The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Documents WHC-07/31.COM/8B and WHC-07/31.COM/INF.8B.2,
2. Defers the examination of the nomination of Ba Be National Park, Vietnam, to the World Heritage List to allow the State Party to consider submitting a new nomination of a larger property and with a focus on criterion (x);
3. Commends the State Party and Bac Kan Province for the clear commitment that has been made to the protection of Ba Be National Park and the efforts to improve research and understanding of park values, management planning, community participation and awareness raising in collaboration with international organisations;
4. Recommends the State Party to:
a) Enhance the management capacity of the park (and the adjoining protected areas) in relation to management planning, community development and monitoring;
b) Enhance the management arrangements for the buffer zone and develop clearer plans, including on ecotourism development, that are supportive of the protection requirements of the core zone of the park (and the adjoining protected areas);
c) Establish effective programmes of habitat management and ecological monitoring, in order to confirm the status of key species and habitats of conservation importance; and
d) Maintain strong programmes to regulate development within the core zone of the park to both protect the natural environment and maintain the traditional architectural character and appearance of the settlements,
5. Also recommends the State Party to consider the potential use of other international designations such as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and/or UNESCO Global Geopark in order to strengthen the international recognition of the property's values and balance protection of natural and cultural heritage,
6. Also notes that karst systems are relatively well represented on the World Heritage List and that further guidance to States Parties would be beneficial to indicate the increasingly limited potential for further inscriptions of karst sites on the World Heritage List; and therefore requests IUCN to carry out a global theme study of karst systems, including the potential to recognise the most significant meteoric karst sites of the world, to better guide new nominations in this area.