Decision 40 COM 7B.61

Kiev: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (Ukraine) (C 527 bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7B.85, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Also recalling its concerns expressed every year since 2008 regarding the critical level of urban development reached since inscription and its cumulative impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, and the need for new tools to orient the development process towards sustainable development that protects the attributes of OUV;
4. Also takes note of the efforts undertaken by the State Party which resulted in the demolition of two floors of the new building at Desyatynnyi lane 3-5 in the buffer zone of one of the components of the property, namely Saint-Sophia Cathedral and reiterates its request to the State Party to reduce the adverse effect of the high-rise building on Klovsky Descent by demolishing the already constructed levels to an appropriate scale;
5. Notes with concern the Rehabilitation Activities Plan for the Monastery economic courtyard on the Far Caves of Kyiv-Pechersk Preserve and requests the State Party to immediately halt any ongoing or planned construction/reconstruction works and also reiterates its request to the State Party to submit relevant documentation, including Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs), to the World Heritage Centre, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, before any final decisions are made or any works start on major development projects within the property, its buffer zone and setting;
6. Reiterates its serious concern about the longstanding threats to the property, such as the lack of appropriate legal protection and planning mechanisms, as well as the unresolved issue of unauthorized constructions in the buffer zone and visual vicinity of the property and planned reconstruction works within the boundaries of the property, which have deleterious effects on its inherent characteristics and could impact adversely on the property’s OUV;
7. Further takes note of the State Party’s efforts with the development of the Management Plan and also requests it to finalize the Management Plan, with the assistance of the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies if needed, and to submit the final version by 1 December 2016;
8. Further requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to assess its current conditions, to discuss all sensitive issues regarding the protection of the historic urban landscape of the city of Kyiv, including reinforcement of the management system, and to assist with the finalization of the Management Plan, in line with the decisions of the World Heritage Committee and in accordance with the World Heritage Convention;
9. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 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 41st session in 2017, with a view to considering, in the case of confirmation of the ascertained or potential danger to Outstanding Universal Value, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.