22 June 2011: The World Heritage Committee (WHC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has decided to inscribe Indonesia’s Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra and the Honduran World Heritage site of Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Committee decided to place Indonesia’s Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra on the List of World Heritage in Danger to help overcome threats posed by poaching, illegal logging, agricultural encroachment, and plans to build roads through the site. The decision is based on the need to mobilize support and raise awareness to overcome threats facing the 2.5 million hectare of tropical rainforest, which was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2004 for its biodiversity.

The Committee also decided to inscribe the Honduran World Heritage site of Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, one of the few tropical rainforest remains in Central America, on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in Danger to mobilize support for its preservation. The site faces the combined threats of illegal logging, fishing and land occupation, poaching and the reduced capacity of the State to manage the site, notably due to the deterioration of law and to the presence of drug traffickers. The decisions were taken by the Committee at its 35th session, taking place from 19-29 June 2011, in Paris, France. [UNESCO Press Release on Sumatra] [UN Press Release on Sumatra] [UNESCO Press Release on Honduras]