Decision 47 COM 7B.45

Sangha Trinational (Cameroun, Central African Republic, Congo)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/25/47.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 44 COM 7B.174 and 45 COM 7B.72, adopted respectively at its extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) and extended 45th (Riyadh, 2023) sessions,
3. Welcomes the efforts of the States Parties and their partners to improve the efficiency of the management of the property through the continued capacity building of the eco-guards, the acquisition of equipment for ecological monitoring and surveillance of the property, and the consolidation of cross-border cooperation;
4. Also welcomes the sustained efforts of the States Parties to promote, engage and guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), particularly in the context of the implementation of the recommendations of the WWF International independent review, and calls on the States Parties to continue these efforts by harmonizing approaches at the property level while ensuring the comprehensive implementation of these recommendations;
5. Notes with concern the significant increase in poaching rates, in particular the 47 cases of elephant killing since 2022 in the Central African Republic (CAR), and urges the States Parties to strengthen cross-border collaboration through joint patrols, information sharing, training of customs officers, and the harmonization and strict enforcement of sanctions, while increasing the number of personnel and surveillance resources;
6. Also notes with concern the upsurge in conflicts between humans and wildlife in the villages adjacent to the property, and encourages the States Parties to step up the efforts to reduce these conflicts by adopting deterrence techniques and promoting crops that are less attractive to the species involved, while raising awareness among local communities;
7. Further welcomes the progress in the planning of synchronized wildlife inventories planned for 2025 and the creation of a single database for the property, and also requests that the methodologies adopted be comparable and reproducible, considering all the species characteristic of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and that the results of these inventories be transmitted to the World Heritage Centre;
8. Also recalling that an earlier assessment of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the Ouesso-Bangui-Ndjamena road project by IUCN had shown that the impacts of the Pokola-Enyellé section on the OUV of the property, in its Congolese component, had not been addressed, reiterates its request to the State Party of Congo that this ESIA be revised in accordance with Decision 45 COM 7B.72;
9. Takes note of the absence of progress in the project to open a Congo-Cameroon cross-border road, expresses its concern about the potential individual and cumulative impacts of major infrastructure projects on the OUV of the property, and further requests the States Parties to submit an updated comprehensive review of all ongoing and planned projects in the area;
10. Also takes note of the commitment of the States Parties to ensure that the ESIAs for all new projects in and around the property are carried out in accordance with Decision 45 COM 7B.72, and their wish to invite an Advisory mission for this purpose, and also encourages the States Parties to engage in further exchanges with UNESCO and IUCN to discuss the most effective approach as well as the specific expectations of the States Parties and to disseminate the use of the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context among key stakeholders;
11. Welcomes furthermore the progress made in preventing mining activities in the property, in particular the lapse of the KOLI exploration permit in Congo and the enactment of the Mining Code of the Central African Republic, and requests the State Party of the CAR to submit the ESIA report for the SCED-Ndéléngué artisanal mining zone (zone d’exploitation artisanale – ZEA) project to the World Heritage Centre;
12. Regrets the absence of progress in the environmental certification of the two logging concessions located in the buffer zone in the CAR and also reiterates its request to the State Party to prioritize this certification in order to avoid any potential impact on the property's OUV;
13. Noting the lack of recent information on the updating of the management plans for the Cameroonian and Congolese components, also requests the States Parties to provide an update on these plans and to consider the development of a harmonized management plan covering the whole of the property;
14. Further reiterates its request to the States Parties to continue to implement the recommendations of the 2016 Reactive Monitoring mission and to provide a comprehensive report on the status of their respective implementation;
15. Finally requests the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2026, 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 49th session.