Gouga road section, on the OUV of the property, notably in its Congolese component, have not been addressed, and further requests the States Parties that the ESIA be revised to take into account the potential impacts of this project on the OUV of the property, in line with the orientations contained in the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, before it is resubmitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN;
10. Also regrets that the State Party of Cameroon has not provided a response to UNESCO's correspondence of 8 July 2021, in which the World Heritage Centre shared its concern in relation to the potential impact on the OUV of the property of the project to open a road in the property at the border between Congo and Cameroon, and urges the State Party of Cameroon to provide updated information on the status of this road project;
11. Noting the confirmation by the State Party of Cameroon that no new timber sales projects encroach on the buffer zone of the property in its Cameroonian part, also urges the State Party of Cameroon to avoid the development of any new concessions in the buffer zone that would have a negative impact on the OUV of the property and to continue to ensure that no timber sales concessions encroach on the property;
12. Reiterates its request to the States Parties to ensure that ESIAs are carried out for all projects planned in and around the property in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and submitted to the World Heritage Committee prior to any project approval;
13. Recalling the commitment of the States Parties to define strategic guidelines to minimize the effects of logging on ecological connectivity, reiterates its request to the States Parties to promote certification that minimizes the impacts on biodiversity of all logging concessions in the buffer zone, and to the State Party of the Central African Republic the need to prioritize the certification of its two logging concessions in the buffer zone of the property in order to avoid any potential impact on the OUV of the property;
14. Also requests the States Parties to continue to implement all the recommendations of the 2016 Reactive Monitoring mission;
15. Finally requests the States Parties 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.