Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks

• Insufficient legal framework and protection in place
• Lack of submission of a significant boundary modification to reflect the new boundaries of the property

Total amount granted: USD 100,000 - World Heritage Biodiversity Programme for Brazil; USD 30,000 - Rapid Response Facility support for firefighting

On 1 February 2017, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report for the property, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1035/documents, providing the following information:

• The State Party reiterates that most of the territory of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component is covered by several protected areas of different categories, namely the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, the Pouso Alto Environmental Protection Area (EPA), as well as private reserves. It is also noted that the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property continues to be well preserved, which had also been confirmed by the 2016 IUCN Advisory mission. Data from vegetation cover and land use analysis undertaken for the property and its surroundings in 2013 show that 95.99% of vegetation is natural within the Chapada dos Veadeiros component with 2.95% of land subject to encroachment by pastures;
• A management plan for the Pouso Alto EPA, which overlaps with most of the territory of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component, has been officially approved and is being implemented;
• The State of Goiás has proposed the new Nova Roma ecological station (a state-level protected area) that still requires legal approval, within the boundaries of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of the property;
• With regards to the proposal for expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, further technical discussions were held among different relevant authorities, and further adjustments to the proposed boundaries were suggested following consultations with civil society organizations. The final proposal would cover an area of 247,980 ha. However, the proposal is currently subject to ongoing discussions between the national government and the government of the State of Goiás following a request in September 2016 to postpone the decision on the approval of the expansion in order to resolve the remaining land tenure issues. Due to these ongoing discussions, the State Party was not yet in a position to submit a proposal for boundary modification of the property; however, it is expected that the exact boundaries of the proposed expansion of the National Park will be agreed upon during the course of 2017 and consequently, a proposal for significant boundary modification of the property and a new management plan will be prepared.

The information provided by the State Party that discussions are still ongoing between the relevant national and state (regional) authorities concerning the proposed expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is noted, as is the renewed confirmation of the State Party that the OUV of the property continues to be well preserved. It is further noted that other protected areas, particularly the Pouso Alto EPA overlapping with the Chapada dos Veadeiros component, provide some legal protection to the property. However, the protection regime of the EPA appears to be significantly lower than the regime that would have been provided by a national park. While the process to expand the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park has achieved significant progress with the development of a proposal for new boundaries and undertaken a thorough consultation process, it is regrettable that the expansion has not yet been agreed upon by all stakeholders involved, and that, therefore, no proposal for boundary modification of the property could yet be submitted, as was requested by the Committee at its 37th session in 2013 and reiterated at its 39th and 40th sessions in 2015 and 2016.

Indeed, while it is important to ensure that the expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park has followed all necessary procedures and that all remaining land tenure issues have been resolved, it should be recalled that the World Heritage Committee, in its Decisions 39 COM 7B.27 and 40 COM 7B.71, urged the State Party to resolve the issue as a matter of priority and requested it to submit a proposal for a significant boundary modification of the property to reflect the new boundaries of the National Park by 1 February 2017, adding that without significant progress to address the lack of protection of parts of the property, it would consider its possible inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines.

Given the fact that, despite the progress achieved by the State Party, the expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park has not yet been approved and, therefore, significant areas  of the property continue to lack an adequate protection regime since 2003, it is recommended that the Committee inscribe the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger at this session, and that it request the State Party to develop a proposed set of corrective measures, a timeframe for their implementation and a Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN.