The General Assembly,
Elects the following 9 States Parties: Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Oman, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Thailand as members of the World Heritage Committee.
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
Recalling Decisions 39 COM 7B.13 and 41 COM 7B.30, adopted at its 39th (Bonn, 2015) and 41st (Krakow, 2017) sessions respectively,
Welcomes the joint surveys undertaken by the States Parties of Japan and the Russian Federation concerning the Western Steller Sea Lion rookeries in Russia and their plans to develop a population dynamic model of this subspecies to inform management, and requests the States Parties to submit the findings to the World Heritage Centre once they are available;
Noting the reported ...
Sites: Shiretoko
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.33, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
Notes with appreciation the efforts undertaken by the State Party to address the management and conservation challenges faced by the property;
Welcomes that the State Party has no intention to build a cable car to the Son Doong and Hang En caves or any other similar project within the property and requests the State Party to take the necessary measures to avoid a further increase in the number of visitors to caves located within the ...
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.75, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
Warmly welcomes the confirmation by the State Party that the route of the proposed Altai gas pipeline (Power of Siberia-2) would pass around the property, but reiterates its position that any decision to route the Altai gas pipeline through the property would constitute a clear case for inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger and requests the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre the relevant ...
Sites: Golden Mountains of Altai
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.77, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
Welcomes the reported monitoring activities and encourages the State Party to continue monitoring the conservation status of the polar bear subpopulation and to systematically assess and monitor the impacts of climate change on the property’s ecosystems;
Also welcomes the fact that tourism remains limited and the confirmation that no further upgrades of tourism facilities are planned;
Notes the progressive removal of garbage from ...
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
Recalling Decisions 32 COM 7B.25, 41 COM 7B.8 and 42 COM 7B.80, adopted at its 32nd (Quebec City, 2008), 41st (Krakow, 2017) and 42nd (Manama, 2018) sessions, respectively,
Welcomes the confirmation provided by the State Party that no plans exist for development of the property for recreational, sport or tourism purposes or for construction of large-scale tourism facilities in protected areas adjacent to the property;
Also recalling that the Committee has on several occasions reiterated its position that the ...
Sites: Western Caucasus
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B.Add,
Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.60, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
Welcomes the information provided by the State Party and commends it for the efforts made so far by national, regional and local authorities to address the difficulties and for better protection and enhancement of the property;
Underlines with satisfaction the prompt welcome and successful conduct of the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission organized at the request of the World Heritage Centre, which took place from ...
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.29, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
Welcomes the specialist research work now being undertaken to define the spiritual, historical, cultural and natural values of the property, and that this work will encompass the morphology of the landscape, its vegetation, and the history of the civilian settlements, as well as the precise details of the historic roads and the engineering of the water management system that feeds the Sacred Lake and provides essential drinking ...
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.28, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
Acknowledges the considerable and continued progress made on the restoration of the Church of the Transfiguration, as well as on the development of appropriate monitoring programmes to assess and adjust the already-reconstructed portions of the Church of the Transfiguration;
Also acknowledges the State Party’s continued commitment to the improvement of the state of conservation of the property as well as the development of management ...
Sites: Kizhi Pogost
43 COM 8B.3
Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I) (China)
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/8B and WHC/19/43.COM/INF.8B2,
Inscribes the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I), China, on the World Heritage List on the basis of criterion (x);
Takes note of the following provisional Statement of Outstanding Universal Value:
Brief Synthesis
The Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I) is situated in the largest intertidal wetland system in the world and one of the most biologically diverse. The property is an ...
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/8B and WHC/19/43.COM/INF.8B2,
Recalling Decision 30 COM 8B.24 adopted at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006),
Inscribes the Hyrcanian Forests, Islamic Republic of Iran, on the World Heritage List on the basis of criterion (ix);
Adopts the following Statement of Outstanding Universal Value:
Brief synthesis
The Hyrcanian Forests form a green arc of forest, separated from the Caucasus to the west and from semi-desert areas to the east: a unique forested massif that extends from south-eastern Azerbaijan eastwards to ...
Sites: Hyrcanian Forests
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/8B and WHC/19/43.COM/INF.8B1,
Inscribes the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan, Japan, on the World Heritage List on the basis of criteria (iii) and (iv);
Adopts the following Statement of Outstanding Universal Value:
Brief synthesis
Located on a plateau above the Osaka Plain, the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group is a serial property of 45 components which contains 49 kofun (‘old mound’), a large and distinctive type of burial mound. The selected kofun are found in two major clusters, and are the ...
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/8B and WHC/19/43.COM/INF.8B1,
Inscribes the Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang – Plain of Jars, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, on the World Heritage List on the basis of criterion (iii);
Adopts the following Statement of Outstanding Universal Value:
Brief synthesis
More than 2100 tubular-shaped megalithic stone jars used for funerary practices in the Iron Age give the Plain of Jars its name. This serial property of 15 components contains 1325 of these large carved stone jars, stone discs (possibly lids for ...
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/8B and WHC/19/43.COM/INF.8B1,
Inscribes the Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture, Russian Federation, namely 10 of the 18 nominated serial components: 2.2 “Cathedral of Ioann Predtecha (John the Precursor) of the Ivanovsky Monastery”; 2.3 “Ensemble of the Spaso-Mirozhsky Monastery: the Transfiguration Cathedral”; 2.4 “Ensemble of the Snetogorsky Monastery: the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God”; 2.5 “Church of the Archangel Michael with a bell tower”; 2.6 “Church of Pokrova (Intercession) ot ...
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/8B.Add and WHC/19/43.COM/INF.8B1.Add,
Recalling Decision 41 COM 8B.20 adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
Inscribes the Historic centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace, Azerbaijan, on the World Heritage List on the basis of criteria (ii) and (v);
Takes note of the provisional Statement of Outstanding Universal Value;
Brief synthesis
The historic town of Sheki, located in the northern part of modern Azerbaijan, has ancient origins as part of the Caucasian Albania, dating from the 6th century BCE. The ...
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/8D,
Recalling Decision 42 COM 8D, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
Acknowledges the excellent work accomplished by States Parties in the clarification of the boundaries of their World Heritage properties and commends them for their efforts to improve the credibility of the World Heritage List;
Recalls that the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies are not able to examine proposals for minor or significant modifications to boundaries of World Heritage properties whenever the delimitations of such ...
43 COM 10A.1
Progress report on the follow-up to the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting (Asia and the Pacific)
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/10A,
Recalling Decision 40 COM 10B.1 adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
Welcomes the progress made in the follow-up of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the region of Asia and the Pacific;
Thanks the Governments of Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America for their contributions towards supporting follow-up activities to the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the region of Asia and the Pacific;
Takes note of the progress made on the Silk ...