Decision 46 COM 7A.51

Lake Turkana National Parks (Kenya) (N 801bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7A.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decisions 44 COM 7A.47 and 45 COM 7A.10 adopted at its extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) and extended 45th (Riyadh, 2023) sessions respectively,
3. Takes note of the State Party’s continued implementation of the Lake Turkana National Parks Management Plan, and reiterates its request to the State Party to consider developing an operational plan and a monitoring and evaluation system for the Management Plan to bring the three components of the property under one integrated management unit focused on the preservation of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and which includes a co-management system agreed with local communities on resource use, in line with the 2020 Reactive Monitoring mission recommendations;
4. Notes with appreciation the submission of an updated Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), based on feedback by IUCN and through the April 2024 UNESCO DSOCR workshop financially supported by the Government of Norway;
5. Reiterates its request to the State Party of Ethiopia to provide an urgent update on all planned and current development projects in the Omo-Turkana Basin, which could negatively affect the property, and to submit the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Kuraz Sugar Development Project, the Gibe IV (Koysha) dam under construction and the planned Gibe V dam for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
6. Notes with appreciation that the States Parties of Kenya and Ethiopia have committed to reconvene the Joint Technical Experts Committee (JTEC), established under the Ethiopia-Kenya Joint Ministerial Commission, to discuss the development of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to assess the cumulative impacts from developments in the Omo-Turkana Basin, which is crucial to plan for the protection of the property’s OUV and has been pending since 2014, and also requests the States Parties to develop a realistic plan and timeframe for the SEA;
7. Urges the State Party to ensure that the potential impact of any individual project that may impact the OUV are assessed through individual ESIAs carried out in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
8. Also recalling previous reports of flooding of Lake Turkana, further requests the State Party to provide an update on the status of the water level of Lake Turkana and to monitor the potential impact of the water level variation on the OUV of the property;
9. Further reiterates its request for the State Party of Kenya to provide an update on the progress in implementing the recommendations of the 2020 Reactive Monitoring mission, in particular to:
   1. Develop a site-specific Biodiversity Action Plan to conserve and protect wildlife populations in the property,
   2. Conduct a comprehensive scientific study to assess the current impacts of grazing and develop a viable grazing pressure reduction strategy, based on grazing capacities, to address encroachment,
   3. Establish a core management system with local communities that stipulates clear regulations regarding the use of resources in the property,
   4. Establish a long-term monitoring system for the collection and analysis of hydrological and limnological data in Lake Turkana to assess the ecological changes to the lake system and the related impact on the OUV of the property,
   5. Develop a national overarching Master Plan for development in and adjacent to Lake Turkana to avoid any negative impacts on the lake system and OUV of the property,
   6. Create a buffer zone to the property taking into consideration other critical aquatic and terrestrial areas with complementary legal and/or customary restrictions on its use and development;
10. Adopts the Desired State of Conservation for the Removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), for which the draft was prepared through the 2020 Reactive Monitoring mission, elaborated further at a meeting held in December 2022 and following virtual meetings with the World Heritage Centre, submitted in January 2024 for review, and finalized during the April 2024 UNESCO DSOCR workshop with the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and IUCN in Nairobi, Kenya, to commence implementation of the identified corrective measures in collaboration with the World Heritage Centre, IUCN and external partners;
11. 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;
12. Decides to retain Lake Turkana National Parks (Kenya) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.