Decision 39 COM 7B.34

Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania, United Republic of) (C/N 39bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 34 COM 8B.13, 36 COM 7B.35 and 38 COM 7B.61, adopted at its 34th (Brasilia, 2010), 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012) and 38th (Doha, 2014) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes the establishment of the Cultural Heritage Department within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and encourages the State Party to continue allocating adequate resources for its long-term operation;
4. Notes the decision to relocate the lodge development projects from the crater rim to other areas that the State Party considers less ecologically sensitive, and requests the State Party to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the projects including a specific assessment of the impacts of the proposed development on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, as recognized under all its inscription criteria, in accordance with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment and ICOMOS Guidance on Heritage Impact Assessments for Cultural World Heritage properties (HIAs), and inform the World Heritage Centre of any further changes or developments that may negatively impact the OUV of the property, in line with the Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
5. Urges the State Party to mobilize necessary funds to complete the initiated work on the EIA, including an HIA, for the proposed road surfacing options, including a specific assessment of impacts on OUV in accordance with the IUCN World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, and the ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage properties, and to submit it to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Also welcomes the continued efforts to maintain an open dialogue process with all stakeholders through the “People and Wildlife” project with UNESCO and other efforts to address sustainable livelihood and wildlife protection with stakeholders and to reduce the impacts of livestock grazing and increased population pressure on the OUV of the property, and also requests a holistic sustainable strategy for the property be developed to address all property issues in close cooperation with the different stakeholders and in particular the resident communities;
7. Further welcomes the creation of the international Advisory Committee for the Laetoli Hominid Footprints Conservation Project, as well as the feasibility study commissioned on the Laetoli Museum project, and further requests that a copy of the Feasibility Study, the project implementation document and cultural heritage impact assessment be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
8. Also encourages the State Party to seek International Assistance for the preparation of a detailed report on the new set of footprints discovered at the site in October 2014, and further encourages the State Party to consider inviting an ICOMOS Advisory mission to address the conservation needs of both sets of footprints;
9. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit updated information on any further progress achieved in addressing the threat of poaching, particularly affecting elephant populations as well as progress made in implementing the outstanding recommendations of the 2012 Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, including development of an invasive species control strategy, with particular reference to Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus);
10. Requests moreover the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, the updated 10-year general management plan, which should also include the following elements:
    1. the forthcoming sustainable tourism development strategy for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area,
    2. the road strategy,
    3. general management plans for the cultural assets within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area;
11. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017.