Canaima National Park

• Project to erect a series of power transmission lines
• Conflicts between the Pemons communities and the National Guard 
• Need to finalize the boundaries of the area

N/A

On 6 March 2023, the State Party sent a report on the state of conservation of the property, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/701/documents/ and reports the following:

• A territorial analysis between the southern boundary of Area 4 of the National Strategic Development Zone "Arco Minero del Orinoco" (ZDENAMO), the northern boundary of the property and the Mining Rights in Force, shows that the mining activity planned outside the property does not negatively impact the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
• Mining rights Area 17, Gold Areas 25 and 26 are located approximately 10 km northwest of the property. Gold Areas 15, 20, 21 22 and 24 are located at an average distance of 14 or 15 km from the property;
• Planned mining activities in the ZDENAMO are aligned within the current national legal framework and administered by the relevant government authority, and are subject to control mechanisms for compliance with the relevant operational and environmental measures, including the requirement for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA);
• The Bolivarian Armed Forces, coordinated through the Command of the Strategic Region of Integral Defense (REDI) Guayana, are responsible for the supervision and permanent surveillance of the property;
• The State Party has increased the number of park rangers in the property by 1,264% from 13 in 2015 to 163 in 2021. There are also 193 park rangers operating in the Bolivar Regional Directorate;
• The number of forest firefighters in the property has increased. By 2021, there were 36 Indigenous Community Brigaders in Canaima National Park and 40 forest firefighters are currently in training, representing a total of 76 members and an increase of 111%;
• The State Party is considering the possibility of expanding the property. An area of approximately 62,263 hectares (ha) located to the north of the property, and an estimated area of 150,005 ha to the east of the property have been provisionally identified.

The State Party invited the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property from 5 – 10 September 2022. On 21 August 2022 however, the State Party requested the postponement of the mission on the basis of severe weather.

On 7 December 2022, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party encouraging it to invite the mission as quickly as possible. The need to organize the mission as soon as possible was reiterated on 9 March 2023, during a working meeting between the Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs, and UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture. A renewed invitation for the mission, however, has not been received at the time of writing of this report.

The information provided by the State Party regarding management of the property, in particular the increase in the number of firefighters and rangers, as well as surveillance of the property, is noted.

Following previous clarifications that the ZDENAMO does not spatially overlap with the property, it is further noted that a territorial analysis concluded that the planned mining activity outside the property does not negatively impact the OUV of the property. It is also noted that the mining rights areas are subject to relevant national environmental regulations, including an EIA requirement. However, it remains unclear how a territorial analysis could comprehensively assess potential impacts on the OUV of the property, and whether the planned and existing mining operations within the rights areas close to the property have been subject to EIAs which fully assess the potential impacts on the OUV of the property. It is therefore recommended that the State Party submit the territorial analysis to the World Heritage Centre, as well as the status of any mining projects within the mining rights areas, for consideration by the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission, and to ensure that all mining projects which could potentially impact on the OUV of the property are assessed in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context.

Recalling the previously raised concerns regarding illegal mining activities within the property, no further information on illegal mining was provided. However, the World Heritage Centre has continued to receive information from third party sources about further expansion of illegal mining inside the property. It is regrettable that the Reactive Monitoring mission to the property planned in September 2022 had to be postponed due to extreme weather and that to date, no renewed invitation was received in spite of reminders to the State Party. Therefore, it is recommended that the Committee urges the State Party again to invite this requested mission as soon as possible. The mission should assess the degree to which the property’s OUV might be affected by illegal mining activities through on-the-ground visits and consultations with all relevant stakeholders, including representatives of the Instituto Nacional de Parques (INPARQUES), relevant authorities, representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities, and the scientific community. It is also recommended that the mission review the planned and ongoing legal mining activities in the parts of ZDENAMO located close to the northern border of the property, to assess whether they might result in any potential negative impacts on the OUV of the property and provide advice to the State Party in ensuring that assessment of possible impacts on the OUV of the property is integrated into existing national regulations for mining. The overall state of conservation of the property, including the current status of the OUV of the property, its management effectiveness and the integration of local and indigenous communities into the management of the property should also be assessed during the mission.

The information on the potential extension of the property through areas to the north and east is again noted. Recalling previous concerns regarding the discrepancy between the originally reported area of the property and the more recently submitted revised figure following up to date mapping of the property using modern technology, the State Party should again be requested to submit an official proposal for clarification of boundaries of the property within the framework of the Retrospective Inventory, according to Paragraphs 163-165 of the Operational Guidelines.