Decision 44 COM 7A.52

Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Indonesia) (N 1167)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decisions 42 COM 7A.40 and 43 COM 7A.1, adopted at its 42nd (Manama, 2018) and 43rd (Baku, 2019) sessions respectively,
3. Expresses its utmost concern over the alarming continued deterioration of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property through encroachment, further road development, impacts of invasive species, the continued decline of key species and increasing ecological isolation of the property, and urges the State Party to increase its efforts to implement the corrective measures in order to address the significant threats to the OUV of the property;
4. Appreciating the signing of agreements with the regional governments not to expand encroachment and to undertake ecosystem restoration within each component of the property, also expresses its utmost concern over the plans under discussion to clear forest areas within the property, and also recalling that the indicators for the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) stipulate that there should be no further loss of primary forest and no net loss of secondary forest cover in the property, reiterates its request that the State Party take urgent measures to halt all encroachment linked to logging, plantation development or mining and to scale up forest restoration activities, with priorities given to ecologically sensitive areas, wildlife corridors and roadsides;
5. Further expresses its utmost concern that the integrity of the property continues to be severely threatened by various road developments, including the Namu-Karo road upgrade inside the Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP), the Bukit Tapan road upgrade inside Kerinci Seblat National Park (KSNP), the Trans-Sumatran Highway proposal that would be located in close proximity to the property and reported plans for Muara Situlen-Gelombang road through GLNP and, further recalling the indicator for the DSOCR that there should be no new road development or proposal to that effect within the property, also urges the State Party to ensure that:
   1. No new road development is permitted within the property,
   2. Any road and development proposal close to the property be subject to a thorough assessment of its potential impact on the OUV of the property, including its conditions of integrity, and submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN before a decision is taken that would be difficult to reverse, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines,
   3. The Namu-Karo road is closed for all traffic except for emergency evacuation, and that the impact of the road on wildlife species, especially the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan, is urgently assessed,
   4. A comprehensive assessment of the impacts of the Bukit Tapan road upgrade on the OUV is undertaken to identify appropriate mitigation measures and submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN before any further construction takes place,
   5. More details are provided on the reported Trans-Sumatran Highway proposal that would be located in close proximity to the property;
6. Further urges the State Party to urgently increase its efforts to implement all corrective measures and in particular to strengthen property-wide monitoring of four key species (Sumatran elephant, tiger, rhino and orangutan) as well as to control measures preventing further proliferation of the invasive species Merremia peltata, and requests the State Party to report on progress in achieving the DSOCR for the property;
7. Notes that the new management plan of KSNP for 2020-2029 is being developed, and also requests the State Party to submit a copy of the management plan to the World Heritage Centre when it is finalised;
8. Recalling furthermore that the 2018 IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission considered the boundary demarcation on the ground to be largely insufficient, further requests the State Party to continue the boundary demarcation of the property to halt encroachment, report on progress, and work in close consultation with the World Heritage Centre, IUCN and the UNESCO Office in Jakarta to develop a proposal for the significant boundary modification, with support from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust project to integrate management and review boundaries for the long-term protection of the property’s OUV;
9. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2022, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, including the implementation of the corrective measures, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session;
10. Decides to retain Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Indonesia) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.