Simien National Park

• Road construction through the property
• Power transmission line affecting exceptional natural beauty and conditions of integrity
• Identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community
• Agricultural encroachment at the borders of the property and crop cultivation in the property
• Growing resource-dependent, economically poor population around the national park
• Overgrazing by livestock
• Human-wildlife conflict, including fatal leopard attacks, livestock predation and crop-raiding
• Declining populations of Walia ibex, Ethiopian wolf and other large mammal species
• Poaching in remote areas, including of Walia ibex and Ethiopian wolf
• Impacts and risks associated with tourism development and visitation
• Management suffering from scarce human and financial resources
• Limited local participation in management and governance
• Pending Significant Boundary Modification to recognize the substantial expansion of the national park
• Uncommon precipitation and temperature patterns over recent years attributed to climate change

• Major declines of the Walia ibex and Ethiopian wolf populations and of other large mammals
• Agricultural encroachment at the borders of the property
• Impacts of road construction through the property

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4085 

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4085 

Total amount granted: USD 100,000 (2012-2015) in support of community conservation programme with co-financing from Global Environment Fund (GEF) and development of the grazing pressure reduction strategy (UNESCO-Spain-Funds-in Trust and UNESCO-Netherlands-Funds-in-Trust)

On 7 January 2020, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/9/documents/, providing the following information:

• The 2020-2029 General Management Plan (GMP) is now in its final draft form and will consider the newly included wildlife habitats land of the Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP);
• The implementation of the Grazing Pressure Reduction Strategy is continuing, with 73% of SMNP now free from livestock grazing;
• A Tourism Development Plan has been drafted to address the increasing visitor numbers;
• A draft monitoring protocol for Walia ibex, Ethiopian wolf and gelada has been developed and is being reviewed by stakeholders;
• Support is being provided to the relocated Gich community following International Finance Cooperation (IFC) best practices, and activities to improve community livelihoods and community tourism are ongoing through the support of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC);
• A proposal for a Significant Boundary Modification affecting the whole of SMNP, including a new buffer zone, is being prepared in consultation with relevant stakeholders and will be submitted by September 2020;
• The construction of the alternative road, which will be mostly located outside the property and SMNP, is ongoing;
• The realignment of the power transmission line is subject to further impact assessments once the road construction has been completed;
• Construction of four new lodges are being considered along the border of SMNP but has not begun. So far only the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for two of these lodges have been submitted to the World Heritage Centre. Concerning the two lodges already operating inside the property (Limalimo and Simien lodges), the State Party indicates having requested the lodge owners to revise their EIAs to be in conformity with the IUCN guidelines.

On 11 April 2019, the State Party sent a letter to the World Heritage Centre, requesting emergency support to stop fires that had been raging the property since 28 March 2019. The International Emergency Assistance Request was approved on 23 April 2019. On 31 October 2019, the State Party reported that the fires had a very high impact on the property’s ericaceous forest, and that 60,000 native Erica trees had been planted as a restoration effort. The Emergency International Assistance will also support the preparation of a fire management strategy.

On 30 March 2020, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party, requesting more information regarding the constructions of new lodges inside the property, and requesting that an EIA following IUCN Guidelines be undertaken for all the new lodges and be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN.

The State Party has continued to make positive progress in addressing past Committee requests with support from international partners including Austrian and German Cooperation. The continued engagement with local communities and decline in the area of the property subject to livestock grazing are welcomed. However, no new information is provided on the updated grazing strategy that was previously reported by the State Party.

The revised GMP is well structured, containing six clear objectives concerning the protection of SMNP including criterion (x) values. Noting however that the property is also inscribed on the World Heritage List under criterion (vii), the draft GMP does not currently address how the aesthetic values of the property will be managed. This will become particularly important as the State Party prepares a proposal for a Significant Boundary Modification to encompass all of SMNP and with plans to expand tourism. Infrastructural developments may be visible over long distances, and the proposed zonation scheme for SMNP needs to take such visual impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property into consideration.

The Tourism Development Plan is an encouraging starting point for addressing the SMNP’s needs in the face of increasing visitor numbers. It identifies areas that require further strengthening and possible next steps but it does not go to the extent of putting forward a management strategy, as had been requested by the Committee. One of the next actions should therefore be to establish a Tourism Management Plan that strategically assesses how the impacts from the proposed tourism development will be monitored and managed. In identifying potential locations for new lodge developments, safeguarding the property’s OUV must be at the core of decision-making.

The development and submission of a draft monitoring protocol for key species in SMNP are welcomed. It is generally well designed but it should also consider how the State Party will ensure quality control during its implementation.

EIAs for the two existing lodges (Limalimo and Simien) and for two out of the four newly proposed lodges (Angobaras and Simien Mountains) have been submitted. The remaining two EIAs should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN. It is of utmost concern that the EIAs for Angobaras and Simien Mountains lodges indicate that both are proposed inside SMNP, contrary to the Committee’s previous decisions. Furthermore, it is concerning that the OUV of the property has not been fully considered in site selection or project design. It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its past emphases that the State Party focus on improving existing infrastructure and developing any new infrastructure restricted to areas outside of SMNP.

The further delay on the already overdue road construction as an alternative to the existing road is noted. The State Party should be reminded to urgently submit the EIA for the part of the new road crossing SMNP, which has been requested since 2017 (Decisions 41 COM 7A.13 and 42 COM 7B.91). An EIA for the realignment of the power transmission line should also be submitted before any activities begin, ensuring that this considers the visual and ecological impacts of the property and SMNP.

The interim report on the International Assistance describes the impact of the fires as very high. Unfortunately, there is no reference to this in the State Party’s report. The State Party should be requested to provide further information on the area affected and impact on the OUV, to monitor the recovery of vegetation, and to submit the fire management strategy as soon as it is available.