Decision 38 COM 7B.70

Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park (Philippines) (N 652rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 23 COM VIII.A.1, adopted at its 23rd session (Marrakesh, 1999),
3. Notes with appreciation the State Party’s commitment to the protection and conservation of the property, and commends the efforts undertaken by the new park administration to regulate tourism and control illegal activities;
4. Notes the State Party’s intention to carry out a Survey and Registration of Protected Areas Occupants (SRPAO) to clarify the issue of land claims and land sales in the property, and requests the State Party to take appropriate measures to remove illegal occupants from the property, while ensuring clear land titles for those occupants that are considered legal;
5. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, an electronic and three printed copies of the draft revised management plan of the property, including a clear zoning scheme and regulations for appropriate tourism development within the property and its vicinity, for review by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN;
6. Further requests the State Party to invite an IUCN reactive monitoring mission to the property, in order to support a comprehensive resolution of the issues relating to the boundary of the property and buffer zone, impacts from the land claims and illegal land sales in the property, and to assess its state of conservation and consider the measures needed to ensure any impacts from the above-mentioned issues and threats are avoided, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015;
7. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2015, a report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above recommendations, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.