Case Law

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.86, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
3. Commends the State Party’s efforts to update and revise the legal and management frameworks for the property, encourages it to continue this work, to ensure that regulations are implemented harmoniously at all levels, and to implement the Master Plan of the Great Wall 2018-2035 following approval by the State Council of China;
4. Welcomes the new regulations concerning impact assessments for projects that may have an impact on the Great Wall and its setting, but regrets that the implementation of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Inter-City rail line project occurred before feedback was obtained from the World Heritage Committee and Advisory Bodies and without the submission of a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) in keeping with the ICOMOS Guidelines on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage Properties, as requested by the Committee in Decision 41 COM 7B.86;
5. Reminds the State Party to comply fully with the prescriptions of Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines and to obtain and respond to feedback for projects before any irreversible decision or action occurs;
6. Also welcomes the conservation activities carried out by the State Party and also encourages the State Party to continue its efforts to use appropriate materials and techniques; notes the State Party’s intention to use new technologies for conservation and documentation of the Great Wall and further encourages the State Party to make the information on the processes and outcomes of these activities available as good practice cases, notably through the World Heritage Centre website;
7. Further welcomes the State Party’s capacity-building and research efforts and encourages furthermore the State Party to continue providing regular training opportunities to all those involved in the conservation and promotion of the property, including local communities;
8. Also notes the State Party’s initiatives to increase funding through public/private partnerships and fundraising for the benefit of the property and encourages moreover the State Party to share the overall guiding principles for the conservation and management of the property, and user-friendly versions of the legal and management frameworks, with all stakeholders involved;
9. Welcomes furthermore the State Party’s international cooperation initiatives with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and considers that, in due time, the States Parties involved should share information about this initiative and good practice, including through the World Heritage Centre website;
10. Reiterates its concern that the State Party has not provided requested information indicating how the proposed new station at the Badaling section of the Great Wall may affect the already high number of visitors, or what measures are proposed to address this issue, and urges the State Party to:
    1. Ensure that the potential impacts arising from increased visitation are addressed as part of a sustainable tourism management strategy to be prepared for the property,
    2. Take all necessary measures to mitigate the impacts of mass tourism on the property,
    3. Take all necessary measures to minimize the cumulative impacts of tourism infrastructure on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, especially with regard to sight lines to and from the Great Wall;

    and further notes that the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies stand ready to support the State Party in this regard, if needed, through the Sustainable Tourism Programme;

11. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session in 2021.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.73, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Acknowledges that some progress has been achieved by the State Party in implementing the recommendations of the Committee and the 2010, 2012 and 2015 missions, as well as the commitment demonstrated towards the protection the property and the collaborative dialogue established with ICOMOS;
4. Welcomes that the reconstruction/enlargement plan of the existing fishing port “Severna Buna-Nessebar” was abandoned and requests the State Party to carry out a HIA for the modernization of the existing fishing port in conformity with the ICOMOS Guidelines on HIAs for World Heritage cultural properties and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before any decision is made;
5. Express its concern regarding proposed infrastructure projects, incompatible with the values, attributes and vulnerabilities of the property, as well as development approach based on mass tourism, which are representing potential threats to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
6. Urges the State Party to halt any unsustainable form of development, such as to open the Nessebar Port Terminal for large ships, and also requests the State Party to recover the terminal area using careful and light intervention compatible with the World Heritage status of the property;
7. Invites the State Party to devise a radically different strategy for the sustainable and compatible development of Nessebar that reduces development pressure, by relocating plans and projects for any cruise terminals, or tourist, commercial or fishing ports for large ships elsewhere along the coast outside the visibility area from Nessebar and to develop a sustainable mobility plan to ensure the smooth circulation of residents, visitors and goods;
8. Also urges that the State Party introduce all relevant provisions regarding the World Heritage into national legislation, as well as develop and adopt an OUV-based policy, appropriate regulatory instruments and mechanisms to prevent, at the planning and programming stage, inappropriate developments, which could jeopardize the property’s OUV and could represent a potential danger, in conformity with Paragraph 179 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Also invites the State Party to strengthen the property’s management system, address and resolve weaknesses in management, by reinforcing existing institutional framework and establishing an all relevant high-level inter-ministerial committee, decision-making bodies and working groups that develop and adopt a vision for the future of the property, including strategic programme for its implementation;
10. Requests the State Party to adopt all relevant measures and plans (Management plan, Master Plan and Conservation Plan), as well as to enforce the protection regimes and the conservation prescriptions, to support the appropriate implementation of its decisions in order to prevent any threats to its OUV;
11. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to assess its state of conservation and ascertain the progress made by the State Party ;
12. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session in 2019, with a view to considering, in case of confirmation of the ascertained or potential danger to Outstanding Universal Value, the possible inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger