Decision 46 COM 7A.45

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d’Ivoire/Guinea) (N 155bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7A.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decisions 43 COM 7A.6, 44 COM 7A.40 and 45 COM 7A.4 adopted at its 43rd (Baku, 2019), extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) and extended 45th (Riyadh, 2023) sessions respectively,
3. Notes with appreciation the ongoing efforts of the States Parties under difficult circumstances to implement the corrective measures, including joint transboundary surveillance patrols, funding to support management operations, surveillance, ecological monitoring, support for neighbouring populations and transboundary activities, and the restoration of degraded areas, and requests the States Parties to continue the implementation of all corrective measures to improve the state of conservation of the property;
4. Appreciates the support by a growing number of national and international partners to the conservation of the property, including UNESCO, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the European Union (EU) and the World Bank, and encourages States Parties to build long-term programmes with them, including actions contributing to the achievement of the indicators of the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), and to explore other funding opportunities for a sustainable maintenance of the ecological integrity of the property;
5. Notes with concern the limited progress made in the process of validating the Development and Management Plan (Plan d’aménagement et de gestion - PAG) for the Guinean part of the property as well as the Master Plan including the two components of the property, and also requests the States Parties to provide detailed information on the progress of these two processes and to ensure that these processes are finalised as soon as possible;
6. Also notes with concern that ecological monitoring data for key species representing the attributes of the OUV of the property, notably the chimpanzee, the Micropotamogale and the viviparous toad remain highly disparate from one component to another, expresses its concern about the lack of reliable data on the status of the Micropotamogale in the property and further requests the States Parties to develop and implement, as soon as possible, a harmonised and operational ecological monitoring and anti-poaching system to monitor the evolutionary trend of key species of the OUV of the property and the integrity of their habitats;
7. Also takes note of the regulatory framework for infrastructure development in the peripheral zone of national parks and nature reserves in Côte d'Ivoire, recalls the importance for the property of having a buffer zone as described in the Operational Guidelines and reiterates once again its request to the State Party of Côte d'Ivoire to designate and formalize a buffer zone for the Ivorian component of the property in accordance with the procedures of the Operational Guidelines;
8. Welcoming the involvement of the Mounts Nimba-Simandou Environmental Management Centre (Centre de Gestion de l'Environnement des Monts Nimba-Simandou - CEGENS) in controlling and monitoring the implementation of the necessary impact management measures for the Lola-N'zo - Danané road project, which crosses the buffer zone of the property in the Guinean component, also expresses its serious concern about the potential direct and indirect impacts of this project on the OUV of the property and urges the States Parties to provide as soon as possible detailed information on the progress of this project and its current route, and to ensure that these impacts are assessed in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage context before any decision is taken;
9. Regrets that the State Party of Guinea has not provided any additional information concerning the submission to the World Heritage Centre of the approved version of the draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for the update of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of Zali Mining SA and reiterates its request to the State Party to submit the approved ToR to the World Heritage Centre before any decision is taken;
10. Recalling the commitment of the Société des Mines de Fer de Guinée (SMFG) to carry out a full ESIA of the project in accordance with international standards, to be independently assessed by IUCN, before taking any decision that would be difficult to reverse, notes with the greatest concern that the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Republic of Guinea has issued approvals for the ToR and the scoping documents of the ESIA for the development of Phase 1 of the Nimba Iron Ore Project, despite its potential impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property as indicated by the assessment of the Brief Description of Phase 1 of the project, and further requests the State Party of Guinea to ensure that no environmental compliance certificate is issued for this mining project until its full potential impacts have been the subject of an ESIA;
11. Also reiterates its request to the State Party of Guinea to ensure that the ESIAs for the Nimba Iron Ore Project and the Zali Mining Iron Project:
    1. are carried out in accordance with the highest international standards, in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage context, and in close consultation with all key stakeholders,
    2. identify fully and quantify the potential effects of the project on the OUV of the property, at each phase of its cycle, including construction and operation, taking into account the synergistic and collateral impacts also linked to the on-site transformation of the ore and its transport, as well as the socio-economic changes to be expected,
    3. are submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN prior to any decision to approve the project;
12. Notes with concern the potential individual and cumulative impacts of mining projects on the OUV of the property, mainly in the Guinean component, and also reiterates its request to the State Party of Guinea not to grant any new exploration or mining permits around the property without carrying out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to assess the impacts, including synergistic and cumulative impacts of these projects, and submitting it for prior consideration by the World Heritage Centre and for review by IUCN, and to provide further clarification regarding the planned World Bank strategic assessment of all mining projects in Guinea, in relation to the OUV of the property;
13. Requests moreover the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2025, a joint 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;
14. Decides to retain Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.