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State of Conservation Socotra Archipelago 2024

Socotra Archipelago

Yemen
Factors affecting the property in 2024*
  • Civil unrest
  • Fishing/collecting aquatic resources
  • Governance
  • Ground transport infrastructure
  • Invasive / alien marine species
  • Legal framework
  • Livestock farming / grazing of domesticated animals
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Pollution of marine waters
  • Solid waste
  • Storms
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Management systems / management plan
  • Legal frameworks
  • Governance
  • Buildings and development
  • Ground transport infrastructure: road network
  • Biological resource use/modification
  • Invasive/alien species or hyper-abundant species: absence of adequate biosecurity measures to avoid the introduction of invasive alien species
  • Livestock farming/grazing of domesticated animals
  • Fishing/collecting aquatic resources
  • Solid waste: primarily in and around main settlements
  • Civil unrest: unrest inhibiting management and access of international experts and capacity building support
  • Climate change and severe weather events: cyclones
  • Impact of oil spill pollution from January 2023
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2024

N/A

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2024
Requests approved: 2 (from 2017-2023)
Total amount approved : 131,560 USD
2023 Socotra Archipelago (Yemen) Oil Spill Response Action (Approved)   56,560 USD
2017 Mitigation of hurricanes impacts on endemic and ... (Approved)   75,000 USD
Missions to the property until 2024**

December 2012: IUCN mission; June 2014: IUCN/Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH) mission

2014 IUCN/ARC-WH Mission Report, Socotra Archipelago, June 2014
2012 Report on the IUCN Mission to Socotra Archipelago (Yemen), 4-14 November 2012
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2024

The State Party did not submit the state of conservation report, which was requested by the World Heritage Committee at its extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023).

As reported in the previous session, in late January 2023, a spill occurred from an oil tanker stranded at the Delisha Nature Sanctuary since November 2019. In the framework of the 2023 Emergency Assistance funding for “Socotra Archipelago (Yemen) Oil Spill Response Action” (IA nº3415), several activities have been implemented through the UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen, the report of which was available to the World Heritage Centre and IUCN in May 2024. A UNESCO Office field mission in November 2023 revealed that the spill had affected a considerable proportion of the coast of Delisha and that the Gulf Dove tanker still contains some residual oil derivatives, while the tanker is expected to be dismantled soon. Despite the fact that the coast had been mostly cleaned by local authorities and community organizations, a detailed risk assessment and action plan along with the relevant training were deemed necessary. The oil spill response included a training in November 2023 by an oil spill expert and a biodiversity expert, in line with the training course of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The training included planning for and addressing oil spills effectively, working with local communities, as well as providing an overview of effective oil spill response, modalities to create a contingency plan, aerial surveillance and at sea response techniques, amongst others. A risk assessment was developed outlining levels of risks, preparedness and resources at risk in the property, as well as an action plan for the oil spill response, recommendations for dismantling the Gulf Dove tanker, and highlighting the importance of developing local environmental sensitivity mapping and contingency plans, as well as building capacities for preparedness and response. Implementation of the action plan would require additional funding to address future issues.

Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2024

It is regrettable that the State Party has not provided a report on the state of conservation of the property, as requested by the World Heritage Committee at its extended 45th session. The lack of reporting raises concerns and makes it difficult for the World Heritage Centre and IUCN to monitor the state of conservation of this property and provide an in-depth analysis to the Committee.

It is recalled that the property, as reported in the last state of conservation report and reflected in Decision 45 COM 7B.12, remains threatened by pressures such as infrastructure development, invasive species, as well as limited funding and management capacity resulting from the conflict in Yemen.

The World Heritage Centre and IUCN remain in discussions with the State Party to undertake the pending joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, which remains urgent especially given the lack of updated information on the state of conservation of the property.

It is recommended that the Committee regrets that no information on the state of conservation of the property has been provided and request the State Party to provide information on the implementation of the recommendations made in Decision 45 COM 7B.12.

The outcomes of the implementation of the 2023 Emergency Assistance funding have provided an action plan and recommendations to avoid further oil spills from the vessel itself, as well as in terms of preparedness and capacity building in case of future similar incidents. Noting that further resource mobilization is needed to implement those actions as well as support the effective protection and management of the property, it is recommended to continue to call on the international community for its support.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2024
46 COM 7B.61
Socotra Archipelago (Yemen) (N 1263)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 45 COM 7B.12 adopted at its extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023),
  3. Regrets that the State Party did not submit the requested state of conservation report, and notes with concern that the lack of submission by the State Party makes it difficult for the World Heritage Committee to monitor the state of conservation of the property;
  4. Also recalling the high level of endemism in the property and the potentially devastating impacts of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) on its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), welcomes the activities undertaken under the UNEP-GEF programme to establish port quarantine measures and prepare a participatory IAS control strategy, and requests the State Party, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, to urgently finalise such IAS control strategy and implement biosecurity measures to ensure the threat is effectively managed;
  5. Takes note that developments were previously reported to be mostly limited to urban development zones, that development in the buffer zone is regulated by environmental standards, and that these standards are being incorporated in the review and update of the Conservation Zoning Plan (CZP), also requests that the CZP is finalised as a matter of priority and submitted to the World Heritage Centre and reminds the State Party that any development project planned within the property, its buffer zone or its wider setting should be subject to a specific assessment of the potential impact on the property’s OUV in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, before decisions are taken that are difficult to reverse;
  6. Noting previous reports of impacts in some national parks or protected areas, requests furthermore the State Party to provide further information regarding these impacts in relation to the OUV, and to clarify how the initiation or update of protected areas management plans to address all sensitive biodiversity areas and sustain local natural resource use, would relate to the update of the CZP and the overall integrated management of the property;
  7. Also recalling that previous reports have identified fishing and the collection of aquatic resources in marine core and buffer zones as significant threats, requests the State Party to evaluate the potential threats to marine wildlife due to overfishing and the collection of aquatic resources;
  8. Continues to urge the State Party and all stakeholders involved in development projects to ensure that related impact assessments are implemented in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, including to:
    1. Evaluate the potential impacts of existing infrastructure developments that have not undergone Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), in the context of the new regulations,
    2. Ensure that appropriate environmental standards to regulate activities in the property and its buffer zone are incorporated into the updated CZP and that their enforcement is ensured;
  9. Notes the positive actions undertaken to address threats to the OUV of the property, however, reiterates its utmost concern about the potential impacts of previously identified threats, including uncontrolled development, unsustainable use of natural resources, climate change, plastic pollution, lack of sustainable funding and insufficient biosecurity measures to avoid the introduction of IAS, and considers that the cumulative effect of these factors could represent a potential danger to the OUV of the property;
  10. Notes with appreciation the efforts of the State Party to coordinate with international institutions and projects to safeguard the OUV of the property, including actions to conserve Ramsar wetlands, habitat restoration through reforestation, and dissemination activities such as the IUCN SSC/FCC Project (2022-2024), the Franklinia Endangered Tree Project Phase II (2023-2025), the Friends of Socotra, and encourages the State Party to continue and expand these initiatives, including projects regarding social awareness and capacity building;
  11. Also takes note of the UNESCO report on the implementation of the Emergency Assistance funded project to address the January 2023 oil spill from a tanker stranded at the Delisha Nature Sanctuary since November 2019, which states that the coast had been mostly cleaned by local authorities and community organizations, however expresses its concern that no assessment of the impact on the OUV has been undertaken to date, that traces of the impact on the coast are reported to still be seen and that the Gulf Dove tanker still contains some residual oil derivatives, and hence poses a continued potential risk to the OUV of the property, particularly its marine environment, and requests moreover the State Party to provide an update on this matter;
  12. Further welcomes the activities carried out in the framework of the implementation of Emergency Assistance funding, including the preparation of a risk assessment and an action plan, and also notes that the implementation of the outlined action plan and related recommendations would require the mobilization of additional resources to support the local authorities;
  13. Also notes with concern that on-going political instability and the economic crisis continue to impact the capacity for effective management of the property, and continues to call on the international community to support the State Party in its efforts to ensure the effective protection and management of the property;
  14. Notes the efforts of the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, and reiterates its request for this mission to be undertaken as soon as possible to assess if the property meets the conditions for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger and make recommendations to ensure that the property’s OUV is safeguarded;
  15. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2025, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session, considering that the urgent conservation needs of this property require a broad mobilization to preserve its OUV, including the possible inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
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Draft Decision: 46 COM 7B.61

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 45 COM 7B.12, adopted at its extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023),
  3. Regrets that the State Party did not submit the requested state of conservation report, and notes with concern that the lack of submission by the State Party makes it difficult for the World Heritage Committee to monitor the state of conservation of the property;
  4. Also recalling the high level of endemism in the property and the potentially devastating impacts of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) on its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), welcomes the activities undertaken under the UNEP-GEF programme to establish port quarantine measures and prepare a participatory IAS control strategy, and also requests the State Party, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, to urgently finalise such IAS control strategy and implement biosecurity measures to ensure the threat is effectively managed;
  5. Takes note that developments were previously reported to be mostly limited to urban development zones, that development in the buffer zone is regulated by environmental standards, and that these standards are being incorporated in the review and update of the Conservation Zoning Plan (CZP), and further requests that the CZP is finalised as a matter of priority and submitted to the World Heritage Centre;
  6. Noting previous reports of impacts in some national parks or protected areas, requests furthermore the State Party to provide further information regarding these impacts in relation to the OUV, and to clarify how the initiation or update of protected areas management plans to address all sensitive biodiversity areas and sustain local natural resource use, would relate to the update of the CZP and the overall integrated management of the property;
  7. Continues to urge the State Party and all stakeholders involved in development projects to ensure that related impact assessments are implemented in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, including to:
    1. Ensure that any planned development is subject to a rigorous assessment of potential impacts on the OUV of the property, prior to taking any decision that would be difficult to reverse, and to halt any ongoing development and not proceed with any new development that could negatively impact the OUV,
    2. Evaluate the potential impacts of existing infrastructure developments that have not undergone Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), in the context of the new regulations,
    3. Ensure that appropriate environmental standards to regulate activities in the property and its buffer zone are incorporated into the updated CZP and that their enforcement is ensured;
  8. Notes the positive actions undertaken to address threats to the OUV of the property, however, reiterates its utmost concern about the potential impacts of previously identified threats, including uncontrolled development, unsustainable use of natural resources, climate change, plastic pollution, lack of sustainable funding and insufficient biosecurity measures to avoid the introduction of IAS, and considers that the cumulative effect of these factors could represent a potential danger to the OUV of the property;
  9. Also takes note of the UNESCO report on the implementation of the Emergency Assistance funded project to address the January 2023 oil spill from a tanker stranded at the Delisha Nature Sanctuary since November 2019, which states that the coast had been mostly cleaned by local authorities and community organizations, however expresses its concern that no assessment of the impact on the OUV has been undertaken to date, that traces of the impact on the coast are reported to still be seen and that the Gulf Dove tanker still contains some residual oil derivatives, and hence poses a continued potential risk to the OUV of the property, particularly its marine environment, and requests moreover the State Party to provide an update on this matter;
  10. Further welcomes the activities carried out in the framework of the implementation of Emergency Assistance funding, including the preparation of a risk assessment and an action plan, and also notes that the implementation of the outlined action plan and related recommendations would require the mobilization of additional resources to support the local authorities;
  11. Also notes with concern that on-going political instability and the economic crisis continue to impact the capacity for effective management of the property, and continues to call on the international community to support the State Party in its efforts to ensure the effective protection and management of the property;
  12. Reiterates its request for the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to be undertaken as soon as possible, to assess the current state of conservation of the property, in particular in relation to the above-mentioned threats, and to assess if the condition of the property presents ascertained or potential danger to the protection of the OUV of the property;
  13. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2025, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session, considering that the urgent conservation needs of this property require a broad mobilization to preserve its OUV, including the possible inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Previous 2023
Report year: 2024
Yemen
Date of Inscription: 2008
Category: Natural
Criteria: (x)
Documents examined by the Committee
WHC/24/46.COM/7B
arrow_circle_right 46COM (2024)
Exports
Previous 2023

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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