Decision 39 COM 7B.10

Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area (China) (N 640)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 22 COM VII.27, adopted at its 22nd session (Kyoto, 1998),
3. Welcomes the ongoing efforts by the State Party to manage impacts from pollution and remove illegal tourist facilities and buildings within the property and its buffer zone, and requests the State Party to ensure the engagement of affected local communities in the third phase of the demolition project;
4. Notes with concern that three cable cars, an elevator and an electric railway for tourists inside the property are having a negative visual impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, and also requests the State Party to ensure that no further such developments are permitted within the property;
5. Urges the State Party to ensure that no new road developments are permitted within the property, and to also ensure that any road development outside the property does not negatively impact on its OUV;
6. Further requests the State Party to notify the World Heritage Centre and IUCN of any future developments that could impact the property, before any decision is taken that would be difficult to reverse, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
7. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, three printed and one electronic copy of the revised 2005-2020 Overall Plan on Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, for review by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN;
8. Notes the high and increasing numbers of tourists that visit the property, and encourages the State Party to consider further enhancing its tourism strategy, as required, on the basis of the new online learning module developed by the World Heritage Sustainable Tourism Programme;
9. Requests moreover the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property, as well as on the outcomes of the demolition project, and further information on any remaining illegal developments and planned activities to remove them, and on progress achieved with the ecological restoration of the affected areas, for possible examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session in 2019.