IUCN Evaluation of Nominations of Natural and Mixed Properties to the World Heritage List
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Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage IUCN Evaluation of Nominations of Natural and Mixed Properties to the World Heritage List Report to the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee Twenty-fourth session 26 June – 1 July 2000 - Paris, France Prepared by IUCN – The World Conservation Union 5 May 2000 Cover photograph: The Drakensberg Park / Alternatively known as oKhahlamba Park (South Africa) Table of Contents INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................iii TECHNICAL EVALUATION REPORTS........................................................................1 A. Nominations of natural properties to the World Heritage List................................. 1 A.1. New nominations ............................................................................................................... 1 Ischigualasto Provincial Park-Talampaya National Park (Argentina) ............................... 3 Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (Bolivia) ................................................................... 11 Jaú National Park (Brazil)................................................................................................... 13 The Pantanal Conservation Complex (Brazil) .................................................................... 21 Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park (Brazil) ....................................................... 29 Kopacki rit (Croatia)............................................................................................................. 35 National Park of Abruzzo (Italy).......................................................................................... 43 Kinabalu Park (Sabah, Malaysia)........................................................................................ 51 Gunung Mulu National Park (Sarawak, Malaysia)............................................................ 57 Lena River Delta (Russian Federation)............................................................................... 65 The Cape Floristic Region: Phase 1 (South Africa)............................................................ 67 Central Suriname Nature Reserve (Suriname) .................................................................. 75 A.2. Deferred nominations for which additional information has been received ....................................................................................................................................... 81 The High Coast (Sweden)..................................................................................................... 83 A.3. Extension of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List ............................ 85 Plitvice Lakes Extension (Croatia) ...................................................................................... 87 Caves of the Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst (Hungary / Slovakia) Extension to include Dobšinská Ice Cave (Slovakia)................................................................................ 93 A.4. Renomination of properties on the Heritage List to include additional criteria ......................................................................................................................................... 99 Ha Long Bay (Vietnam)...................................................................................................... 101 B. Nominations of mixed properties to the World Heritage List ............................... 107 B.1. New nominations ........................................................................................................... 107 Mt. Qingcheng and Dujiangyan Irrigation System (China)............................................. 109 Curonian Spit (Lithuania / Russian Federation) .............................................................. 117 Shey-Phoksudo National Park (Nepal).............................................................................. 119 The Drakensberg Park / Alternatively known as oKhahlamba Park (South Africa) ..... 121 B.2. Deferred nominations for which additional information has been received ..................................................................................................................................... 129 i The Greater Blue Mountains Area (Australia) ................................................................. 131 Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands) (Italy).................................................................................... 145 COMMENTS ON CULTURAL NOMINATIONS........................................................157 C. Nominations of cultural properties to the World Heritage List ............................157 C.1. New nominations............................................................................................................157 Södra Ölands Odlingslandskap (The Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland) (Sweden) .............................................................................................................................. 159 ii THE WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION IUCN TECHNICAL EVALUATION REPORTS 5 May 2000 1. INTRODUCTION This technical evaluation report of natural sites nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List has been conducted by the Programme on Protected Areas (PPA) of IUCN – The World Conservation Union. PPA co-ordinates IUCN's input to the World Heritage Convention. It also co-ordinates activities of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) which is the world's leading expert network of protected area managers and specialists. In carrying out its function under the World Heritage Convention IUCN has been guided by four principles: (i) the need to ensure the highest standards of quality control and institutional memory in relation to technical evaluation, monitoring and other associated activities; (ii) the need to increase the use of specialist networks of IUCN, especially WCPA, but also other relevant IUCN Commissions and specialist networks; (iii) the need to work in support of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and States Parties to examine how IUCN can creatively and effectively support the World Heritage Convention and individual sites as “flagships” for biodiversity conservation; and (iv) the need to increase the level of effective partnership between IUCN and the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM. Members of the expert network of WCPA carry out the majority of technical evaluation missions. This has allows for the involvement of regional natural heritage experts and broadens the capacity of IUCN with regard to its work under the World Heritage Convention. Reports from field missions are comprehensively reviewed by a working session of the IUCN World Heritage Operational Panel at IUCN Headquarters held from 3-7 April, 2000. PPA then prepared the final technical evaluation reports which are outlined in this document. IUCN also has placed emphasis on providing input and support to ICOMOS in relation to cultural landscapes and other cultural nominations which have important natural values. IUCN recognises that nature and culture are strongly linked and that many natural World Heritage sites have important cultural values. The WCPA membership network now totals over 1300 protected area managers and specialists from 120 countries. This network has provided much of the basis for conducting the IUCN technical evaluations. In addition, the Protected Areas Programme has been able to call on experts from IUCN's other five Commissions (Environmental Law, Education and Communication, Ecosystem Management, and Environmental, Economic and Social Policy), from other specialist officers in the IUCN Secretariat, and from scientific contacts in universities and other international agencies. This highlights the considerable “added value” from investing in the use of the extensive networks of IUCN and partner institutions. 2. FORMAT World Heritage Bureau 2000 - Introduction iii Each technical evaluation report presents a concise summary of the nomination, a comparison with other similar sites, a review of management and integrity issues and concludes with the assessment of the applicability of the criteria, and a clear recommendation to the World Heritage Bureau. Standardised data sheets, prepared for each nomination by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), are available in a separate document. 3. SITES REVIEWED At the time of writing, sixteen evaluation reports have been prepared by IUCN in 2000. These comprised: • Thirteen (13) natural sites nominations (including one renomination and two extensions to existing World Heritage sites); • Three (3) mixed sites (including one deferred site for which additional information has been received); and IUCN will provide a supplementary report to the June 2000 Bureau which will include the technical evaluation of one natural site, one mixed property and comments on one cultural landscape nomination. The field inspection of these sites took place in April and May, after the printing of this report. It has not been possible to review two (2) sites for presentation to the July Bureau meeting due to climatic reasons. In each case the delayed evaluation date was at the request of the State Party. These two (2) sites will be included in the full evaluation report to the 2000 November Bureau meeting The specific files reviewed by IUCN are as follows: A. Nominations of natural properties to the World Heritage List A.1 New nominations 966 Ischigualasto Provincial Park/Talampaya National Park Argentina