Decision 46 COM 7A.50

Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (N 136)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 45 COM 7A.8 adopted at its extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023),
3. Regrets that a report on the state of conservation of the four properties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which are inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger has not been submitted by the State Party;
4. Notes that the lack of reporting by the State Party makes it difficult for the World Heritage Committee to monitor closely the state of conservation of the DRC properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger taking into account the important conservation threats these properties are facing;
5. Reiterates its utmost concern regarding the considerable deterioration of the security situation resulting in large parts of the property being in the area under the administration of armed groups, the park authorities having to abandon the gorilla sector, and reported increase in poaching, deforestation for fuelwood and illegal encroachment, thereby risking to jeopardize the recent improvements in the state of conservation of the property, in particular the gradual recovery of key wildlife populations and the progressive restoration of territorial integrity of the property;
6. Commends the actions taken by ICCN and the park authorities to maintain the monitoring of gorilla populations through local community trackers and the efforts to continue anti-poaching activities in the rest of the property in spite of the difficult working conditions and urges the State Party to continue its efforts to protect the property in line with its commitments in the 2011 Kinshasa Declaration, including through the joint organization with UNESCO and its partners of a national workshop on heritage protection in conflict zones in the DRC, as highlighted in Decision 45 COM 7A.8;
7. Appreciates the support by UNESCO with funding from Norway to maintain gorilla monitoring activities as well as the continued support by donors, in particular the European Union, to maintain conservation activities in the property;
8. Whilst reiterating its position that oil and gas exploration and exploitation is incompatible with World Heritage status, notes with utmost concern that the State Party has included in the public auction of oil blocks in 2022 two oil blocks overlapping with Virunga National Park , and again strongly reiterates its request to the State Party not to allocate new petroleum concessions overlapping with the property and to cancel permanently any existing concessions and to confirm its unequivocal commitment to prohibit new petroleum exploration and exploitation within the property;
9. Recalls that restoring the territorial integrity of the property remains one of the most important challenges and a key requirement to move towards a removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger in the future and strongly encourages the State Party to ensure that local, provincial and national authorities cooperate with the park management to halt encroachment and take measures to recover and restore the encroached areas;
10. Notes with concern that no updated information is available on the increase in deforestation for fuelwood around the camps for Internally Displaced People fleeing the armed conflict reported at the extended 45th session of the Committee and reiterates its request for the State Party, in collaboration with humanitarian relief organizations, to address the matter;
11. Also notes with concern that no updated information is available on the opening of a road and military infrastructure within the property reported at the extended 45th session of the Committee and also reiterates its request to the State Party to ensure that any infrastructure developments in or around the property, including hydropower projects and road developments, are assessed for their potential impacts, including cumulative impacts, on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and to inform the World Heritage Centre of any new developments in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, prior to any activities being undertaken;
12. Requests the State Party to continue its efforts to implement all corrective measures as updated by the 2018 Reactive Monitoring mission and to continue the implementation of the sustainable development activities established in the framework of the Virunga Alliance;
13. Encourages the State Party to submit, as soon as the conditions on the ground allow, the latest results of flagship species inventories, as well as the biological indicators for the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) to be finalized in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN;
14. Further reiterates its request to the State Party to submit the validated 2021-2025 Development and Management Plan (PAG) to the World Heritage Centre for review;
15. Furthermore reiterates its request to the State Party to invite a joint UNESCO/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, as soon as the security situation allows, to assess the impact of the renewed fighting in the property on its state of conservation, in particular in the central and gorilla sectors, the actions taken or planned for the cancellation of any oil block auctions overlapping with the property and the implementation of the corrective measures;
16. 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 the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session;
17. Decides to continue to apply the Reinforced Monitoring mechanism for the property;
18. Also decides to retain Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.