Comoé National Park

Poaching to the wildlife of this site 

Previous deliberations:
Twenty-third session of the Committee – paragraph X. 24, and page 46, (under “1.Africa(d).II”)

New information: Activities financed by the US$50,000 approved by the twenty-third session of the Committee (Marrakesh, 1999) are currently under implementation. The delivery of equipment, including vehicles, is in progress. Baseline studies on biodiversity status and measures to mitigate the threats of poaching and population encroachment around the site are expected to begin soon. The Centre is in contact with the State Party to determine a suitable time and the Terms of Reference for a mission, as recommended by the twenty-third extraordinary session of the Bureau (Marrakesh, 1999), to review prevailing threats to the integrity of the site and plan emergency rehabilitation measures. The Centre for Ecological Research (CER), authorised by the Government as the institution responsible for environmental research in the country, had proposed in 1999 that the site be inscribed in the List of World Heritage in Danger. CER has reiterated that the conditions for inscribing the site on the World Heritage List in Danger continue to prevail.

The Centre and IUCN will continue their dialogue with the State Party to organise a field mission to the site and submit to the twenty-fourth session of the Committee a detailed state of conservation report and corrective measures for mitigating threats to the site to enable the Committee to consider including Comoe National Park in the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Note: this report was presented to the Bureau for noting only.

The State Party is in the process of implementing International Assistance provided under Technical Co-operation by the twenty–third session of the World Heritage Committee amounting to US$50,000 for the organisation of two national seminars for local authorities on poaching problems in the site, for elaboration of a management plan and a community micro-project.  In a letter dated 1 September 2000, the State Party informed the Centre that two computers provided under the project have been received and are in the process of clearing a vehicle also provided under the project from the port.  The Secretariat has not received an invitation from the State Party for a mission to review threats to the integrity of the site.  The State Party submitted a report in July in response to a questionnaire prepared by the Centre under the Periodic Reporting exercise for Africa on the state of conservation of Comoe National Park which highlights the problems to be addressed by the project.