Decision 39 COM 7B.12

Lorentz National Park (Indonesia) (N 955)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.67, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Welcomes the State Party’s decision to suspend further construction of the Habema-Nduga-Kenyam road until the completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and until effective monitoring and strict control of the impacts of the road can be implemented;
4. Notes that a preliminary review of the EIA suggests that the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property is not clearly defined therein, and urges the State Party to submit a revised EIA, as a matter of priority, in order to include a specific assessment of impacts on the attributes bearing the OUV clearly defined;
5. Notes with appreciation that the State Party is undertaking a review of the management and zonation plans of the property and increased allocation of budget for the Lorentz National Park in 2015, and also urges the State Party to ensure that this revision results in a simplified zonation scheme that is based on a clear definition of the OUV and its associated conditions of integrity, and to submit to the World Heritage Centre, one electronic and three printed copies of the revised management and zonation plans, as soon as they are available;
6. Encourages the State Party to consider the methodology breaking down OUV in clearly defined and manageable attributes, to support both the revision of the EIA and for the revision of the management and zonation plans;
7. Also notes the reported progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the March 2014 mission, in particular the research undertaken to identify the causes of the Nothofagus dieback, and ongoing measures to improve the management capacity of the Lorentz National Park Authority, and further urges the State Party to continue its efforts to implement all the recommendations of the 2014 mission;
8. Reiterates its request to the State Party to undertake an assessment of the level of poaching in the property, and requests the State Party to develop an adequately resourced anti-poaching strategy for the property on the basis of this assessment, including increased cooperation with provincial level authorities, as required;
9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017.