Decision 38 COM 7B.91

Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley (Kenya) (N 1060rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 35 COM 8B.6, adopted at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011),
3. Welcomes the decision of the State Party to stop further developments in part of the Ututu Conservancy on the southern shores of Lake Elementaita, including a 1-year moratorium on developments in riparian areas, considers that the developments in close proximity to fragile habitats and in a critical buffer zone to the property is likely to have significant adverse impacts on its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and requests the State Party to ensure that any existing illegal developments are removed, and affected areas ecologically restored;
4. Notes the resolutions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) with regard to the recognition of rights of the Endorois in relation to Lake Bogoria, and urges the State Party to respond to ACHPR regarding these resolutions and to ensure full and effective participation of the Endorois in the management and decision-making of the property, and in particular the Lake Bogoria component, through their own representative institutions;
5. Also considers that any development of geothermal energy within the property is likely to have a significant impact on its OUV and should not be permitted, and also requests the State Party to ensure that any proposed development of geothermal energy outside the property is subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), including a specific assessment of potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts on the OUV of the property, in conformity with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment;
6. Further requests the State Party of Tanzania to provide to the World Heritage Centre further information on reported plans for the construction of a soda ash plant at Lake Natron, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, and to ensure that the EIA for this project assesses its potential adverse impacts on the OUV of the property;
7. Reiterates its encouragement to the States Parties of Kenya and Tanzania to cooperate regarding the effective conservation of Lake Natron and other lakes in the region, and to consider further potential serial extensions as part of a potential transnational serial World Heritage property, taking account of relevant recent thematic studies by Birdlife International and IUCN;
8. Requests furthermore the State Party of Kenya to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, a report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property, and on the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.