Okapi Wildlife Reserve

• Impact of the conflict : looting of the infrastructures, poaching of elephants;
• Presence of gold mining sites inside the property.

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4264

 Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4264  

Total amount granted in the framework of the project “Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict” funded by Belgium: Phase I (2001-2005): about USD 250,000. Phase II (2005-2009): USD 300,000. Phase III (2010-2013): USD 350,000. United Nations Peacebuilding Fund: USD 550,000

On 17 February 2015 the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, available at the following address: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/718/documents/ (pages 50 to 56). The report notes a general improvement in the security situation related to the arrest of many local rebel groups, which has enabled the personnel to greatly increase its patrol efforts. Thus the surveillance coverage rate rose to 48% in 2014 against 25% in 2013.

In its report, the State Party informs of progress in the implementation of the corrective measures, in particular:

• Arrest of a dozen soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) involved in poaching, including of okapi, and other illegal activities;
• Awareness raising and lobbying of the Governor of the Province to ensure security of the property and its surroundings. Placing a new military contingent at Epulu, within the property, to strengthen and increase mixed ICCN-FARDC operations;
• Following a statement from the Governor of the Province, dated September 2014, ordering the closure of artisanal mining quarries, the evacuation process began in November 2014 and is ongoing with the support of the FARDC. Thus seven quarries (gold and diamonds) have already been closed in the four central sectors of the property;
• Steps to cancel the mining permits attributed to the Kilogold Society and encroaching on the property are underway, and in the meantime the exploitation of the parcels has been suspended;
• Three workshops were held with participants from the Reserve, the administrative authorities and local communities, to strengthen communication and involve them in the conservation of the property. They aimed to share information about the Reserve's activities held in the course of the year: road rehabilitation, zoning plan for the property and evacuation of the mining quarries;
• The Management Plan, which is still not validated, is out of date and needs updating.

The State Party notes that the lack of financial resources remains a major constraint for the implementation of corrective measures.

Following the Reactive Monitoring mission of 2014, the UNESCO Office in Kinshasa mobilized support of USD 550,000 for the property. This support from the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund aims to strengthen community dialogue and reconcile the Park with local populations.

The security situation has greatly improved thanks to the joint ICCN-FARDC operations. Significant efforts have been made by the management authority to extend surveillance to 48% of the property. It should be noted that prior to the attacks of the Simba in 2011, the surveillance coverage had reached almost 60%. The measures taken against the soldiers involved in poaching are also very encouraging. Security in the region is the primary condition for the ICCN to face the challenges related to the conservation of natural resources of the property, and thereby initiate the rehabilitation of its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). Expanding the coverage of surveillance and regaining control of the site is currently the main priority in order to halt poaching which has become uncontrollable, and the erosion of the OUV of the property.

It is recommended that the World Heritage Committee welcomes the actions taken by ICCN to close mining quarries within the property, evacuate the illegal occupants and to cancel the mining titles encroaching on the property. These actions were made possible through the support of the Governor of the Province, thus demonstrating the renewal of dialogue between the management authority and the political and administrative authorities.

It is also recommended that the World Heritage Committee commend ICCN for its efforts to implement the corrective measures adopted in 2014 at its 38th session. It should be stressed that the lack of resources, financial and technical, remain a major obstacle to conducting other preventive measures to limit the deterioration of the OUV. Patrol efforts focus on critical areas of the property because only two patrol stations are operational. In addition, the immigration and traffic control activities are limited or suspended due to lack of funding. It is recommended that the Committee requests the State Party to make the necessary resources available to the property to ensure effective management, and to appeal to donors to increase their support and recommence the activities that had been suspended following the 2012 attacks.

Finally, it is recommended that the World Heritage Committee maintains the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, and that it continues to apply the reinforced monitoring mechanism.

General Decision on the properties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Current conservation issues

On 17 February 2015, the State Party submitted a report on the implementation of Decision 38 COM 7A.42, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/136/documents/ (pages 7– 9). The report notes the following progress in the implementation of the Kinshasa Declaration:

• In August 2014, the National Superior Defence Council, chaired by the President of the Republic, announced that instructions were given to reinforce security in the protected areas of the country and to strengthen the capacity of the park guards with assistance from the army;
• In November 2014, the Vice Prime Minister reiterated the commitment of the Government to implement the Declaration;
• A special anti-poaching brigade is being created in order to assist in protecting national parks. The Presidential Decree underway will formalize its creation;
• The cooperation with the army has been greatly improved;
• Efforts are underway to ensure that the mining cadastre includes updated information on the location of protected areas in order to ensure that there is no overlap between concessions and protected areas;
• The Interministerial Committee has not yet been officially established, but several interministerial meetings were held to discuss issues related to protected areas. At provincial level, these issues are dealt with by the Provincial Consultative Councils on Forests;
• The Strategic Plan of Action, which was adopted at the high level meeting of 2011, will be updated in 2015.

The report further notes that the new Hydrocarbons Code was adopted by both the Parliament and the Senate, but will still be discussed in the mixed Committee of the two Chambers, allowing for further discussion on Article 160, which foresees the possibility of degazetment of protected areas to allow for oil exploitation.

In relation to the oil exploration in Virunga, it is noted that the Government is planning to submit to the World Heritage Centre a proposal with “options for exception mechanisms for further negotiation”. This seems to be in line with the reply by the Prime Minister to the letter of 8 January by the Delegation Heads of the European Union, World Bank, UNESCO and United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Ambassadors of Germany and Canada, where he pointed out that in the event the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) would want to go forward with oil exploitation, it would seek a minor boundary modification (see also report on Virunga National Park, item 4 of Document WHC-15/39.COM/7A).

Analysis and Conclusions of the World Heritage Centre and IUCN

The statement by the Vice Prime Minister of DRC reiterating the commitment of the Government to implement the Kinshasa Declaration should be welcomed. In particular, it is encouraging that concrete measures have been taken to implement one of the most important elements of the Declaration, namely to create the conditions for implementation of the corrective measures by securing the sites.

The intention to create a special anti-poaching brigade is also noted. Widespread poaching is without doubt the single most important threat to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of all five properties. Results of the different inventories clearly show that since the start of the conflict, the biodiversity values of the properties have been seriously affected and their populations of emblematic species, such as Northern White Rhino, Okapi, Grauer’s Gorilla, Bonobo and Elephant, were severely reduced. Decisive action is needed to turn the tide. Recently, the increasing demand for ivory has in particular further increased pressure on the remaining Elephant populations. It is estimated that the DRC Elephant population, most of which is living in the World Heritage properties, has dwindled by over 90%, from more than 100 000 at the start of the 1980s to less than 10 000 today. Securing the sites and strengthening anti-poaching efforts are important, but additional efforts will be needed in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to identify and take legal action against the criminal networks involved in the illegal traffic. Efforts to reduce demand in consumer countries are also needed.

The reported efforts to ensure that the mining cadastre uses accurate mapping information of the properties to avoid the attribution of mining concessions overlapping with the properties also responds to a long standing demand of the Committee. It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its requests to the State Party to annul all existing permits, which overlap with any of the properties.

It is also recommended that the Committee express its utmost concern about Article 160 of the new Code for Hydrocarbons, which foresees the possibility of degazetting protected areas, including World Heritage properties, as well as the statement made by the Prime Minister of DRC that the State Party might seek a boundary modification of Virunga National Park to allow for oil exploration activities to proceed. These are in clear contradiction to the Kinshasa Declaration, which committed to uphold the protection status of the properties. It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its position on this issue, as expressed in previous decisions.