WCC 2020 Res 134 - Activity Report

Operative statement (1) of the resolution calls on Commissions and Members to review the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams and other more recent documents and synthesize this into a contemporary set of recommendations for good practice. Synchronicity Earth and the SSC Freshwater Conservation Committee co-Chair (Ian Harrison) discussed this with IUCN’s Secretariat and colleagues in the SSC, and in some other Member and non-Member organizations. The idea to create an Inter-Commissional Task Force on dams was raised and identified as a potential way ahead for this part of the Resolution. In consultation with several Secretariat/Commission members, Synchronicity Earth SSC Freshwater Conservation Committee co-Chair Harrison have drafted a concept note for the Task Force, and a list of potential members for an initial advisory group for developing the task force. These have been reviewed by the SSC Chair’s Office, and will be sent out for review and comment by the SSC Steering Committee.
(Note that Member Organizations who were consulted in this process provided commentary agreeing that the formation of a Task Force was a good idea, but have otherwise not been significantly involved in the implementation of this Resolution thus far, and are not listed in this report. It is expected they will have more input in the ongoing development of the Task Force and will be listed in forthcoming reports).

Operative statement (2) calls on the Director General to send a memo to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo encouraging him to: a) support protection and restoration of Lower Congo ecosystems; b) balance development by enacting legal protections and governance for the Lower Congo; and c) ensure that all contracts involving major infrastructure projects impacting the Lower Congo include a provision for local stakeholders to be included in planning, and have their concerns
incorporated into further discussions. A letter was prepared, in consultation with IUCN’s West and Central Africa Office, and has been signed by IUCN’s Director General, and sent to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and copied to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations Office in Geneva. The letter notes that IUCN would be happy to support the Democratic Republic of the Congo in making well-informed decisions regarding development and conservation plans on the Lower Congo River that are sustainable and provide the country, its economy and its people with resilient long-term benefits. The letter was accompanied by a Briefing Document that provided further background information on the biological and livelihoods importance of the Lower Congo, and addressing points (b) and (c) of operative statement (2).

Operative statement (3) asks the Species Survival Commission (SSC) to send a memo to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo urgently informing him on the potential threats to the ecosystems of the Lower Congo that could be caused by the development plans for the dams. This part of the Resolution was addressed by having the SSC Chair countersign the letter with its accompanying Briefing Document, sent by the IUCN’s Director General (as defined in operative statement 2 discussed above). This simplified the process of addressing operative statements (2) and (3), and it reduced potential confusion that might have arisen for the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo if he received two related letters on a similar topic from IUCN