Kahuzi-Biega National Park

• Presence of armed groups, lack of security and political instability rendering a large part of the property inaccessible to the guards
• Attribution of mining permits inside the property
• Poaching by armed military groups
• Villages in the ecological corridor between the highland and lowland sectors of the park
• Illegal mining and deforestation

• Adverse refugee impact
• Irregular presence of armed militias and settlers at the property
• Increased poaching
• Deforestation 

A draft has been developed during the 2009 reactive monitoring mission (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/137/documents), but the indicators still need to be quantified based on the results of a census of large mammals.

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4081

Total amount granted: USD 980,000 from the United Nations Foundation (UNF), and the Governments of Italy and Belgium and by the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) 

On 17 February 2015, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/137/documents/  (pages 10 to 30).

The report indicates an improvement in the security situation: the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is no longer active in the property and several local rebel groups have surrendered. However, some other groups are causing insecurity conditions in the Kasese and Itebero sections, in the lowland sector. This improvement has allowed the staff of the property to strengthen the surveillance mechanism and the level of coverage has increased to 43% in 2014 (29% in 2013).

Although the sectors of Kasese and Itebero are still occupied by rebels, this does not hinder the work of the guards of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN).

The State Party indicates progress in the implementation of the corrective measures:

• Of the 58 recorded illegal mining quarries in the property, 23 have been closed, 31 are currently abandoned and 4 are active. However, the inventory work of the quarries continues;
• To strengthen its surveillance mechanism, the property has acquired equipment and has organized training sessions on the techniques of patrols, notably the monitoring tool SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool). Two patrol posts have been built and three others have been renovated;
• Increase in the cases of elephant poaching. The fact that elephants have only been found in the Kasese sector is noted;
• No progress has been accomplished concerning the annulment of illegal land titles and the evacuation of farmers in the ecological corridor. Documentation on occupation continues, no new title has been attributed in the Park and the natural regeneration of parcels already evacuated continues;
• Socio-economic and biological studies are in progress to finalize the zoning of the property to resolve the issue of villages located in the property;
• With UNESCO support, a “National Forum on Governance and Enhancement” of the property is planned for April 2015 with the objective of ensuring the involvement of the populations in the implementation of the General Development and Management Plan (PGAG);
• A census of the principal wildlife populations was begun in October 2014. At the time of preparation of the report, only two sectors had been visited. Preliminary data does not permit an analysis regarding the tendency of populations;
• The joint Reactive Monitoring mission requested by the Committee at its 38^th session was postponed awaiting the finalization of the inventory.

The improvement in the security conditions and the evacuation of some armed groups have permitted the renewed control of certain formerly occupied sectors, a significant increase in the level of surveillance coverage and the evacuation of a part of the artisanal mining exploitations. However, some zones are still inaccessible and surveillance coverage remains less than half of the property. The reestablishment of security remains the condition sine qua non for the implementation of the corrective measures and the restoration of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property.

It is recommended that the World Heritage Committee notes with satisfaction the important efforts undertaken by the State Party to strengthen surveillance and mobilize funds, as well as the actions to evacuate the illegal mining quarries and ensure the security of the property.

The lack of progress in the evacuation of the biological corridor, between the lowland and highland sectors, remains an important concern. It is also important to accelerate the implementation of the strategy for the resolution of conflicts and the development of a zoning plan for the property. It is hoped that the « National Forum on Governance and Enhancement » will result in the adhesion of all the actors of the PGAG and allow in the medium term the evacuation of the ecological corridor and the restoration of plant species of the property to retain the values and the conditions of integrity. It is recommended that the World Heritage Committee requests the State Party to ensure that the options identified guarantee the conservation of the OUV.

It is also recommended that the Committee welcomes the commencement of the inventory work of the property, requested many years ago. The results of these studies are crucial to enable the evaluation of the state of conservation of the OUV of the property. It is not possible to draw definite conclusions based on information limited to the preliminary data of the inventory exercise. In the highland sector, the results concerning the gorillas appear encouraging, with a slight increase of the population. However, the quasi absence of gorillas in the west Nzovu sector and the extremely rare viewing of elephants is very worrying. It indicates that the impact of the presence of armed groups in the lowland sector has caused an important erosion of the OUV. It is hoped that the results will be more encouraging in the sectors that have not yet been inventoried.

 It is recommended that the World Heritage Committee reiterates its request to the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to assess the state of conservation of the property, update the corrective measures, establish a timeframe for their implementation and finalize the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger, as soon as the results of the inventory are available.

Finally, it is recommended that the World Heritage Committee retain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, and continue the application of the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism.

General Decision on the properties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Current conservation issues

On 17 February 2015, the State Party submitted a report on the implementation of Decision 38 COM 7A.42, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/136/documents/ (pages 7– 9). The report notes the following progress in the implementation of the Kinshasa Declaration:

• In August 2014, the National Superior Defence Council, chaired by the President of the Republic, announced that instructions were given to reinforce security in the protected areas of the country and to strengthen the capacity of the park guards with assistance from the army;
• In November 2014, the Vice Prime Minister reiterated the commitment of the Government to implement the Declaration;
• A special anti-poaching brigade is being created in order to assist in protecting national parks. The Presidential Decree underway will formalize its creation;
• The cooperation with the army has been greatly improved;
• Efforts are underway to ensure that the mining cadastre includes updated information on the location of protected areas in order to ensure that there is no overlap between concessions and protected areas;
• The Interministerial Committee has not yet been officially established, but several interministerial meetings were held to discuss issues related to protected areas. At provincial level, these issues are dealt with by the Provincial Consultative Councils on Forests;
• The Strategic Plan of Action, which was adopted at the high level meeting of 2011, will be updated in 2015.

The report further notes that the new Hydrocarbons Code was adopted by both the Parliament and the Senate, but will still be discussed in the mixed Committee of the two Chambers, allowing for further discussion on Article 160, which foresees the possibility of degazetment of protected areas to allow for oil exploitation.

In relation to the oil exploration in Virunga, it is noted that the Government is planning to submit to the World Heritage Centre a proposal with “options for exception mechanisms for further negotiation”. This seems to be in line with the reply by the Prime Minister to the letter of 8 January by the Delegation Heads of the European Union, World Bank, UNESCO and United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Ambassadors of Germany and Canada, where he pointed out that in the event the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) would want to go forward with oil exploitation, it would seek a minor boundary modification (see also report on Virunga National Park, item 4 of Document WHC-15/39.COM/7A).

Analysis and Conclusions of the World Heritage Centre and IUCN

The statement by the Vice Prime Minister of DRC reiterating the commitment of the Government to implement the Kinshasa Declaration should be welcomed. In particular, it is encouraging that concrete measures have been taken to implement one of the most important elements of the Declaration, namely to create the conditions for implementation of the corrective measures by securing the sites.

The intention to create a special anti-poaching brigade is also noted. Widespread poaching is without doubt the single most important threat to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of all five properties. Results of the different inventories clearly show that since the start of the conflict, the biodiversity values of the properties have been seriously affected and their populations of emblematic species, such as Northern White Rhino, Okapi, Grauer’s Gorilla, Bonobo and Elephant, were severely reduced. Decisive action is needed to turn the tide. Recently, the increasing demand for ivory has in particular further increased pressure on the remaining Elephant populations. It is estimated that the DRC Elephant population, most of which is living in the World Heritage properties, has dwindled by over 90%, from more than 100 000 at the start of the 1980s to less than 10 000 today. Securing the sites and strengthening anti-poaching efforts are important, but additional efforts will be needed in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to identify and take legal action against the criminal networks involved in the illegal traffic. Efforts to reduce demand in consumer countries are also needed.

The reported efforts to ensure that the mining cadastre uses accurate mapping information of the properties to avoid the attribution of mining concessions overlapping with the properties also responds to a long standing demand of the Committee. It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its requests to the State Party to annul all existing permits, which overlap with any of the properties.

It is also recommended that the Committee express its utmost concern about Article 160 of the new Code for Hydrocarbons, which foresees the possibility of degazetting protected areas, including World Heritage properties, as well as the statement made by the Prime Minister of DRC that the State Party might seek a boundary modification of Virunga National Park to allow for oil exploration activities to proceed. These are in clear contradiction to the Kinshasa Declaration, which committed to uphold the protection status of the properties. It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its position on this issue, as expressed in previous decisions.