V.126 The Bureau noted that IUCN has been alerted to the planned construction of a road through the centre of Royal Chitwan National Park. A bridge is apparently already under construction at Kasara, over the Rapti River, and is high enough to provide access across the River during the monsoon season. The road is being constructed to provide access to the area south of the Park, especially the Madi Village area. Given the large scale of the bridge, it is expected that the road will also be a substantial one. The road will effectively cut the Park in half and may ...
Sites: Chitwan National Park
V.128 The Bureau noted that no information was received from the State Party concerning the proposed IUCN/UNESCO monitoring mission. IUCN informed the Bureau that an IUCN representative would visit Colombia in November 2001 that would be an opportunity to obtain more information to be made available for the Committee meeting in December in Finland.
V.129 The Bureau requested the Centre and IUCN to collaborate with the State Party to schedule the mission to the site. The programme of a field visit should review the state of ...
Sites: Los Katíos National Park
V.130 The Bureau was informed that on 16 January 2001, the Ecuadorian oil tanker Jessica ran aground at the entry to the port of Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island. It was carrying 160,000 gallons of diesel oil and 80,000 gallons of bunker fuel. Most of the oil leaked into the sea covering an area of 3,000km2 reaching the shores of the Islands of Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, Floreana and Isabela. Species affected by the oil include sea lions, marine birds, sea turtles and iguanas. Given the quantity of fuel spilled, the immediate impacts could have been far worse, ...
Sites: Galápagos Islands
V.138 The Bureau noted a progress report received for the development of the Action Plan for Canaima National Park from the Venezuelan authorities in December 2000. The aim of the Action Plan is to promote dialogue between all the stakeholders of the National Park in order to create favourable collaboration for the protection of the Park. To this end, three workshops were held in 2000 for the Pemon Communities living within or near the National Park. The themes discussed included community participation, environmental education, ecotourism and protection of flora ...
Sites: Canaima National Park
V.142 IUCN received reports in relation to the Bialowieza Forest, Poland, which state that the Government has abandoned its plans to enlarge the Park due to the lack of funds, and that funding for the existing Park remains at minimal levels. There are also disturbing reports about a doubling of cutting rates in the commercially-managed part of the Forest outside the World Heritage site, and lobbying to cut areas of old growth forest. While this information does not pertain to the part of the Forest designated as the World Heritage site, it can be ...
Sites: Białowieża Forest
V.146 The Bureau noted that IUCN reviewed the information from the Minister of Environment and Water (MOEW) of Bulgaria dated 20 October 2000 and that no further information had been provided by the State Party. IUCN noted that the ski developments of 1985/86 were in compliance with the then existing Nature Protection Act and occupy an area of 48 ha. On 18 ha of this area, however, two ski runs and one chair lift do not function properly and there are consequent problems of overcrowding and traffic congestion on narrow roads. The Territorial Development ...
Sites: Pirin National Park
V.150 The Bureau was informed that on 9 May 2001 a fax was received from Parks Canada providing new information on a number of developments since November 2000, which was transmitted to IUCN for review.
V.151 The Delegate of Canada informed the Bureau that staff from Gros Morne continue to work directly with the forestry company and the provincial government to ensure that the ecological integrity and the World Heritage values of the national park are recognized, taken into account and maintained in the context of forest operations. Canada ...
Sites: Gros Morne National Park
V.153 IUCN received reports by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Northwest Territories Chapter (CPAWS-NWT), and confirmed by the State Party, that the Canadian Zinc Corporation has submitted land use applications to the MacKenzie Valley Land and Water Board, in order to support future production at the Prairie Creek mine site. The mine is located immediately upstream from Nahanni National Park, in the South Nahanni watershed, about 15km north of the World Heritage site boundary. Although the mine infrastructure has been in place since the early 1980s, the ...
Sites: Nahanni National Park
V.158 The Bureau was informed that IUCN received a recent report, which again highlights the threats to the site, including lack of management, hunting and gold mining. Bystrinsky Nature Park, one of the five components of this site, continues to be the area most significantly threatened. The Park has no staff. Forest fires are reported to consume significant parts of the Park each year. The Park has been divided into 24 hunting leases, half of which are owned by large businesses outside of the region, and permitted by local authorities and not by the ...
Sites: Volcanoes of Kamchatka
V.163 The Bureau noted that no new information on the road proposal was received from the State Party. The Director of the UNESCO Office, Moscow, attended the meeting “The socio-economic development of the Altai Republic and the perspectives of the development of the transport system in the South of Siberia”, which was held on 15 to 16 December 2000 in Gorno Altaisk. He noted that awareness building must be raised among the decision-makers in the Altai Government with regard to the obligations under the World Heritage Convention. He furthermore pointed ...
Sites: Golden Mountains of Altai
V.166 The Observer of Spain informed the Bureau that the follow-up to the "Donana 2005" Conference was foreseen to be organized in Huelva from 26 to 28 November 2001 and that invitations have already been issued. He also provided documentation on the project that was made available to all Bureau members. He stated that the Donana 2005 project was the most ambitious environmental project in Spain to ameliorate the situation of the site following the mining spill, and that a technical group and a scientific committee had been ...
Sites: Doñana National Park
V.168 The Bureau recalled the World Heritage Committee recommendations to expand the boundaries of the World Heritage site to include the surrounding marine area and to revise the management plan. IUCN reviewed a letter from the State Party dated 26 October 2000, updating progress on these recommendations as follows: boundary extension: A marine survey has been carried out to obtain the necessary data to inform on the issue of the extension of the site. The UK Government seeks to bring forward proposals for an extension to the site by June 2002. Management Plan: It ...
Sites: St Kilda
V.170 In noting that the Jabiluka uranium mine site (on a mineral lease surrounded by Kakadu National Park) remains on a stand-by and in an environmental management phase, the Bureau examined reports received from the State Party, IUCN, the Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation and environmental groups.
V.171 The State Party informed the Bureau that the Jabiluka Mineral Lease was granted under Northern Territory legislation in 1982 for a period of 42 years. The operating company has approvals under Australian law to develop the Jabiluka project ...
Sites: Kakadu National Park
V.195 The Bureau was informed that no substantive report on the state of conservation of the property was submitted by the State Party as requested at the twenty-fourth extraordinary session of the Bureau. However, the Bureau was informed that the Peruvian Government had suspended the cable car project, although final confirmation from the Government was still pending.
V.196 The Bureau stressed once again the need to implement the recommendations made by the UNESCO-IUCN-ICOMOS mission of 1999 that were fully endorsed by the Committee at its ...
V.198 The Secretariat informed the Bureau of the content of the reports received since the last session of the Committee (Cairns, 2000) from the two consultants contracted by the Centre over the past year to co-ordinate and advise on the activities for the rehabilitation of Islamic Cairo.
V.199 On the issue of urban rehabilitation, the Bureau noted the intention of the Egyptian authorities to organize, in collaboration with the Centre, a seminar in Cairo to review and discuss current projects, strategies and on-going studies, particularly ...
Sites: Historic Cairo
V.203 The Secretariat reported to the Bureau on information received, that certain local authorities were still considering having a new section of the Greater Cairo Ring Road built to cross the plateau of the Pyramids, despite the existence of a recently built by-pass linking the Ring Road to the road to Alexandria. The Bureau’s attention was also drawn to the need to regulate the use of the area surrounding the pyramids, currently encroached by settlements and commercial activities.
V.204 The Delegate of Thailand expressed his ...
V.206 The Secretariat reported to the Bureau on the findings of the recent mission to Thebes/Qurnah by an ICOMOS expert to investigate on the on-going relocation of the inhabitants of the village, and subsequent demolition of their houses. It was pointed out that the issues in Qurnah were of a twofold nature. On the one hand, ICOMOS was requested to clarify the extent of the threats posed by the village to the exceptional archaeological heritage of the site, which justified its inscription in the first place; and on the other hand, to assess the cultural and ...
V.212 The Secretariat informed the Bureau on the contents of the Draft Petra Park Operational Plan for the management of the site, prepared by a U.S. National Park Service team with funding from a World Bank Project. This Operational Plan was presented to a group of stakeholders, including UNESCO, during a Workshop held in Amman in January 2001. A copy of this Operational Plan was requested and obtained by ICOMOS for consultation.
V.213 The Bureau noted that this Operational Plan does not constitute a duplication of the Master Plan prepared ...
Sites: Petra
V.216 The Secretariat informed the Bureau on the recommendations made during the Workshop organized in November 1999 by the Centre, the Delft University and the Lebanese American University. This Workshop was held further to another workshop organized by the same bodies and held in April 1999, and its proceedings were made public only recently (April 2001).
V.217 The attention of the Bureau was drawn to the need that these recommendations be carefully evaluated and taken into account by the concerned Lebanese authorities in view of the ...
Sites: Byblos
V.220 The Secretariat informed the Bureau on the findings of the mission carried out by a Centre staff to Ouadane and Chinguetti in April 2001 to assess the state of conservation and discuss with the national authorities possible measures to be taken for their safeguarding. The Bureau noted that the restoration works of the Mosque of Ouadane, funded under the World Heritage Convention, are proceeding according to schedule and should be completed by the end of the summer.
V.221 The Bureau noted the various problems gravely affecting these ...