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Taï National Park

Côte d'Ivoire
Factors affecting the property in 2007*
  • Illegal activities
  • Land conversion
  • Mining
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

a) Poaching

b) Agricultural encroachment

c) Mining for gold

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2007
Requests approved: 5 (from 1983-2006)
Total amount approved : 110,014 USD
Missions to the property until 2007**

UNESCO-IUCN monitoring mission in 2006

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2007

In June 2006, UNESCO and IUCN conducted a mission to the property, in conjunction with the mission to Comoé National Park. The mission found that the recent national political crisis had not impacted the site as seriously as it had affected Comoé National Park. The number of park rangers and scientists had been reduced but the remaining staff continued their activities during this period. Human population pressure and encroachment due to the loss of lands in the region caused by the Buyo dam construction and the presence of refugees from neighboring countries were the main problems observed by the mission,.

The mission confirmed that the property continues to maintain its outstanding universal value (OUV) and that the main threats to the latter are commercial poaching and illegal activities taking place close to the park’s borders. In particular the villagers living between the Cavally River and Liberian border feel unjustly deprived of the fertile lands within the park.

The mission report proposed the following key recommendations:

(i) Strengthen surveillance and improve the collected data during poaching control;

(ii) Conduct ecological and wildlife surveys based on the new protocols from the Management Plan for the park;

(iii) Extend the socio-economic and educational activities of the east of the park also to the west;

(iv) Assess the feasibility of ecological corridors

(v) Harmonize the zoning system;

(vi) Re-launch international cooperation;

(vii) Approve and implement the Management Plan;

(viii) Study park resource use and park resource use conflict;

(ix) Enlarge research on the functioning of the ecosystem;

(x) Prepare an interpretation and education scheme, and an ecotourism strategy.

The mission proposed to address the 4 first recommendations on an emergency basis and suggested a 10 year timeframe for the implementation of all overall list of recommendations.

A report was received from the State Party dated December 2006, which describes the progress in park management for the period June 2005 to June 2006. Management efforts are ongoing despite the political situation, with assistance from international partners including the German KfW/GTZ, WWF, and the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation. Although ecotourism has been affected, the infrastructure for ecotourism is being maintained. The State Party reports that poaching continues to be a problem and plans to apply for International Assistance to address this issue. The report includes information on the following issues:

a) Surveillance of the park

Patrolling of the park is intensive with both sectoral guards and a mobile brigade, achieving an average of 84% of the planned patrol days per month. Patrolling takes place in all sectors of the park with a coverage of 65% of the total area. The main target species for poaching are duikers and primates, which account for 80% of seizures by guards who apprehended 91 poachers, 28 illegal gold miners and 4 farmers. The apprehensions resulted in 51 convictions, 27 reprieves and 50 non-convictions.

b) Local community and the peripheral zone

The programmes to raise awareness among the local population and the permanent activities of the forestry police suggest a decrease in the use of bush meat based on the following observations:

(i) Local eateries are increasingly serving beef, poultry and fish;

(ii) Traffickers of bush meat are increasingly discrete;

(iii) Primates, buffalos and even elephants can be observed in the area east of the park, which previously had a reputation as the empty zone;

(iv) The local population, particularly young people, are involved in the micro-enterprise projects initiated by the park; and

(v) Poachers are spending less time in the park by using artisanal animal traps.

However, these are qualitative observations and there has been no structured study to confirm these trends.

c) Degraded areas

An ecological monitoring unit was established in 1998 to study the evolution of degraded areas and the dynamics of wildlife populations in the Park. The State Party has used comparisons of satellite imagery to confirm that the forest area and degraded area remain the same, demonstrating that conservation and restoration activities have been successful in the park.

The World Heritage Centre and IUCN recognize the many positive activities being undertaken in the park and in particular the efforts in controlling illegal activities and raising awareness with the communities neighbouring the park. The Centre and IUCN encourage the park authorities to monitor the distribution and size of its major wildlife populations in order to establish their trend as well as conduct further studies on the status of the park’s forest ecosystem and the habitat as a whole. 

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2007
31 COM 7B.6
State of conservation of World Heritage Properties - Taï National Park

The World Heritage Committee,

1.Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7B,

2.Recalling Decision 28 COM 15B.3 adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004),

3.Commends the State Party for its on-going efforts for the protection of Taï National Park, and resumption of management and research within the park;

4.Notes with concern that population pressure and illegal activities, particularly poaching, continue to affect the integrity and values of the property;

5.Urges the State Party to implement the following emergency actions recommended by the 2006 UNESCO-IUCN monitoring mission:

     a)Strengthen surveillance and improve data collection while controlling poaching;

     b)Conduct ecological and wildlife surveys based on the new protocols from the Management Plan for the park;

     c)Extend the socio-economic and educational activities currently to the east of the park also to the west;

     d)Assess the feasibility of ecological corridors;

6.Requests the State Party to implement also the other recommendations of the 2006 UNESCO-IUCN monitoring mission within the 10 year timeframe proposed by the mission;

7.Encourages the State Party to expand its cooperation with the neighbouring communities particularly with respect to micro-enterprise development and educational activities;

8.Also requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2009, with an updated report on the state of conservation of the property, in particular on progress made in implementing the emergency actions, and the other recommendations of the 2006 monitoring mission for examination by the Committee at its 33rd session in 2009.

Draft Decision: 31 COM 7B.6

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 28 COM 15B.3 adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004),

3. Commends the State Party for its on-going efforts for the protection of Taï National Park, and resumption of management and research within the park;

4. Notes with concern that population pressure and illegal activities, particularly poaching, continue to affect the integrity and values of the property;

5. Urges the State Party to implement the following emergency actions recommended by the 2006 UNESCO-IUCN monitoring mission:

a) Strengthen surveillance and improve data collection while controlling poaching;

b) Conduct ecological and wildlife surveys based on the new protocols from the Management Plan for the park;

c) Extend the socio-economic and educational activities currently to the east of the park also to the west;

d) Assess the feasibility of ecological corridors

6. Requests the State Party to implement also the other recommendations of the 2006 UNESCO-IUCN monitoring mission within the 10 year timeframe proposed by the mission;

7. Encourages the State Party to expand its cooperation with the neighbouring communities particularly with respect to micro-enterprise development and educational activities;

8. Also requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2009, with an updated reporton the state of conservation of the property, in particular on progress made in implementing the emergency actions, and the other recommendations of the 2006 monitoring mission for examination by the Committee at its 33rd session in 2009.

Report year: 2007
Côte d'Ivoire
Date of Inscription: 1982
Category: Natural
Criteria: (vii)(x)
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 31COM (2007)
Exports

* : 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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