Everglades National Park

• Water infrastructure (Quantity and quality of water entering the property)
• Housing (Urban encroachment)
• Surface water pollution and Pollution of marine waters (Agricultural fertilizer pollution, Mercury contamination of fish and wildlife)
• Water infrastructure (lowered water levels due to flood control measures)
• Storms (Damage from hurricanes)
• Invasive/alien species or hyper-abundant species (exotic invasive plant and animal species)

The property was re-inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, on the request of the State Party, due to concerns that the property's aquatic ecosystem continues to deteriorate, in particular as a result of:

• Alterations of the hydrological regime (quantity, timing, and distribution of Shark Slough inflows)
• Adjacent urban and agricultural growth (flood protection and water supply requirements that affect the property’s resources by lowering water levels)
• Increased nutrient pollution from upstream agricultural activities
• Significant reduction of both marine and estuarine biodiversity in Florida Bay

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4348

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/1275 
Updated: see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4348

On 28 January 2020, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/76/documents/. The State Party provided additional information in a letter dated 16 December 2020 upon the request of the World Heritage Centre. These documents report as follows:

• Several short periods of high rainfall separated by prolonged drought conditions resulted in a dry year overall. This prevented the buildup of freshwater fish, macroinvertebrates, or formation of super colonies of wading birds, and caused hypersaline conditions and algal blooms in Florida Bay. These swings in ecosystem productivity are expected, given typical seasonal and annual variations in rainfall patterns. However, it also demonstrates the need to improve water quality in drier years;
• Full implementation of the Modified Water Deliveries (MWD) and ‘Canal-111 South Dade’ (C-111) will occur in August 2020 through the completion of the Combined Operational Plan. The Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir (EAAR) are currently in design. Additional funding commitments of over USD 4.5 billion have been made available to accelerate critical restoration projects. The Tamiami Trial Next Steps (TTNS) Phase 2 project and CEPP are expected to be completed by 2023. The full benefits of the Restoration Strategies and the CEPP/EAAR are not expected to be realized before 2027-2030;
• In June 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill banning oil drilling within the Everglades Protection Area, which includes the Water Conservation Area upstream of the property where exploratory oil and drilling had been granted. However, according to the additional information submitted by the State Party on 16 December 2020, the bill, as amended, was not included within the final appropriations bill. To prevent future oil exploration activities, on 15 January 2020, the Florida Governor announced plans to buy approximately 8,000 ha of land and drilling rights in the Everglades Protection Area, including the parcels targeted for potential oil and gas drilling. The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) approved the land purchase on 1 February 2020. In September 2020, the President of the United States of America proposed a 10-year extension of a moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling on Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic Coasts;
• The 2015 General Management Plan takes into account potential impacts from climate change, storm surge, and sea level rise. The State Party has re-evaluated all operations and visitor activities with reference to the anticipated impacts from climate change;
• An update of the Strategic Action Framework is expected to be completed in 2020, which will enhance the management of the property and its wider Everglades ecosystem against invasive alien species (IAS).

The progress in implementing the 2006 corrective measures is commendable, particularly with the continued efforts on the next generation of restoration projects, which includes the CEPP and TTNS, and for committing over USD 4.5 billion for the hydrological restoration of the Everglades ecosystem over the next years. At the same time, in order to attain the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), these on-going efforts will need to be sustained or strengthened over time.

It is regrettable that not all 14 DSOCR indicators are reported on because of insufficient time to collect, analyze and interpret the information. It is recommended that the next State Party report provides again an overview of progress for all indicators in a table format as was done previously, comparing progress with the 2013 report. For some of the indicators reported, preliminary results suggest a positive or a sustainable trend but still remain below the restoration targets. This emphasizes the need to continue or strengthen current efforts.

The complexity of managing the threat from IAS, which mostly originates from outside the property boundaries, is acknowledged. The allocation of resources and the update of the Strategic Action Framework in 2020 is welcomed. It is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to continue its long-term management actions to address IAS, including by reducing the maximum cover of IAS to below an agreed threshold and by placing emphasis on prevention and early detection with rapid response measures.

Furthermore, the submission of the General Management Plan is welcomed, as is the active leadership of the Park in preparing for and mitigating climate change impacts.

The approval for the acquisition of approximately 8,000 ha (20,000 acres) of land and drilling rights in the Everglades, thereby permanently preventing any oil, gas, and mineral exploration and extraction on those purchased lands, should be welcomed. As the issue of potential hydraulic fracturing is ongoing (either through a bill or through the purchase of land and drilling rights in the Everglades by the State of Florida), it is recommended that the Committee reiterate its request to inform the World Heritage Centre about any hydraulic fracturing projects in proximity to the property.

Considering that the imminent threat from oil drilling outside of the property in the Everglades Protection Area appears to have abated for the moment, and that the implementation of the corrective measures whilst underway will still take some years, it is recommended that the Committee return to requesting the State Party to submit a progress report in two years’ time, based on the view expressed by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN in 2013 that the implementation of the corrective measures and improvement of the indicators of the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger would likely take at least another ten years.