Decision 46 COM 7B.55

El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve (Mexico) (N 1410)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 45 COM 7B.2 adopted at its extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023),
3. Reiterates its concern about the border wall constructed in the United States of America (USA), which extends along the entire boundary between the property and adjoining areas of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and most of the Cabeza Prieto National Wildlife Refuge, with the exception of two mountainous areas;
4. Reiterates again its view that the physical presence of the wall has clear negative impacts on the integrity of the property and wider ecological connectivity thereby blocking the movement of critical wildlife populations, such as the Sonoran Pronghorn, which constitute important attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
5. Encourages further transboundary cooperation between the States Parties of Mexico and the USA to assess and mitigate the impacts of the border wall on the OUV of the property, including the completion of the commissioned study to evaluate the impacts of the border wall on mammal communities of the Sonoran Desert;
6. Notes with appreciation the measures taken through the Sonoran Pronghorn Recovery Plan and also reiterates its request to the States Parties of Mexico and the USA to expedite the implementation of the Recovery Plan and measures to avoid further depletion of scarce water resources;
7. Notes with concern that no information has been provided on the development of an action plan to assess and mitigate the impacts of the border wall on the OUV of property and to restore ecological connectivity, as requested in its Decision 45 COM 7B.2, and requests again the State Party of the USA, in accordance with Article 6.3 of the Convention, to develop, resource and implement this urgent action plan in cooperation with the State Party of Mexico, and to submit it to the World Heritage Centre as soon as possible and no later than 1 February 2025;
8. Reiterates that if ecological connectivity is not restored to safeguard the viability of key wildlife populations, the property may meet the conditions for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Notes the mitigation measures and operational conditions for the Puerto Peñasco photovoltaic project, including its associated transmission network, throughout the construction and operational phases of the project, and requests the State Party to ensure that these conditions are consistent with the management of the property and to closely monitor potential impacts and take an adaptive approach to ensure that any negative impacts on the OUV of the property are avoided and that the conservation of the important biodiversity in the wider landscape, which supports the OUV, is ensured;
10. Notes that the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission has been postponed, and further requests the State Party of Mexico, in coordination with the State Party of the USA, to re-schedule the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring Mission to the property as a matter of urgency to assess the impact of the border wall on the OUV of the property and the measures taken to guarantee ecological connectivity of the property with the adjacent wildlife dispersal areas, alongside other factors potentially affecting the OUV;
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, considering that the urgent conservation needs of this property require a broad mobilization to preserve its OUV, including the possible inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.