The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined document WHC/24/46.COM/7A.Add,
- Recalling Decision 45 COM 7A.3 adopted at its extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023),
- Congratulates the State Party and its partner, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), on their significant efforts to secure and improve the management and monitoring of the property, to continue ecological monitoring, to strengthen staff numbers and capacities, to rehabilitate the infrastructure of the management team, to raise awareness among local communities and to develop community alternatives to poaching, and thanks the donors, who continue to support conservation of the property, in particular the European Union, the Government of Norway (through the World Heritage Centre), and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS);
- Notes with satisfaction that the priority conservation area of the secured property is gradually evolving and encourages the State Party and its partners to continue their efforts in order to achieve the objective of securing 63% of the area of the property before the end of 2024;
- Also notes with satisfaction that the population of flagship species has remained stable since 2021, and requests that the State Party provide detailed information presenting the abundance, distribution and population trends of flagship species in the property;
- Also requests that the State Party develop, on the basis of information obtained from biomonitoring, indicators of the Desired state of conservation for removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) and to submit it for examination by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN;
- Expresses its concern at the persistence of intensive poaching, illegal gold panning and international transhumance, and urges again the State Party to strengthen control and law enforcement measures against these illegal activities and to continue advocating for the implementation of existing regional agreements on combating poaching and other cross-border criminal activities as well as those relating to peace, reconciliation and social cohesion;
- Further requests that the State Party provide detailed information in order to assess the extent and impact of these activities on the property, as well as trends in each of these threats in response to the multiple security actions undertaken on the property;
- Appreciates the State Party’s ongoing efforts to mobilize financial resources to cover the additional costs incurred by the bypass, takes note of the availability of the executive summary of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the project and reiterates its request to the State Party to finalize this study with the support of its partners in accordance with the World Heritage Impact Assessment Guide and Toolkit and to submit said ESIA to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, before approving the project in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
- Further requests that the State Party provide detailed information concerning the situation of oil block A and exploration blocks I, II and III overlapping the property, based on the results of the field mission with representatives of the Ministry of Geology and Mines, and to ensure that no oil and mining exploration activities are permitted on the property;
- Reiterates its established position that mining and oil exploration and exploitation are incompatible with World Heritage status;
- Also commends the State Party for its creation of the Northeast Protected Area Complex biosphere reserve, of which the property is a part, and further encourages the State Party to consider submitting a request for a minor modification of the boundaries of the property to create a buffer zone for the property in conformity with the zoning of the biosphere reserve;
- Further requests that, once the draft DSOCR has been submitted to the World Heritage Centre, the State Party invite a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to assess the integrity of the property and progress in implementing the corrective measures and recommendations of the 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission;
- Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2025, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and implementation of the above-mentioned points, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session;
- Decides to continue to apply the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism to this property;
- Also decides to keep the Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park (Central African Republic) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.