Decision 37 COM 7A.1

Manovo Gounda St. Floris National Park (Central African Republic) (N 475)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-13/37.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 36 COM 7A.1 adopted at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012),
3. Takes note with satisfaction of the adoption by the countries of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) of a Plan of Extreme Emergency Anti-Poaching in the northern zone of Central Africa as well as the agreement being validated between the Central African Republic, Chad and Cameroon to combat large-scale transfrontier poaching and launches an appeal to the States Parties concerned for this agreement to be signed without delay, so that effective actions may be established immediately and that Sudan and South Soudan be associated as soon as possible in this dynamic;
4. Reiterates its utmost concern regarding the continued insecurity problems within the property due to the political situation in Central African Republic and the collateral repercussions of conflict in the neighbouring countries;
5. Considers that the delay in the preparation of the emergency plan to safeguard the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, the prevalence of poaching and the impacts of transhumant livestock, increase the risks of the disappearance of all the flagship species of large mammals in the property, and thus possibly calling into question the OUV for which the property was inscribed;
6. Notes , nevertheless, that there still remains a potential for regeneration of the populations of fauna from the relict pockets of biodiversity adjacent to the property, but recalls with concern that this potential remains very fragile, and could rapidly disappear if security in the region and an effective control of poaching are not guaranteed;
7. Reiterates its request to the State Party to prepare an emergency action plan based on the corrective measures adopted by the Committee at its 33rd session (Seville, 2009) and the guidelines contained in the conclusion of the present report;
8. Regrets that the workshop to develop an emergency action plan was postponed due to political instability, and requests the World Heritage Centre to assist in the organization of this workshop before the 38th session in 2014, in a neighbouring country, if the situation in the Central African Republic remains unchanged;
9. Also requests that this workshop considers the feasibility of the restoration of the Outstanding Universal Value of the property under the current conditions of security and draws necessary conclusions on the pertinence of this restoration action;
10. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2014, a detailed report on the results of the workshop and the preparation, financing and implementation of an emergency plan, for the safeguarding of the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session in 2014;
11. Decides to continue to apply the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism for the property;
12. Also decides to maintain Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park (Central African Republic) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.