Selous Game Reserve

• Significant decline of wildlife populations due to poaching
• Insufficient funding and interruption of the retention scheme
• Management challenges of trophy hunting
• Changes in legislation in 2009 permitting hydrocarbon and uranium prospecting and extraction inside game reserves
• Excision of land from the property to accommodate a uranium mine
• Operationalizing the uranium mining project and consideration of in situ leaching by the developer
• Lack of disaster preparedness and water monitoring related to the uranium mine
• Inadequate tourism management and development
• Decision to construct and subsequent construction of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) and its associated infrastructure without adequate impact assessment
• Logging within the reservoir area
• Proposed Kidunda Dam development without adequate impact assessment
• Other potential infrastructure developments
• Need for buffer zone
• Need for increased involvement of local communities
• Alien invasive species

2014: Poaching and the ensuing dramatic declines in elephant populations, and the effects thereof on the ecosystem. In 2018 the impacts of the proposed Stiegler’s Gorge hydropower dam (more recently referred to as the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP)) were added to the justification for Danger Listing.

A draft DSOCR was developed but not finalized before the justification for Danger listing was amended to include the impacts of the JNHPP.

A draft action plan with corrective measures was developed but not submitted by the State Party before the justification for Danger listing was amended to include the impacts of the JNHPP.

Not yet identified

N/A

On 23 February 2024, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/199/documents/, which reports the following:

• The State Party continues implementation of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) and reiterates its position that the project will have minor impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, considering the size of the property, that its impact was assessed in an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), and that mitigation measures based on the ESIA continue to be implemented. Ten additional scientific studies have been commissioned to generate supplementary information to inform mitigation measures. The reports will be shared once completed;
• There remains renewed interest in the Kidunda Dam project and the requested 2021 ESIA (updated from the 2017 ESIA). The ESIA was reported as attached (but submitted separately on 9 June 2024);
• The 2012 Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the Mkuju Uranium Project has been updated and the report attached (dated 2016). The State Party will inform the World Heritage Committee when the project commences;
• The previously planned major development projects (Kito-1 oil and gas exploration project, and oil exploration blocks outside the reserve) remain dormant. Whilst noting that no decision has been taken, the State Party commits to undertaking new ESIAs for any such renewed projects given the extended timeframe;
• On 25 February 2024, the State Party invited the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission for May 2024 to assess the state of conservation of the property and re-establish a dialogue on the identified challenges.

In April 2024, press and media articles reported that the discharge of water from the JNHPP had led to flooding of essential infrastructure and crops, displacement of communities and loss of life downstream of the dam.

On 16-19 April 2024, thanks to the financial support of the Government of Norway, UNESCO, in collaboration with IUCN and ICCROM, organized a workshop to support properties from the East Africa region inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, which included a discussion on this property and was attended by the State Party. On 3 May 2024, the State Party submitted a draft Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) to the World Heritage Centre for review.

While the State Party formally invited the Reactive Monitoring mission, at the time of preparing this report, it had not yet confirmed the proposed dates for the mission.

Regarding the ongoing implementation of the JNHPP dam in the property, the World Heritage Centre and IUCN recall the history of significant concerns raised in World Heritage Committee documents and decisions for more than a decade over the potential impacts of this project on the OUV of the property, from inadequate impact assessments to its continued construction against the request of the Committee, and the resulting loss of integrity and irreversible damage to the values which underpin OUV.

The continuation of the JNHPP, which is now nearing completion, in this context is deeply concerning. It needs to be emphasized again that the World Heritage Centre and IUCN are of the view that the degree of impact on the OUV of the property is far greater than the physical footprint of the JNHPP reservoir, as it is leading to significant changes to the hydrology of the Rufiji river and major impacts on the ecosystems upstream and downstream of the dam with loss of forest cover, ecological connectivity and changes to the floodplain system.

Furthermore, the updated Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment (SEA) submitted in June 2023 cannot fully address the previously highlighted shortcomings in line with best practice SEA standards, assessments remain superficial, and it provides a limited reflection of the impacts on the OUV moving forward into the operational phase. The value of an updated SEA at this time remains severely limited considering construction is near completion and the filling of the dam is ongoing.

The Reactive Monitoring mission will provide an opportunity to further assess the impacts of the dam on the OUV of the property based on all available documentation. It is also regrettable that no further details are provided on the 10 additional scientific studies which were already reported in the previous State Party report.

The 2022 elephant census data which was reported in the previous State Party’s state of conservation report was regrettably not subsequently shared with the World Heritage Centre, which would have allowed an updated understanding of the status of the elephant population.

Noting the renewed interest in the Kidunda dam project, it is concerning that the revised ESIA was only submitted to the World Heritage Centre on 9 June 2024 despite repeated reminders. The late submission has not allowed for the review of the ESIA. Recalling concerns regarding the potential impact of the dam on the OUV given it may inundate part of the property, it is recommended to reiterate the Committee’s previous request in this regard.

While it is noted that the State Party continues to express its commitment to undertake new ESIAs should any previously planned major projects (e.g. Kito-1 oil and gas exploration; oil exploration blocks) be considered, it is of significant concern that, for the Mkuju Uranium Project, which was reported to the Committee to have been suspended in 2018, the State Party has submitted a revised EMP (dated 2016, updated from 2012) and states that it will inform the World Heritage Committee when the project commences, in spite of previous commitments that a new ESIA would be required should the project be revived. A new ESIA and EMP is essential to inform decision-making considering the time elapsed and reflecting on the changes to the state of conservation of the property since 2016 but also due to the update that the mode of extraction may change from surface mining to chemical leaching, a method which presents significant risk for groundwater contamination. A new ESIA is required in line with paragraphs 118bis and 172 of the Operational Guidelines and in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context.

It is noted that the invited joint Reactive Monitoring mission will be critical for assessing the status of the OUV of the property, including in relation to the above noted issues, and the options available to the State Party and the Committee, including options to conserve the wider Selous-Niassa ecosystem. The recently updated draft DSOCR will additionally be reviewed by the mission.