Decision 36 COM 7B.11

Keoladeo National Park (India) (N 340)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-12/36.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 35 COM 7B.14, adopted at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011),
3. Welcomes the efforts and the progress made by the State Party to replenish the water regime within the property’s wetland systems through the decisions to release environmental water flows from reservoirs and completed water related projects and urges the State Party to continue to provide adequate water flows on a sustainable basis;
4. Regrets the delays in completion of the Govardhan Drain project and reiterates its request to the State Party to expedite completion of this project and initiate the planned water flows from this project to the property;
5. Encourages the State Party to continue ecological monitoring programmes, which are independent of specific projects, in order to assess long-term ecosystem changes and particularly the recovery of bird populations;
6. Also urges the State Party to further intensify the involvement of local communities in the management of the property, building on its existing achievements, including in the control of invasive species and other aspects of management, as appropriate;
7. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2014, a report on the state of conservation of the property including confirmation of the completion of the Govardhan Drain, the progress made in providing adequate water flows to the property, updated statistics on bird populations and the management of the threats of alien invasive species and development on the edge of the property, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session in 2014.