Decision 38 COM 7B.1

Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab) (C 850)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 36 COM 7B.53, adopted at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012),
3. Welcomes progress made with the construction of a sample of the proposed paved road around Qannoubin Monastery; and requests that the project plan for the remainder of the road be submitted for review before work progresses;
4. Reiterates its request to abandon the associated project of cableways and model villages in the property;
5. Notes with extreme concern the planning violation near the church of Saint George and the excavation and construction works in the property and its buffer zone, and also notes that remedial measures have been taken to demolish the mausoleum structure and halt construction works; and also requests that details are provided as to how the landscape will be rehabilitated as it was before both works commenced;
6. Further notes the State Party’s acknowledgment of the negative impacts arising from the lack of adequate management;
7. Regrets that the State Party has not responded to the main recommendations of the 2012 mission and reiterates its request to implement these, and in particular to:
   1. Revise the management system for the property and establish a permanent management structure,
   2. Update the 1998 management plan on the basis of the 2007 guidelines, including a conservation plan and a sustainable visitors management plan,
   3. Undertake socio-economic studies aiming at improving the living conditions of the communities in and around the property;
8. Reiterates its encouragement to the State Party to submit a request for International Assistance for the implementation of the recommendations of the 2012 mission;
9. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.