Iguazu National Park

• Proposed hydropower dams;
• Illegal logging and hunting;
• Uncoordinated development;
• Lack of transboundary cooperation;
• Lack of sustainable financing;
• Problems associated with public use and lack of public use plan;
• Alien invasive species

On 31 January 2014, the State Party of Argentina submitted a joint state of conservation report, as requested by Committee Decision 36 COM 7B.28, although the State Party of Brazil subsequently submitted a separate report on the state of conservation of the contiguous property of Iguaçu National Park. The report is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/303/documents/. This joint report informs of progress achieved in terms of transboundary cooperation as follows:

• Mutual participation in the planning processes aimed at updating the management plans for both properties;
• Analysis of public use in both properties in order to develop a joint vision and shared visitation plan, mainly based on conservation criteria, visitation capacity, infrastructure, transportation, impact assessment and sewage treatment;
• Joint analysis of major biodiversity conservation issues in both properties, namely monitoring of the water volume of the Iguazú River, road kill, alien invasive species (AIS) and monitoring of flora and fauna;
• Joint definition of a technical cooperation protocol as a formal framework to reflect the institutional relationship between the two protected areas.

The joint report focuses on transboundary cooperation.  While its positive intent is welcomed, the report provides insufficient information to assess current and planned activities. Given the many linkages between the contiguous properties, a formalized transboundary cooperation framework, as requested by the Committee on several previous occasions, is still needed to ensure adequate coordination and cooperation at both political and working levels.

Earlier reports and World Heritage Committee decisions refer to the Salto Caxias dam and water flows in the Iguazú River. At the time, the Committee recommended that both the State Party and the State Party of Brazil continue monitoring to identify possible impacts on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). Given that the construction of another dam is reported to have started just outside the neighboring property in Brazil (Baixo Iguaçu Hydroelectric Project), there is some serious concern about the possible impacts of modified water flows on the OUV of both properties. The State Party should engage with the neighboring State Party of Brazil to ensure that current, cumulative and transboundary impacts are understood and mitigated as far as possible.

While not addressed in the State Party report, it is understood that public use of this globally renowned tourist attraction continues to require increased attention. Ongoing research on alien invasive species (AIS) reported from the adjoining property in Brazil indicates an alarming situation, and earlier State Party reports raised concerns about AIS in aquatic habitats. AIS are a serious threat to the property and require increased levels of attention and management.

The globally outstanding biodiversity importance of the Interior Atlantic Forest, which is a main justification for the property’s inscription (in addition to its spectacular waterfalls) is worth recalling.  The loss, degradation and fragmentation of this rare forest type, remnants of which remain in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, continues to increase. Scientific research suggests that the potential for securing additional land for conservation may be highest in Argentina, an idea already evoked during the evaluation of the property and included in the Committee decision at inscription in 1984. The 2008 reactive monitoring mission suggested that the "Argentine Peninsula Bottleneck" was of utmost importance from an integrity and connectivity perspective. It is recommended that the Committee encourage a systematic analysis of the remnants of the Interior Atlantic Forest within Argentina with a view to a possible extension of the property.

The updating of the management plans in both Argentina and Brazil constitutes an opportunity to develop a coherent response to the many conservation challenges described above. This parallel process will benefit from mutual exchange under a formalized framework for coordination and cooperation between the two contiguous properties, separated only by an international border.