Decision 42 COM 7B.90

Dja Wildlife Reserve (Cameroon) (N 407)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.18, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
3. Congratulates the State Party for its efforts in strengthening surveillance and technical capacities and equipment for the guards, as well as the increased patrol efforts, appreciates the support of donors and technical partners for their support in the conservation of the property, and requests the State Party to continue these efforts to reinforce the number of guards;
4. Notes with satisfaction the seizure of 216 ivory tusks in December 2017, one of the most important in recent years in Central Africa, and also congratulates the State Party for the rigorous enforcement of the law as concerns wildlife crime;
5. Takes note of the indications that confirm the presence of large wildlife in the property, and also requests the State Party to transmit to the World Heritage Centre the data of the 2017 inventory, as soon as it is available, to enable an evaluation of the state of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
6. Also takes note of the extension of the rubber agro-industrial project, and requests the State Party to submit the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to the World Heritage Centre using the international standards applied to the World Heritage properties;
7. Further takes note of the efforts of the State Party in view of limiting the negative impacts on the local communities, their plantations and associated forestry ecosystems due to the partial impoundment of the Mékin dam, and requests the State Party to continue to implement the Environmental and Social Management Plan (PGES) and to pursue the relocation plan of local communities affected by the impoundment;
8. Reminds the State Party of the importance of avoiding acceptance of any new project that could aggravate the existing threats and compromise the progress achieved in the management of the property, and reiterates that all projects must be the subject of an ESIA prior to approval, including a specific evaluation of potential impacts on the OUV of the property, in conformity with the IUCN World Heritage Advice Note: Environmental Assessment;
9. Also takes note of the willingness of the State Party to welcome an advisory mission to assess the impacts of the agro-industrial projects on the property and to continue to closely collaborate with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN in the implementation of the recommendations enabling the State Party to undertake the necessary corrective measures to limit the impacts on its OUV;
10. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2019, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session in 2019.