Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park

• Insecurity and porosity of borders
• Poaching
• Artisanal mining
• Transboundary transhumance and illegal grazing
• Illegal fishing
• Illegal occupation of the property
• Lack of protection and management measures
•  Petroleum exploration activities

• Illegal grazing
• Uncontrolled poaching by heavily armed groups and the subsequent loss of up to 80% of the Park’s wildlife due to the deteriorating security situation
• Halt to tourism

Not yet identified

Adopted in 2009 and revised in 2019, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/7463

Adopted in 2019, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/7463

Total amount provided: USD 1,250,000 from the Government of Norway from 2021 to 2024

On 10 March 2022, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, and on 27 March 2023, an updated report. These reports are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/475/documents/. In addition, the State Party provided further information to the World Heritage Centre through online exchanges on 20 June 2023. The reports include the following:

• Intensive poaching, illegal gold mining and international transhumance facilitated by porous borders due to the unstable security context continue to threaten the values, integrity and the protection and management system of the property. However, significant progress has been made towards a gradual return to stability with the redeployment of State presence throughout the country;
• The efforts of the State Party, supported by its partner the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and several projects financed mainly by UNESCO (by substantial funding from Norway), the European Union, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Lion Recovery Fund, are helping to improve the property's state of conservation, through better management of transhumance pressure, the strengthening of community resilience and good governance approaches. A 2022 - 2024 action plan has been drawn up, aimed at progressing towards removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger;
• This plan calls for the securing of an 11,000 km2 priority zone, 63% of the property's surface area, by the end of 2024, as well as a conservation zone serving as a buffer zone, which is still relatively rich in wildlife. To date, implementation of the plan has enabled the securing of 6,534 km2, or 37% of the property's surface area, to which a buffer zone of 3,687 km² has been added. This core area is subject to regular aerial and pedestrian surveillance coordinated by an operational control room and the presence in the field of 32 eco-surveillants and 12 eco-guards;
• In 2022, 48 transhumance regulators were deployed to limit the impact of transhumant livestock by raising awareness and directing transhumants to areas outside the priority and buffer zones;
• Substantial investments have been made to reinforce operational capacities for the surveillance and management of the property, including the rehabilitation of infrastructure (airstrips and trails, bungalows, Koumbala control post), and the acquisition of equipment (vehicle, motorcycles, navigation and data collection equipment, among others);
• In 2021 and 2022, bio-monitoring efforts in the priority conservation zone and buffer zone respectively recorded a total of 3,695 and 5,527 wildlife sightings of around 35 species of which the savannah elephant, giraffe, lion, leopard, spotted hyena, hippopotamus, Buffon and Defassa cob, buffalo, bongo, Derby eland and crocodile, among others. A data collection campaign to carry out a wildlife inventory of the entire property is ongoing since December 2022;
• Income-generating activities (IGA) have been launched in the villages around the property;
• The option to bypass the property from the south was adopted for the implementation of the rehabilitation project of the Ndélé-Birao National Road 8 by the State Party on 2 July 2020, safeguarding the integrity of the Park. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the project is being finalized.
• In the framework of the development of the Master Territorial Development Scheme (SDAT), a meeting was organized in Bangui in 2021 proposing the organization of a field mission with the Ministry of Geology and Mines to solve problems related to petroleum and mining activities in and near the property. Petroleum exploration activities in Block A have been suspended since 2012;
• An influx of illegal armed gold miners and a poliferation of extraction wells is occurring in the Gordil – Nda corridor to the east of the property. This illegal artisanal exploitation is monitored by aerial surveillance, which allows the army to take repressive action.

The continued efforts of the State Party and its partners to improve the stability of the country, address threats to the property and implement corrective measures are appreciated. The establishment of an action plan, the delimitation of a priority conservation zone and the resumption of monitoring operations with the setting up of an operations control room and the strengthening of its operating capacity, the deployment of monitoring agents and transhumance regulators as well as efforts to raise awareness among transhumants to respect this priority zone constitute an important step forward. The progress made towards the objective of securing a priority conservation zone covering 63% of the property, with 37% already secured, is particularly encouraging. The projects and measures put in place to strengthen the management of the property, increase community involvement and promote sustainable development, with the support of international donors, are welcomed. It is recommended that the Committee thank the Government of Norway for its significant funding through the World Heritage Centre, which has enabled the resumption of monitoring and management operations at the property with the aim of avoiding the loss of its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), as well as other financial partners who support the State Party in its ongoing efforts.

Despite this significant progress, the persistence of intensive poaching, illegal gold mining and international transhumance remains a matter of concern. The State Party is encouraged to continue to strengthen control and law enforcement measures against these illegal activities and pursue advocacy for the implementation of existing regional agreements on combating poaching and other cross-border criminal activities, as well as those relating to peace, reconciliation and social cohesion. Furthermore, the information shared does not allow for a precise assessment of the level and location of threats to the property, and it is important to assess the damage caused by these activities, particularly in the priority area, and to undertake the necessary restoration activities.

The confirmation of the presence of a relict population of the flagship species mentioned above is very encouraging. The wildlife inventory underway throughout the property since 2022 should make it possible to assess more precisely the size of relict wildlife populations and their spatial occupation, and to establish wildlife indicators to develop the desired state of conservation with a view to removing the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR).

Recalling the Committee's decision in 2019 to grant the State Party a four-year deadline to demonstrate whether it is possible to restore the integrity of the property, and to collect additional data on the state of the fauna to enable an assessment of a possible regeneration of the OUV, it is recommended that a World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission be planned as from 2025, once more of the property's priority area is made secure and the wildlife inventory data on the extent of the property is available, with the aim to confirm that OUV remains recoverable and to establish DSOCR indicators and a realistic timetable for removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Confirmation that petroleum exploration activities have been suspended since 2012 and the proposal to organize a field mission with the concerned ministry to definitively clarify the situation of petroleum Block A and exploration Blocks I, II, III and ensure that no permit overlaps the property is noted. It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its request to the State Party to avoid any petroleum and mining exploration activities within the boundaries of the property, in accordance with national legislation and the World Heritage status of the property. Furthermore, the influx of illegal armed gold miners and the proliferation of extraction wells in the Gordil – Nda corridor to the east of the property is extremely worrying and it is recommended that the State Party provide information on this threat and its potential impacts on the property and efforts undertaken to contain it.

Concerning the rehabilitation of Ndélé-Birao National Road 8, the positive decision by the State Party to bypass the property from the south, in response to the Committee’s decision, is noted. It is recommended that the State Party, with the support of its partners, finalize the ESIA of this project to assess its potential impacts on the OUV of the property, and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, before approving the project, in accordance with paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.

Finally, it is recommended that the Committee maintain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger and continue to apply the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism.