Ichkeul National Park

• Construction of dams;
• Hunting;
• Grazing,
• Air pollution

Summary of previous deliberations: At its last session (Kyoto, 1998), the Committee noted that the Bureau (June 1998), while concerned about the feasibility of the effective rehabilitation of this site and urging the State Party to take all necessary measures to ensure rapid and effective implementation of the rehabilitation programme for Ichkeul, had recommended an expert mission to the site. The mission was intended to give due consideration to the possibility for developing an improved rehabilitation programme for Ichkeul and retain its status as a World Heritage site and to allow the State Party sufficient time for the implementation of the rehabilitation programme. The Committee recommended that the Centre and IUCN ensure that the expert mission (i) establish baseline data and information necessary for evaluating the effectiveness of rehabilitation measures which are being currently implemented; (ii) prepare a report on the adequacy of conservation and rehabilitation measures; and (iii) if necessary, propose additional measures that may be needed for the conservation of the site. The Committee requested the Centre to submit a report of the expert mission to the twenty-third session of the Bureau, and invited the State Party to provide a comprehensive report on the results of the implementation of the rehabilitation measures to the twenty-third session of the Committee, in 1999.

New information: A three-person team representing IUCN, the Ramsar Convention Secretariat and the Centre undertook a mission to Ichkeul in February 1999. A detailed report of the mission will be tabled as Information Document WHC-99/CONF.204/INF.11 to the twenty-third session of the Bureau. The mission, while recognizing the uncertainty linked to the feasibility of rehabilitating Ichkeul to conditions that existed at the time of its inscription (1980), noted that the State Party is committed and taking significant efforts to mitigate threats to the site and ensure effective and timely rehabilitation. However, the mission was of the view that monitoring of the effectiveness of rehabilitation would have to be based on a reasonable time frame. Inter-linked indicators such as salinity, availability of preferred species of food plants of birds, and the number of wintering birds arriving in Ichkeul could fluctuate significantly based on annual variations in rainfall and evapo-transpiration which affect water levels in the lake. The mission was of the view that the Committee should defer its judgement concerning the feasibility of the successful rehabilitation of Ichkeul until such time when possible improvements to the ecology of the lake, expected to be derived from the diversion of waters from the Sejnane River via a dam and a canal (of which construction is due to be completed in the year 2000), could be monitored. The mission has proposed an outline for the threat mitigation status report, to be submitted by the State Party to the twenty-third session of the Committee. The proposed outline invites the State Party to define current and expected values for a set of indicators, e.g. water-salinity levels, counts of a selected number of endangered species of birds and the availability of preferred food plants of birds etc., which could provide the basis for monitoring during a 5-year period from 2000 to 2004. In addition, the mission recommends that the State Party undertakes necessary studies and analysis needed for developing the region’s economy based on ecotourism and similar non-extractive resource uses, so that local people who are dependent on grazing their livestock on the Ichkeul marshes could be provided with alternative livelihood options.

The Bureau may wish to review the expert mission report, to be submitted as Document WHC-99/CONF.204/INF.11 to its twenty-third session. The Centre and IUCN will propose a set of decisions and recommendations with regard to monitoring the state of conservation of Ichkeul at the time of the twenty-third session of the Bureau.

Summary of previous deliberations:

Twenty-second session of the Committee – paragraph number VII.11. Twenty-third session of the Bureau – paragraph number IV.10

New information: At its twenty-third session in July 1999, the Bureau agreed with the recommendations of a joint IUCN/Ramsar/Centre mission to the site, undertaken in February 1999, in accordance with the wish of Bureau and the Committee expressed at their respective sessions in 1998. The Bureau welcomed the suggestion of the mission team that the State Party include, in its threat mitigation status report to the twenty-third session of the Committee, definitions of current and expected values for a set of indicators, e.g. water salinity levels, counts of selected numbers of endangered species of birds, the availability of preferred food plants etc., that could provide the basis for a 5-year monitoring programme for the implementation of the rehabilitation plan from 2000 to 2004. The State Party has submitted its threat mitigation status report via its letter dated 14 September 1999. The report has been transmitted to IUCN for review and comment. The threat mitigation status report will be presented to the Committee as document WHC-99/CONF.209/INF.9.