Decision 40 COM 7A.36
Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d’Ivoire/Guinea) (N 155bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7A.Add,
Recalling Decision 39 COM 7A.3, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
Notes the efforts made by the State Party of Côte d'Ivoire to strengthen the monitoring and update the property boundaries with the participation of the local communities but requests the State Party of Côte d'Ivoire to provide details of the decree for the redefinition of the boundaries;
Also notes the progress made by the State Party of Guinea in the implementation of the international assistance project for the protection of the biodiversity of the property by an integrated and participatory management, financed by the World Heritage Fund, encourages the State Party of Guinea to continue and strengthen the actions being carried out, but regrets that the report provided does not give information about several measures requested by the Committee;
Further notes that the implementation of corrective measures continued to be affected by the health crisis caused by the Ebola epidemic, and considers however that the normalization of the health situation in the region should enable the States Parties to resume their efforts to implement the corrective measures;
Reiterates its requests to both States Parties to implement a joint monitoring system of the property to control all anthropogenic pressures, and to partner with UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to develop the second phase of the Nimba Project, to concern the entire property, in order to promote the implementation of the corrective measures to safeguard the integrity of the property;
Also requests the State Party of Guinea to strictly ensure the preparation of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the West Africa Exploration Company in accordance with international standards as requested in Decision 37 COM 7A.3 (Phnom Penh, 2013), and to submit this ESIA to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, before authorizing the project;
Also reiterates its request to the State Party of Guinea to develop a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), in line with international standards, to qualify and quantity all the potential cumulative impacts of various mining projects planned on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, as recommended by the 2013 monitoring mission for the property and the IUCN World Heritage advice note on Environmental Assessment, and submit the results to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, before any decision on these projects, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
Further reiterates its request to the State Party of Guinea to revise the boundaries of the exploration permit granted to the SAMA Resources Company to ensure that there is no overlapping with the property;
Further requests the States Parties of Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2017, a joint 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 41st session in 2017 ;
Decides to retain Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire / Guinea) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.