Dja Faunal Reserve
Factors affecting the property in 2005*
- Management systems/ management plan
- Mining
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
Lack of monitoring of the implementation of Management Plan.
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2005
Total amount approved : 84,700 USD
| 1997 | Sub-Regional workshop on Strengthening Biodiversity ... (Approved) | 29,900 USD |
| 1992 | Financial contribution for a training workshop on the ... (Approved) | 20,000 USD |
| 1989 | Contribution to field training in Dja National Park (Approved) | 4,800 USD |
| 1987 | Contribution to the adoption and implementation of the ... (Approved) | 30,000 USD |
Missions to the property until 2005**
UNESCO mission 23-26 March 1998
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2005
In November 2004, the European Delegation and Coopération Française in Cameroon, informed UNESCO of the existence of industrial activities in the vicinity of the property. According to the information provided, the American company GEOVIC has been allocated 6,950 hectares of land 50 km from the reserve, in order to carry out on it industrial mining activities on a lateritic cobalt-nickel deposit. According to the agreement which is reported to have been drawn up, the said zone is to be extended by 40 hectares a year on average and for a certain number of years. Furthermore, an Economic Interest Grouping is believed to have obtained a large area in the buffer zone for industrial farming.
At the time of the preparation of this document, the World Heritage Centre had still not officially received the report on the state of conservation of the property, as requested by the Committee at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004). Nevertheless, the final version of this report, submitted to the national authorities for validation, has been communicated to the Centre. This document mentions an increase in the threats due to commercial hunting and confirms an intensification of industrial activities on the periphery of the World Heritage property. The said document also reports that although the Management Plan of the Dja Faunal Reserve was validated at the national seminar held in January 2004, the ministerial order that should have rendered it effective has still not been signed. It should also be noted that since November 2004, the former Ministry of the Environment and Forestry which was responsible for the management of the World Heritage property has been separated into two ministries: the Ministry of Forests and Fauna and the Ministry of Nature Protection. The World Heritage Centre has still not been officially informed which ministry is now responsible for the Dja Faunal Reserve. This uncertainty could have serious short-term consequences on the management of the property, if clarifications were not made.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2005
29 COM 7B.2
Dja Faunal Reserve (Cameroon)
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-05/29.COM/7B.Rev,
2. Recalling its Decision 28 COM 15B.2 adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004),
3. Regrets that the State Party of Cameroon has still not submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, as requested by Decision 28 COM 15B.2, adopted at 28th session (Suzhou, 2004);
4. Invites the State Party to sign the ministerial order necessary to the implementation of the management plan, and to communicate to the World Heritage Centre the details of the institution in charge of the protection and the management of the World Heritage property;
5. Requests the World Heritage Centre and IUCN to organise a joint UNESCO/IUCN mission to the property in order to assess the state of conservation of the Dja Faunal Reserve, the threats due to commercial hunting and verify the existence of industrial activities on the periphery of the World Heritage property;
6. Further requests IUCN and the World Heritage Centre to present a report on the results of the mission, by 1 February 2006 for examination by the Committee at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006).
Draft decision: 29 COM 7B.2
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-05/29.COM/7B.Rev,
2. Recalling its Decision 28 COM 15B.2 adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004),
3. Regrets that the State Party has still not submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, as requested by Decision 28 COM 15B.2 adopted at the 28th session of the Committee (Suzhou, 2004);
4. Invites the State Party to sign the ministerial order necessary to the implementation of the Management Plan, and to communicate to the World Heritage Centre the details of the institution in charge of the protection and the management of the World Heritage property;
5. Requests the World Heritage Centre and the IUCN to organise a joint UNESCO/IUCN mission to the property in order to assess the state of conservation of the Dja Faunal Reserve, the threats due to commercial hunting and verify the existence of industrial activities on the periphery of the World Heritage property;
6. Further requests the IUCN and the World Heritage Centre to present a report on the results of the mission, by 1 February 2006 for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 30th session, in 2006.
Cameroon
* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).
** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.
