Decision 40 COM 7B.37

Masjed-e Jame of Isfahan (Iran, Islamic Republic of) (C 1397)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.15, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Welcomes the progress made by the State Party with the revision of the Meydan-e Atiq project, taking into account the Committee’s previous requests, and notes with satisfaction that no structural connection is foreseen between the new galleries and the historic walls of the mosque or the structures connected to the mosque walls;
4. Strongly encourages the State Party to take into account the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property when evaluating the suitability of new projects in the vicinity of the Masjed-e Jame, especially with regard to their correlation to the property’s historic environment;
5. Reiterates its recommendation that Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs), with a specific section focusing on the potential impact of the project on the OUV, be carried out for any future development in the buffer zone, in particular if these are intended to be directly attached to the mosque complex or would be located in its immediate vicinity; and requests that before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse, the State Party inform the Committee, through the World Heritage Centre, of any project which may affect the OUV of the property, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
6. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre detailed information on potential atmosphere and noise pollution generated by the urban revitalization projects around the property, as well as on the potential impacts of vibrations from the underground road on the static behaviour of the Mashed-e Jame structures, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
7. Reiterates its request to the State Party to finalize, as a matter of urgency, an Integrated Conservation and Management Plan, and submit it to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for review, before proceeding with its adoption;
8. Further requests 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 review by the Advisory Bodies.