Senegal's Djoudj Bird Sanctuary taken off World Heritage danger list

The environmentally important Djoudj Bird Sanctuary in Senegal has been taken off the List of World Heritage in Danger, chairman of the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee Ian Marciulionyte announced here on Monday.

The Djoudj Bird Sanctuary, which was put on the list in November 2000 along with 33 other sites, was the only one to be removed during the session.

The sanctuary's existence is no longer threatened due to effective conservation work in recent years, Marciulionyte told a press conference after closed-door deliberations on the state of conservation of World Heritage sites.

Thirteen of the 20 members of the Committee supported the withdrawal of the site from the list, which documents important environmental or historical sites around the world that are under threat. One of the members was absent when voting.

Located in the Senegal river delta, the Djoudj Sanctuary is a wetland of 16,000 hectares, comprising a large lake surrounded by streams, ponds and backwaters.

It forms a living but fragile sanctuary for some 1.5 million birds, such as the white pelican, the purple heron, the African spoonbill, the great egret and the cormorant.

The sanctuary had been listed as in danger because it was threatened by the invasion of a water plant, Salvinia molesta, which had crossed the Senegal River and invaded the Diawling National Park of Mauritania.

The nine-day annual session of the World Heritage Committee will end on Sunday.

Source: Xinhua