The World Heritage Committee,1. In conformity with Rule 8 (Observers) of the Rules of Procedure of the Committee,2. Accepts the presence of the following international governmental organizations (IGOs), international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals, who have requested Observer participation at the session:Mr Julian Laird, Earthwatch Institute, Europe; Ms Maria Isabel Correa Kanan, IPHAN, Brazil; Ms Jessica Douglas-Home and Mr Georges Zouain, The Mihai Emisecu Trust, U.K.;Mr Haruhisa Furuta and Mrs Mami Furuta, The Setouchi ...
The World Heritage Committee [5],1. Expresses its serious concerns over the failure to carry out the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the lack of consultations with the World Heritage Centre or IUCN in the design and implementation of the Kasra Bridge Project and the link road from Durbhagat to Bankatta, despite the protests of the national authority responsible for the property, namely the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation;2. Requests that the Director of the World Heritage Centre write to the highest officials of the concerned bi- and multilateral funding ...
Sites: Chitwan National Park
The World Heritage Committee,1. Recalls the recommendation of the report of the monitoring mission in 2001 to include the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger,2. Regrets that the Russian authorities did not provide the report requested by 1 February 2003 (26 COM 21 (b) 19) until 20 May 2003;3. Further regrets that the high-level meeting called for by the Committee (26 COM 21(b) 19) did not take place, and reiterates its request to the State Party to convene this meeting in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN and calls on it to do so as soon as possible;4. ...
Sites: Lake Baikal
The World Heritage Committee, 1. Welcomes the State Party's co-operation with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/Global Environment Facility (GEF) in an effort to conserve and protect the Volcanoes of Kamchatka World Heritage property; 2. Commends the State Party for beginning to implement Phase I of the project;3. Regrets that the Russian authorities did not provide the report requested by 1 February 2003 (26 COM 21 (b) 20) until 20 May 2003;4. Welcomes the invitation by the State Party for an IUCN and UNESCO mission to visit the property in spring 2004, to provide a report in ...
Sites: Volcanoes of Kamchatka
The World Heritage Committee [16],1. Noting that the State Party has removed the moratorium on construction within the property, and that this action is in accordance with the newly adopted management plan for the property, strictly limiting the total number of hotel rooms to be built in the reserve, 2. Invites the State Party to ensure strict adherence to the management plan and to carry out systematic environmental monitoring to detect and, if necessary, remedy any possible negative effects on the ecosystem of the property from the development;3. Requests the State Party to provide a ...
Sites: Sian Ka'an
The World Heritage Committee [32],1. Recalling Decision 26 COM 21 (b) 54 expressing concern over the growing incidents of violation of the conservation plan of Luang Prabang (PSMV), including public works being carried out by the Urban Development Administrative Authority (UDAA) under the Asian Development Bank for Secondary Cities, undermining the World Heritage value of the Town of Luang Prabang,;2. Reiterating the fragility of these values based on the relationship between the natural and built environment, the traditional urban morphology and the fusion of traditional Lao and French ...
Sites: Town of Luang Prabang
The World Heritage Committee,1. Recalling the decision taken at its 26th session in 2002 (26 COM 21 (b) 57) concerning the Curonian Spit,;2. Further recalling Article 6.3 of the World Heritage Convention, which states that "each State Party to this Convention undertakes not to take any deliberate measures which might damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage... situated on the territory of other States Parties of this Convention",;3. Urges both State Parties to work co-operatively on the project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), preparation of risk ...
Sites: Curonian Spit
The World Heritage Committee [43],1. Recalling its decisions taken at the 25th extraordinary session of the Bureau in 2001 (Helsinki),;2. Expresses its appreciation to the authorities of the State Party for their commitment to the preservation of the property;3. Takes note of the report and recommendations provided by the International Workshop with regard to the future conservation of this property under threat; 4. Encourages the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to continue to collaborate and to closely follow the future development of the conservation ...
Sites: Kizhi Pogost
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Takes note that the following States Parties had requested that their nominations not be examined at the 27th session of the Committee in 2003:
Extension to the Historic District of Québec (Canada)
Natural System of "Wrangel Island" Sanctuary (Russian Federation)
Franja Partisan Hospital (Slovenia)
Historic City of Mardin (Turkey)
Extension to Gough Island Wildlife Reserve (United Kingdom).
The World Heritage Committee,1. Inscribes the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, China on the World Heritage List on the basis of natural criteria (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv):Criterion (i): The property is of outstanding value for displaying the geological history of the last 50 million years associated with the collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate, the closure of the ancient Tethys Sea, and the uplifting of the Himalaya Range and the Tibetan Plateau. These were major geological events in the evolution of the land surface of Asia and they are on-going. The ...
The World Heritage Committee,1. Inscribes Uvs Nuur Basin, Mongolia/ Russian Federation, on the World Heritage List on the basis of natural criteria (ii) and (iv):Criterion (ii): The closed salt lake system of Uvs Nuur is of international scientific importance because of its climatic and hydrological regimes. Because of the unchanging nature of the nomadic pastoral use of the grasslands within the basin over thousands of years, current research programmes should be able to unravel the rate at which Uvs Nuur (and other smaller lakes within the basin) have become saline (and eutrophic). ...
Sites: Uvs Nuur Basin
The World Heritage Committee,1. Noting that this property is the first to be inscribed on the World Heritage List from Kazakhstan,,2. Inscribes The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, Kazakhstan, on the World Heritage List on the basis of cultural criteria (i), (iii) and (iv):Criterion (i): The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi is an outstanding achievement in the Timurid architecture, and it has significantly contributed to the development of Islamic religious architecture. Criterion (iii): The mausoleum and its property represent an exceptional testimony to the culture of the Central Asian ...
The World Heritage Committee,1. Inscribes the Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Bbuildings of Derbent, Russian Federation, on the World Heritage List on the basis of cultural criteria (iii) and (iv):Criterion (iii): The site of the ancient city of Derbent has been crucial for the control of the north-south passage on the west side of the Caspian Sea since the 1st millennium BCE. The defence structures that were built by the Sasanians in the 5th century CE were in continuous use by the succeeding Persian, Arabic, Mongol, and Timurid governments for some fifteen centuries. Criterion (iv): ...
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Inscribes the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan, on the World Heritage List on the basis of cultural criteria (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (vi):
Criterion (i): The Buddha statues and the cave art in Bamiyan Valley are an outstanding representation of the Gandharan School in Buddhist art in the Central Asian region.
Criterion (ii): The artistic and architectural remains of Bamiyan Valley, and an important Buddhist centre on the Silk Road, are an exceptional testimony to the interchange of Indian, Hellenistic, ...
With regard to The First Railway Bridge over the Yenisei River, Russian Federation, the World Heritage Committee,1. Considers that the conditions required by paragraph 67 of the Operational Guidelines concerning "damage from disaster caused by natural events or human activities" have not been fully met; 2. Decides not to inscribe The First Railway Bridge over the Yenisei River, Russian Federation, on the World Heritage List on an emergency basis; 3. Encourages the State Party to resubmit the nomination in accordance with normal procedures for ...
Kazakhstan: Sub-regional Workshop for follow-up to the Periodic Reports on the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and the State of Conservation of World Cultural Heritage properties in Central Asia
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Decides to approveUS$ 35,000 from 2003 funds under the Technical Co-operation budget, the Training budget for cultural heritage being exhausted;
2. Recommends that the State Party and the World Heritage Centre organise the workshop as a sub-regional workshop for Central Asian World Cultural Heritage to follow-up on the Periodic Reporting Exercise ...
Uzbekistan: Sub-regional Workshop for the elaboration of a specific programme for the first 3 years of the Central Asian Earth 2002-2012 Programme combined with an on-the-job practical training activity in Khiva.
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Decides to approveUS$ 50,000 from 2003 funds under the Technical Co-operation budget, the Training budget for cultural heritage being exhausted. Approval is subject to verification that the activities foreseen do not duplicate those foreseen for the request from Kazakhstan (see above), that the timing of the two workshops is complementaryare ...
The World Heritage Committee,1. Congratulates the Asian States Parties, the Advisory Bodies and the Secretariat for the excellent quality of the Synthesis Regional Periodic Report (see Document WHC-03/27.COM/6A Rev);2. Notes with appreciation the increasing interest in heritage conservation among the Asian States Parties;3. Expresses concern, however, on the continued loss of heritage caused by uncontrolled development, in particular urban encroachment, mass tourism and inappropriate public infrastructure projects;4. Takes note of the recommendations and priority action plans elaborated ...
The World Heritage Committee,1. Taking into consideration the following invitations by Committee members to host the sessions of the World Heritage Committee in 2004 and 2005,;(a) For 2004 (in alphabetical order): China, Russian Federation and South Africa,(b) For 2005 (in alphabetical order): Lebanon, Oman and United Kingdom;2. Decides that the venue of the 28th session of the Committee will be Suzhou, China.