Decision 40 COM 7B.83

Serengeti National Park (United Republic of Tanzania) (N 156)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 35 COM 7B.7 and 38 COM 7B.94, adopted at its 35th (UNESCO, 2011) and 38th (Doha, 2014) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes the continued efforts of the State Party to strengthen its anti-poaching operations, which have reduced the number of elephants and rhinos lost to poachers, and requests the State Party to further strengthen these efforts across the wider Serengeti ecosystem;
4. Notes the completion of an aerial wildlife survey of the property, and encourages the State Party to assess, in cooperation with the State Party of Kenya, the potential cause for the migration of elephants from Mara into Serengeti, as suggested in the 2014 census report in order to inform future management strategies;
5. Also welcomes the completion of a first draft of the Strategic Environmental Assessment on the Comprehensive Transport and Trade System Development Master Plan, and the State Party’s intention to share the second draft with the World Heritage Centre for review, prior to its approval;
6. Further welcomes the reported progress towards extension of the National Park to include critical access to water and shoreline habitats on Lake Victoria’s Speke Gulf, and also requests the State Party to ensure consent of and compensations for any affected communities and submit the draft proposed extension to the World Heritage Centre, for review before it is finalized;
7. Appreciating the support provided by the Government of Germany for a major project focusing on livelihoods and a preliminary feasibility study of road transport routes to the south of the property, calls upon the international donor community to provide the necessary technical and financial assistance to enable the next stages;
8. Noting the limited progress made in evaluating road surfacing options for the Naabi Hill - Seronera road through the property, reiterates its request to the State Party to carry out a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the entire road from Lodwar to Seronera to assess the impacts of the different options on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of both Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and to submit it to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, prior to a decision on surfacing any section of this road;
9. Acknowledges the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the States Parties of Tanzania and Kenya on the Mara River Basin, and also reiterates its request to both States Parties to develop and implement a joint management plan for the basin;
10. Further notes that the EIA for the extension of the Mugumu Airport is being revised following review by the National Environmental Management Council prior to its submission to the World Heritage Centre for review before a final decision is taken;
11. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above and of the 2010 mission recommendations, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018.