Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve

a) Illegal settlements;

b) Illegal livestock grazing and agricultural intrusions;

c) Illegal logging;

d) Poaching;

e) Invasive exotic species;

f) Management deficiencies;

g) Potential impacts from hydroelectric development project Patuca II.

Total amount provided to the property: USD 80,000 (in addition to approximately USD 100,000 of in-kind technical assistance) under the management effectiveness assessment “Enhancing our Heritage” project 

The property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to the presence of unauthorized settlements within its boundaries, illegal logging and the threat from an advancing agricultural frontier. To the west and south, the property is bordered by new settlements established by small scale farmers and ranchers looking for lands, and to the east by indigenous communities. The northern part of the property borders on the Caribbean and harbours several small indigenous settlements, though an increasing number of colonists are arriving here as well. The absence of orderly land allocation structures has resulted in a thriving informal land market, further exacerbating deforestation. Important efforts have been made to establish a formal cadastre, with the support of German development assistance and significant progress has been made. Vigorous presence of the military on the property boundaries, along with the passing of clear laws removing loopholes that had been used to legalize timber obtained from the property have been closed. These developments were the basis for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2007.

The World Heritage Centre sent a letter communicating Decision 32 COM 7B.38 to the State Party on 21 August, 2008 along with a follow-up letter on 1 February 2009. Further email and telephone communications took place in February and March 2009 in an effort to communicate the urgency of responding to the World Heritage Committee’s request. 

No report has been received from the State Party. 

This property, having only recently been removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger, is the source of on-going unsolicited reports to the World Heritage Centre and to IUCN from field level observers which indicate that on-going management issues remain to be addressed, in particular:

a) The advance of the agricultural frontier into the property boundaries;

b) Important illegal seasonal commercial fisheries in the rivers and iii) hunting of mammals such as tapir, peccary and paca.

A further report from Global Witness entitled “Illegal Logging in the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve” raises further concerns over the integrity of the property. In the absence of the state of conservation report from the State Party, these field reports raise serious issues over the implementation of the 2006 monitoring mission recommendations.