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1.
Henderson Island (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) (N 487)
Year of inscription on the World Heritage List 1988
Criteria (vii)(x)
Year(s) of inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger N/A
Previous Committee Decisions see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/487/documents/
International Assistance
Requests approved: 0 (from 1990-1990)
Total amount approved: USD 8,000
For details, see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/487/assistance/
UNESCO Extra-budgetary Funds
N/A
Previous monitoring missions
N/A
Factors affecting the property identified in previous reports
Invasive species
Illustrative material see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/487/
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2010
On 1 February 2010, a report detailing the state of conservation of Henderson Island was submitted by
the State Party. The report provides an overview of the implementation of the invasive rat eradication
scheme, the planned ranger appointment, and also briefly describes the status of additional
conservation issues of concern, including sustainable use of timber, turtle nesting beaches, ex-situ
conservation and translocation, endemic fauna and flora, invasive species, and cetaceans.
a) Rat eradication
The State Party reports that the last remaining conservation obstacles to a programme of rat eradication
by poisoned bait, i.e. Henderson crake mortality and bait consumption by land crabs (Gecarcinidae),
have been solved. A 2009 eradication field trial funded by the United Kingdom Government found that:
i) Henderson crakes could be captured and held in captivity for at least four weeks, therefore avoiding
exposure to the poisoned bait; and ii) all rats were able to access and feed on bait pellets despite the
high density of land crabs. Moreover, the trial found that endemic snails exposed to bait pellets did not
experience significant mortality rates. The State Party further notes that the Operational Plan for the rat
eradication programme has been prepared as part of a project managed by the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds (RSPB), and that work is underway to secure the £1.25 million funding necessary for
the eradication operations.
The World Heritage Centre and IUCN welcome the progress achieved by the State Party in addressing
the conservation obstacles to the rat eradication scheme. The principal long-standing threat to the
Outstanding Universal Value of the property is predation by the Polynesian rat on chicks of the endemic
Henderson petrel (Pterodroma atrata); in particular: a recent study concluded that rat predation
represents a threat of extinction to the Henderson petrel. The World Heritage Centre and IUCN consider
it essential that the State Party rapidly secures the funding necessary for the rat eradication operations,
indicated at £1.25 million.
b) Ranger Post
The State Party reports that a Ranger Post on Henderson Island is considered feasible and has been
discussed in collaboration with the Island Council and the wider community. To date, a job description
has been drafted, a basic accommodation plan developed and shipping logistics considered. The State
Party further notes that funding for a Ranger posting has been submitted by the Government of Pitcairn
Islands to the Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP), and that a decision on funding is
expected in February 2010. The World Heritage Centre and IUCN welcome the progress achieved by
the State Party and the Pitcairn authorities in establishing a Ranger Post on Henderson Island.
c) Sustainable use of timber, turtle nesting beaches, ex-situ conservation and translocation status of
fauna and flora, and status of cetaceans
The State Party reports briefly on the above conservation issues of concern:
i. The State Party considers that there is no risk to the sustainability of miro and tou stocks on Henderson
Island. The Pitcairn Islanders have not visited Henderson to harvest miro and tou since 2004 as
Magareva Island donated miro wood to Pitcairn in 2007 and additional miro wood has been harvested
on Pitcairn Island itself;
ii. With respect to turtle nesting beaches, the State Party reports that the most likely threat to these
beaches would be increased visitor numbers and/ or tourism developments. Given that there is no
increase in tourism, and no plans for tourism infrastructure, turtle nesting beaches are not considered
to be threatened;
iii. With respect to ex-situ conservation, translocation and extinction, the State Party considers that given
the absence of increased threats to Henderson Island, no plans for the above have been made, with the
exception of testing whether the Henderson crake bird could be successfully kept in captivity during the
rat eradication programme;
iv. With respect to endemic flora and fauna and other invasive species, the State Party reports that no
endemic species have become extinct in the life of the current Henderson Management Plan, and that
there is no evidence of new invasive species on Henderson over the last year. The State Party further
notes that the Henderson petrel has been added to the appendices of the Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) with the full support of the Henderson Island Management
Committee;
v. With respect to the status of cetaceans, the State Party reports that 6-8 humpback whales were
resident off Henderson Island over a six week period in August-September 2009. Furthermore, the State
Party notes that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Conservation of Cetaceans and their
Habitats in the Pacific Island Region has been signed by the Governor of Pitcairn Islands under the
auspices of the CMS.
The World Heritage Centre and IUCN note the State Party’s report and commend the State Party’s
initiative in placing the Henderson petrel in the appendices of the CMS, and the initiative of the Pitcairn
Islands in signing an MOU with CMS concerning the conservation of cetaceans, and consider that the
key conservation issues remain the rat eradication programme and appointing a full-time Ranger on
Henderson Island.
d) Environmental Strategy for the Pitcairn Islands
The State Party provided a copy of the Pitcairn Islands Environment Management Plan 2008 in annex
to its state of conservation report for Henderson Island. IUCN and the World Heritage Centre note that
the State Party and the Pitcairn Authorities took care to ensure the compatibility of this management
plan with the Henderson Island Management Plan.
e) Status of the management plan
The State Party report outlines the progress against the targets set out in the Henderson Island World
Heritage Site Management Plan 2004-2009. Overall the six targets of this Plan have been achieved or
adequately addressed, including appointing members of the Henderson Island Management
Committee, who have submitted a funding bid to OTEP to update the Henderson Island Management
Plan.
In conclusion, the World Heritage Centre and IUCN consider that the State Party should be commended
for the considerable progress achieved in planning the rat eradication scheme and in securing a full time
Ranger Post for Henderson Island, and strongly advise the State Party to rapidly secure the funding
necessary to undertake the rat eradication scheme, as well as adequate funding for a full time Ranger
Post on Henderson Island. They note that without the implementation of the rat eradication programme,
the threats to the Outstanding Universal Value of the property would become critical.
Analysis and Conclusions of the World Heritage Centre and IUCN
N/A
Decision Adopted: 34 COM 7B.27
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-10/34.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 7B.27, adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008),
3. Commends the State Party for the considerable progress achieved in planning the invasive rat
eradication scheme, which is of critical importance to maintaining the Outstanding Universal Value,
including the conditions of integrity, of the property;
4. Welcomes the progress achieved by the State Party in securing a full time Ranger Post for Henderson
Island;
5. Urges the State Party, in close collaboration with the Pitcairn authorities and the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds (RSPB), to rapidly secure adequate funding to implement the rat eradication scheme
and the full time Ranger Post in order to safeguard the undisturbed ecology that is the key distinctive
value for which Henderson Island was inscribed on the World Heritage List;
6. Also welcomes the State Party's initiative in placing the Henderson petrel (Pterodroma atrata) in the
appendices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) and the initiative of the
Pitcairn Islands in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with CMS concerning the conservation of
cetaceans;
7. Requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with a copy of the updated Henderson
Island World Heritage Site Management Plan when it becomes available;
8. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2012, a detailed
report on the overall state of conservation of the property, including reference to the implementation of
the rat eradication scheme and the Ranger Post, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at
its 36th session in 2012.