Decision 31 COM 7A.13

Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras) (N 196)

  The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decisions 28 COM 15A.13 and 30 COM 7A.15, adopted at its 28th (Suzhou, 2004) and 30th (Vilnius, 2006) sessions respectively,
3. Commends the State Party for making significant progress in implementing the corrective measures set by the World Heritage Committee at its 28th session;
4. Notes that a few outstanding issues remain to be resolved in relation to dealing with illegal logging and land clearing activities, and in relation to multi-stakeholder involvement in the management processes;
5. Urges the State Party to implement the recommendations of the 2006 monitoring mission to assure the consolidation of gains and progress achieved to date, in particular:

a)Assure swift and strict enforcement of the law regarding illegal settlement, land use and logging, particularly by ensuring the implementation of the full cycle of the law;

b) Complete the cadastral process of all lands surrounding the property, and provide legal titles to the owners of these lands;

c) Demonstrate effective participation of local organizations and communities in the management processes of the property;

d) Demonstrate that decommissioned wood is not re-entering the market, but disposed of in a manner that eliminates all profit incentives;

e)  To quickly identify any new intrusions into the property and to deal with them swiftly, so as to further discourage this practice;

6. Requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2008, with a report on the implementation of the recommendations made by the 2006 monitoring mission, and a map clearly indicating the boundaries of the property and buffer zone, for examination by the Committee at its 32nd session in 2008, and

7.  Decides to remove the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras) from the List of World Heritage in Danger.