A joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission was carried out at the property from 28 November to 5 December 2015. The report of that mission is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/407/documents.
The efforts undertaken by the State Party, confirmed by the 2015 mission, should be warmly welcomed. This primarily concerns the creation of an interministerial committee on Dja to strengthen the sustainable conservation of the property, the increase in the operating and investment budgets, improved knowledge of the state of conservation of large mammals, regular control of the forestry development units (FDU), and the approval of the terms of reference and the funding strategy of the SSEE for large-scale projects around the property. All the concerned partners involved with the State Party in contributing towards the protection and the sustainable conservation of the property, notably the Franz Weber Foundation, African Wildlife Foundation, Zoological Society of London, Prague Zoo, RAPAC/ECOFAC 5 should be thanked.
In addition, there is confirmation that no mining activity has developed in the property since end-2014, and that the exploration permits in and around the property have not been renewed.
The increase in poaching also constitutes an important threat to the wildlife, because it leads to a worrying decrease in the numbers of large mammals, in particular the elephant, estimated in 2015 to number a population of around 420 individuals. The mission considers that if elephant poaching continues in the property, its local extinction in the near future can be expected. Increased poaching activities, noted by the reactive monitoring missions of 2006, 2009 and 2012, and confirmed once again by the 2015 mission, qualifies poaching as a true scourge and represents a proved threat, in conformity with paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines.
The conservation service of the property suffers from insufficient means, both human and material, to effectively combat poaching and the other threats to the property.
In the light of these conclusions, it is recommended that the Committee decide to inscribe the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, that it adopt the corrective measures proposed by the mission, and that it requests the State Party to establish, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, a Desired state of conservation for removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), for examination by the Committee at its 41st session in 2017.
Further requests the State Party to submit, by 1 December 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the corrective measures and the above points, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018, with a view to considering, in case significant progress is not recorded in respect of the conditions enumerated above, the possibility of inscribing the property on the World Heritage List in Danger.
Further requests the State Party to submit, by 1 February 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the corrective measures and the above points, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017.