Decision 40 COM 7B.26

Bahla Fort (Oman) (C 433)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.4, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Commends the State Party for the important actions undertaken to ensure the sustainable management and conservation of the property;
4. Regrets that neither the finalized version of the Management Plan nor a request for a minor boundary modification to enlarge the buffer zone have been submitted;
5. Urges the State Party to submit the finalized version of the Management Plan, including the legal framework that will support its implementation, to the World Heritage Centre as soon as possible;
6. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, as soon as possible and based on Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, a document summarizing the conservation and management actions already undertaken and planned at the property, and showing the articulation between them and with the finalized version of the Management Plan;
7. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to visit the property as soon as possible;
8. Further requests the State Party to submit, by 1 February 2017, a request for a minor boundary modification in view of enlarging the buffer zone, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017;
9. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018.