Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks

• Insufficient legal framework and protection in place

Total amount granted: USD100,000 - World Heritage Biodiversity Programme for Brazil; USD 30,000 - Rapid Response Facility support for firefighting

On 1 February 2016, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report for the property, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1035/documents/, providing the following information:

• The management plan of the Pouso Alto Environmental Protection Area (EPA) that surrounds the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of the property was approved in 2015 and is currently under revision for publication;
• A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in June 2015, between the Ministry of Environment, the ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) and the Government of the State of Goias for the development of a strategy to consolidate conservation units to ensure the conservation of biodiversity of the region;
• Three public consultation hearings were carried out in September 2015 in the municipalities of Nova Roma, Cavalcante and Alto Paraiso de Goias to discuss the expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park. These discussions and complementary meetings with key stakeholders led to certain modifications to the previously proposed new boundaries of the park, namely exclusion of potentially contentious areas and addition of new areas to the south of the national park;
• A project aimed at promoting conservation of the privately owned lands surrounding the property has been approved in partnership with the State of Goias. The objective is to intensify the Rural Environmental Registry and map the vegetation cover in more than 2,200 rural properties within the Pouso Alto EPA;
• Several risk prevention initiatives have been carried out for the protection of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, in particular the engagement of fire brigade staff.

An IUCN Advisory mission visited the property in February 2016 to discuss the results of the public consultation process on the expansion of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park and examine the possible need and related procedures of a major boundary modification and re-nomination, including the potential design of a revised boundary. Its report is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1035/documents/.

Despite the loss of the national park status on 72% of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component, the State Party reports that the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property remains well preserved. However, anthropogenic pressures, especially fires and extensive cattle grazing, have clearly increased in the last years and have affected some areas, particularly in the northern limits. Permanent human presence in those areas has prevented the re-establishment of the national park status on the entire property.

It is noted that significant progress has been made on the revision of the boundaries of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park. In this regard, a consultation process was initiated in 2015 engaging 400 stakeholders in the discussion on the expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park boundaries.

The 2016 IUCN Advisory mission noted that the process met the national legal requirements for the creation and expansion of conservation units and that a number of concerns expressed during the consultation process were taken into consideration during the development of the final proposal for the expansion of the national park, which should guarantee its acceptance by the affected stakeholders. The proposed expanded boundaries of the national park cover 248,301 ha and largely follow its original 2001 boundaries which remain the current boundaries of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of the property. The proposal adds further areas important for conservation of some mammal species, while excluding the most degraded areas in the northern part of the property. However, it should be noted that a proposal for significant boundary modification of the property will need to be submitted by the State Party in order to allow for a detailed evaluation by IUCN, and decision by the World Heritage Committee. The findings of the mission do not prejudge the results of that evaluation.

It was communicated to the mission that the Decree on the expansion of the national park would be submitted in 2016 to the Ministry of Environment and subsequently to the President of Brazil for approval. As further reported by the mission, officials of the Ministry of the Environment and the Government of Goiás met in February and confirmed a mutual understanding of the expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, but it currently remains to be confirmed if the new decree will be signed and the State Party did not provide clear information on the expected timeframe.

While the progress achieved with the development of a proposal for the re-expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park and the undertaking of public consultation process is noted, the process of the restoration of the protection regime of the entire Chapada dos Veadeiros component has not yet been completed. Consequently, the preparation of a proposal for a significant boundary modification of the property remains pending.

Further actions undertaken by the State Party to ensure protection of the property, including approval of a management plan for the Pouso Alto EPA which surrounds the property and land tenure regularization process, are noted.

It is recalled that Decision 39 COM 7B.27 noted that in the case significant progress to address the lack of protection of parts of the property has not been achieved, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger could be considered, in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines. While the measures undertaken by the State Party to resolve the issue are noted, a number of actions remain to be completed. It is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to ensure that the Decree on the expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros is approved as a matter of priority and to submit a proposal for a significant boundary modification of the property to reflect the new boundaries of the national park. It is further recommended that, in case there is insufficient progress in addressing these remaining issues, the Committee consider inscribing the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger at its 41st session in 2017.