香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播

Press release 04 Jul, 2017

African national park taken off World Heritage 鈥榙anger list鈥 following 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 advice

Como茅 National Park in C么te d鈥橧voire has come off the List of World Heritage in Danger today, as its wildlife recovers from impacts of civil unrest. The decision follows a recommendation from 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播, International Union for Conservation of Nature 鈥 the official advisory body to UNESCO鈥檚 World Heritage Committee, which meets this week in Krak贸w, Poland.

This is the first World Heritage site to be removed from the 鈥榙anger list鈥 in West and Central Africa in over 10 years, where half of the region鈥檚 20 natural World Heritage sites are listed as 鈥榠n danger鈥.

Species populations in C么te d鈥橧voire鈥檚 Como茅 National Park are on the rise, possibly for the first time in nearly 15 years, thanks to effective management of the park following a stabilisation of the political situation in 2012. An 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 field mission earlier this year confirmed encouraging numbers of chimpanzees and elephants, which were thought to have disappeared from the park. C么te d鈥橧voire has seen a decline of about 90% of its chimpanzee population since the early 1990s. Around 300 chimps and about 120 elephants are believed to live in Como茅 National Park today.

鈥淐omo茅 National Park serves as an inspiration, and shows that the recovery of World Heritage sites impacted by civil unrest is possible,鈥 says Tim Badman, Director of 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播鈥檚 World Heritage Programme. 鈥淚t proves yet again that conservation action works when it is given a chance. 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 congratulates the government of C么te d鈥橧voire, and the park鈥檚 management and rangers, who have made this success possible.鈥

West and Central Africa boast 20 natural World Heritage sites, which are home to iconic species such as great apes, big cats, elephants and rhinos. However, due the region鈥檚 instability, 10 of these sites have been listed as 鈥榠n danger鈥, many of them for decades. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, all five World Heritage sites are in danger, including Africa鈥檚 oldest park, Virunga National Park, which has been facing severe threats for over 20 years, including poaching, armed conflict, oil and gas projects. The danger list contains a total of 18 natural World Heritage sites globally.

Como茅 National Park, one of the largest protected areas in West Africa, was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2003 due to farming, illegal gold mining and poaching affecting its species populations. These threats were further exacerbated by political instability. Due to insecurity in the region, park staff were unable to access some areas until civil unrest ended in 2012, allowing the management to regain control of the site and start carrying out conservation work.

The park now benefits from a new management plan, developed in consultation with local communities who take part in wildlife monitoring and other conservation activities. However, threats remain, including farming and artisanal gold mining taking place within the park. Such activities still pose a threat to its species鈥 key habitats, and continued action is needed to tackle them, according to 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播.

鈥淭he Committee鈥檚 decision to take Como茅 off the List of World Heritage in Danger serves as a recognition of the efforts carried out by the government and the Ivorian park service,鈥 says Adama Tondossama, Director General of Office Ivoirien des Parcs et R茅serves (OIPR) 鈥 the authority responsible for parks in C么te d'Ivoire. 鈥淚t also points to the challenges that the site鈥檚 management faces going forward in order to maintain and enhance the achievements of these past years.鈥

Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983, Como茅 National Park contains a remarkable variety of habitats including savannas, grasslands and forests. It is home to 620 species of plants, 500 species of birds, 135 species of mammals, 35 species of amphibians and 60 species of fish. Many of the animals living in the park are listed as threatened on The 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 Red List of Threatened Species鈩, including the dwarf crocodile, the chimpanzee, the African wild dog and the African elephant.

For more information or to set up interviews:

香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 at the 41st session of the World Heritage Committee in Krakow, Poland

Ewa Magiera, 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 Media Relations, [email protected] +41 76 505 33 78
C茅lia Zwahlen, 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 World Heritage Communications, [email protected] +41 22 999 07 16