Okapi Wildlife Reserve

• Intensive poaching of large mammals, in particular elephants
• Mining activities inside the property
• Uncontrolled migration into the villages located within the property
• Illegal timber exploitation in the Ituri Forest, which might affect the property in the near future
• Planned rehabilitation of the National Road RN4 crossing the property, for which no proper Environmental Impact Assessment was conducted 

• Impact of the conflict: looting of the infrastructures, poaching of elephants
• Presence of gold mining sites inside the property

Indicators adopted in 2009 and revised in 2014, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/5983

Adopted in 2009 and revised in 2014, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/5983 

In progress

Total amount granted: USD 1,450,000, from the United Nations Foundation (UNF), Government of Belgium, the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) and the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPF), USD 550,000 from the Government of Norway (2020-2024)

No report was provided by the State Party at the time of preparation of this report.

The State Party did not provide any report on the state of conservation of the four properties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The lack of reporting by the State Party makes it difficult for the World Heritage Centre and IUCN to monitor the state of conservation of these properties and to provide an in-depth analysis to the World Heritage Committee. The State Party also did not invite the joint UNESCO/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, as requested in Decision 45 COM 7A.7. Therefore, this analysis is based on information gathered by UNESCO through the follow up of project activities it is supporting in the property.

The pressure and impacts of mining activities on the property remain of significant concern. In an effort to minimize the impacts of mining on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, the World Heritage Centre has continued to support the mapping of mining permits and anti-poaching patrols thanks to Norway’s financial contribution to the World Heritage Fund. Compared to the situation reported at the extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023), information-led and routine patrols conducted by law enforcement rangers and aerial reconnaissance flights reveal continuous and increasing pressure from mining activities (in particular semi-industrial mining) and associated illegal activities (such as settlement expansion, logging, poaching) in the western portion of the property and along the Ituri river and Route Nationale 4, which is crossing the property. Overall, satellite images show that tree cover loss in these areas has significantly increased since 2020 to reach a level of around 2,000 ha per year (equivalent to around 2,500 football pitches). It is estimated that there are more than 40 semi-industrial mining operations within or near the borders of the property and more than 18 active gold and diamond sites in the property with 15,000-25,000 artisanal miners.

The World Heritage Centre facilitated collaboration among representatives from the highest level of the DRC’s government, and the Directors General of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) and Mining Cadastre (CAMI), who committed to establishing a joint commission, including ICCN and CAMI and third parties from the National Cartographic Institute (IGC) and the Ministry of Mines, among others. However, it has not yet been possible to nominate the full quorum of appointees to the joint ICCN-CAMI commission because of the various recent leadership changes at ICCN.

It is therefore recommended that the Committee commends the efforts made by law enforcement rangers to detect and deter mining activity and urges the State Party to establish without further delay the joint ICCN-CAMI Commission to harmonize maps for the property and resolve the issue of overlapping mining permits in the western part of the property. It is also recommended that the Committee recalls again the commitments made by the State Party as part of the 2011 Kinshasa Declaration, in particular, to enforce the conservation laws and mining code, which forbid any mining in protected areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and strongly reiterates its request to revoke all mining permits attributed within the property, close all mining sites inside the property and access roads to them and initiate restoration activities in the degraded areas.

No further information is available on other issues and requests raised in previous Decisions of the Committee, namely the number of residents within the villages located inside the property in order to assess the impacts of population increases on land-use in the property, the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) data to enable an assessment of the impact of illegal activities on the OUV of the property, the updating of the Integrated Management Plan (PAG) and the formalization of the Central Integral Conservation Zone, the plans to capture of okapi from the wild to repopulate the okapi breeding station, and data concerning progress accomplished with regard to the indicators defined in the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR).

Taking into account the continuous and increasing pressure from mining activities and associated illegal activities which is jeopardizing the integrity of the property and therefore directly affecting its OUV, it is recommended that the Committee reiterates its request to the State Party to invite a joint UNESCO/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property.

Against this backdrop, it is also recommended to retain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger and to continue the application of the Reinforced Monitoring mechanism.