Dja Faunal Reserve
Factors affecting the property in 1997*
- Forestry /wood production
- Illegal activities
International Assistance: requests for the property until 1997
Total amount approved : 84,700 USD
| 1997 | Sub-Regional workshop on Strengthening Biodiversity ... (Approved) | 29,900 USD |
| 1992 | Financial contribution for a training workshop on the ... (Approved) | 20,000 USD |
| 1989 | Contribution to field training in Dja National Park (Approved) | 4,800 USD |
| 1987 | Contribution to the adoption and implementation of the ... (Approved) | 30,000 USD |
Missions to the property until 1997**
Information presented to the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee in 1997
Action Required
"The Committee invites the State Party to study the extent to which sustainable and commercial forestry schemes around Dja are leading to the biological isolation of Dja and to increased poaching of Dja's wildlife. The Committee supports the request for financial assistance, submitted by Cameroon, for organising an in-situ workshop, and encourages the State Party to use the workshop as a forum for discussing, with representatives of donors sponsoring commercial and sustainable forestry activities, IUCN and others concerned, ways and means to minimise the possibility that such activities would isolate Dja from adjacent forests. The Committee invites the Centre and IUCN to report on the recommendations of the workshop, and advise the next session of the Bureau, in mid-1998, whether or not Dja needs to be declared a World Heritage in Danger."
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 1997
IUCN has reported that commercial logging in adjoining natural forests is increasingly threatening this site with biological isolation. New logging-roads facilitate access for hunters, and concessionaires have logged forests up to the boundary of the Reserve. Reports of poaching in the Reserve are on the rise. Employees of a French logging company, i.e. Société Forestière R. Pallisco, when apprehended for taking poached wildlife out of the Reserve, threatened the staff with violence. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is assisting the development of forest concessions along the southern boundary of Dja, which are not welcomed by local people and may be ecologically unsustainable. An IUCN project in the area is attempting to minimize the effects of biological isolation through the establishment of a buffer zone, and a protected corridor linking Dja with nearby natural forests. Conservationists in Cameroon have called for a moratorium on logging in the area and on the building of new access roads. The Park administration has proposed the organization of a Regional Training Workshop in Dja and requested financial assistance from the World Heritage Fund; IUCN has supported the request, subject to the proposal being revised to address some of the problems and issues, and potential solutions reported above. Details of the request for organizing the training workshop are given in Document WHC-97/CONF.208/12.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 1997
21 EXT.BUR V.3
Requests for International Assistance
NATURAL HERITAGE
TRAINING
Cameroon (Sub regional workshop on strengthening biodiversity conservation at the Dja Faunal Reserve) - US$ 29,900
The Bureau approved an amount of US$ 29,900.
The Bureau requested the State Party to cooperate with IUCN and the World Heritage Centre to:
(i) revise the workshop programme to include themes and issues identified in the state of conservation report on Dja;
(ii) indicate the amount of national contribution provided by the State Party;
(iii) schedule the workshop at a time to allow for better planning; and
(iv) invite the participation of bilateral donors who are financing commercial and sustainable forestry projects in the forests surrounding the site.
Philippines (Training of a core-group of personnel on human scientific dimensions of managing Tubataha Reef as a natural World Heritage site) - US$ 30,000
The Bureau approved an amount of US$ 30,000.
Russian Federation (Training workshop for natural heritage site managers from Central and Eastern Europe and Russian Central Asia) - US$ 30,000
The Bureau decided to defer the consideration of this request as the workshop had been delayed until the summer of 1999.
The Bureau requested the State Party to cooperate with the World Heritage Centre to submit a revised proposal for consideration at the Bureau's 22nd ordinary session.
Tanzania (Support for 3 fellowships for African specialists in Protected Area/Wildlife Management to the Mweka College of African Wildlife Management for the Academic Year of 1998/99) - US$ 30,000
The Bureau approved an amount of US$ 30,000.
The Bureau urged IUCN and the World Heritage Centre to cooperate with Mweka and other regional training centres to review their curricula and propose measures for enhancing use of information for World Heritage site management.
India (Meeting of regional training centres and university training institutes for curricula and training materials development, Wildlife Institute of India) - US$ 41,000
The Bureau recommended that the Committee approve a sum of US$ 30,000.
The Bureau requested the State Party to consider bearing the costs of the participation of Indian natural World Heritage site managers and specialists.
TECHNICAL COOPERATION
Dominica (Revision of the Management Plan for Morne Trois Pitons National Park) - US$ 13,900
For approval by the Chairperson, subject to the inscription of this site on the World Heritage List by the Committee at its twenty-first session, and payment of dues by the State Party to the World Heritage Fund.
The Bureau encourages the State Party to use national expertise for revising the management plan.
Niger (Purchase of Equipment for W National Park) - US$ 75,000
The Bureau recommended that the Committee approve a sum of US$ 50,000 and request the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO's equipment unit and the State Party to purchase the needed equipment through competitive bidding and in the most cost-effective manner.
The Bureau suggested that the Committee decide that the funds should not be used for maintenance of vehicles and request the State Party to co-operate with the World Heritage Centre for submitting a progress report on project implementation, to enable the Bureau, at its 22nd ordinary session, to determine whether additional funds are needed.
India (Strengthening Protection of Kaziranga National Park) - US$ 50,000
The Bureau took note of its recommendation made at its 21st ordinary session to the Committee, that the Committee approve this request.
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
India (Contribution towards the implementation of an Emergency rehabilitation plan for Manas Wildlife Sanctuary) - US$ 160,000
The Bureau recommended that the Committee approves a supplementary allocation of US$ 90,000 for emergency assistance to cover: purchase of an additional 2 wooden fiber boats (US$ 50,000) and 400 patrolling gears (US$ 15,000), and contribution towards the construction of buildings within the site (US$ 70,000).
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Purchase of vehicles for 4 World Heritage Sites) - US$ 88,400
The Bureau, while fully recognising the need for vehicles for each of the four sites, expressed concerns over the current security situation in the eastern parts of the country and its impact on safe delivery, propser unse and maintenance of the vehicles.
Hence, the Bureau recommended that the Committee, as a first step, approves a sum of US$ 45,000 for 2 vehicles (of the US$ 90,000 requested for 4 vehicles) for any two of the four sites under consideration and request the State Party to cooperate with the World Heritage Centre to submit a progress report on project implementation to the Bureau's 22nd session.
In addition, the Bureau suggested that the Committee request the World Heritage Centre to cooperate with conservation NGOs to ensure the safe delivery and proper use and maintenance of the vehicles.
CULTURAL HERITAGE
TRAINING
Laos (Training programme for the Historic Town of Luang Prabang) - US$ 25,000
The Bureau approved an amount of US$ 25,000.
Philippines (Training to enhance the management of the Baroque Churches) - US$ 22,000
The Bureau approved an amount of US$ 22,000.
Russian Federation (Training workshop for staff and specialists in the fields of designation, protection, management and rehabilitation of Cultural World Heritage Sites in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia) - US$ 29,800
The Bureau did not approve this request. Detailed information on the use of the funds had not been provided by the State Party.
The Bureau decided that it will not consider any International Assistance requests submitted by States Parties without a detailed budget breakdown in the future.
Austria (Training Course for the examination and Conservation of Architectural Surfaces) - US$ 35,000
Transmitted directly to the Committee.
Brazil (Inter-regional postgraduate course on the conservation of Monuments and Rehabilitation of Historic Cities) - US$ 50,000
Transmitted directly to the Committee.
Ghana (Ashanti Traditional Buildings) - US$ 47,000
Transmitted directly to the Committee.
ICCROM (Development of a training strategy and procedural framework) - US$ 50,000
Transmitted directly to the Committee.
TECHNICAL COOPERATION
China (Research project for the protection of the Terracotta Warriors and Horse Pits of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor) - US$ 30,000
Chinese authorities will provide further information concerning this request. Therefore, the Bureau decided to consider this request at its twenty-second session.
Nepal (Studies on traditional architecture, construction and conservation technique, documenting Bhaktapur Monument zone building) - US$ 28,000
The Bureau approved this request on the condition that the State Party pays its contributions to the World Heritage Fund for 1997.
Furthermore, the Bureau requested the State Party to submit the results of this activity to the Bureau and stressed the importance of documentation for protecting World Heritage sites.
ICCROM (Technical Assistance Programme - TAP) - US$ 25,000
The Bureau approved an amount of US$ 25,000.
Vietnam (Revision of urban planning regulations of the Complex of Hué) - US$ 35,000
Transmitted directly to the Committee.
Zimbabwe (Preparation for a conservation plan for Khami Ruins National Monuments) - US$ 76,900
Transmitted directly to the Committee.
Mexico (Special course on the World Heritage Convention for Latin America and the Carribean) - US$ 30,000
The Bureau took note of its recommendation made at its 21st ordinary session to the Committee.
21 COM VII.C.36
SOC: Dja Faunal Reserve (Cameroon)
VII.36 Dja Faunal Reserve (Cameroon)
The Committee noted with concern that logging activities, carried out under commercial, as well as sustainable forestry schemes, are contributing to the growing biological isolation of the Reserve and are not welcome by the local people. An IUCN project is aiming to minimise the degree of the Reserve's isolation through the establishment of a buffer zone and a protected corridor linking Dja with adjacent forests. New logging roads facilitate access for hunters, and concessionaires have logged forests up to the boundary of the Reserve. Staff belonging to some foreign logging companies had threatened Reserve staff with violence when apprehended inside the Reserve for transporting poached wildlife. Conservationists in Cameroon have called for a moratorium on logging in the area and on the opening up of new access roads.
The Committee invited the State Party to study the extent to which sustainable and commercial forestry schemes around Dja are leading to the biological isolation of the reserve and to increased poaching of Dja's wildlife. The Committee supported the request for financial assistance, submitted by Cameroon, for organising an in-situ workshop, and encouraged the State Party to use the workshop as a forum for discussing, with representatives of donors sponsoring commercial and sustainable forestry activities, IUCN and others concerned, ways and means to minimise the possibility that such activities would isolate Dja from adjacent forests. The Committee invited the Centre and IUCN to report on the recommendations of the workshop, and advise the next session of the Bureau, in mid-1998, whether or not Dja needs to be declared as World Heritage in Danger.
The Bureau may wish to transmit the above report to the Committee for examination and recommend the following for adoption:
"The Committee expresses its concern over the significant increase in logging around Dja and attendant problems of poaching and encouraged the application of the concepts of buffer zone and corridors. The Committee requests France to investigate reported allegations of involvement of the employees of the Société Forestière R. Pallisco in transporting poached wildlife, and Canada to ensure that assistance provided by CIDA to logging concessions does not conflict with the interests of local people. The Committee requests IUCN to submit a progress report to the next session of the Bureau and requests the Bureau to assess whether Dja needs to be included in the List of World Heritage in Danger."
Cameroon
* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).
** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.
