Socotra Archipelago

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.