Decision 41 COM 7B.68

Lower Valley of the Omo (Ethiopia) (C 17)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 37 COM 7B.39 and 40 COM 7B.11 adopted at its 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013) and 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) sessions respectively,
3. Reiterates its request to the State Party to provide adequate details of the Ethiopian Sugar Development Corporation Project (Kuraz project), including clear and precise information on its scope and location as well as information on the relocation of pastoral communities, in relation to the property as a matter of urgency and by 1 December 2017, as requested by the Committee at its 38th and 40th sessions, respectively in 2014 and 2016;
4. Whilst welcoming the commencement of the EU-funded project that will address tourism development, property boundaries, legal protection and management, including risk preparedness and community involvement, urges the State Party to give priority to delineating boundaries as the outcomes of this work are needed to underpin the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) of the Kuraz project and the Management Plan, and to agree as soon as possible on a timeframe for the completion of the boundary work;
5. Notes the late submission of the HIA of the Kuraz project and request the State Party to liaise with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in its review to ensure that the HIA is compatible with accepted international standards and with the ICOMOS Guidance on Heritage Impact Assessments for Cultural World Heritage Properties, and that the HIA is based on defined property boundaries and on clear and adequate and detailed information concerning the Kuraz project;
6. Also noting the scale of the ongoing Kuraz project, its potential direct and indirect impacts on the property, reiterates its request to the State Party to finalize and submit the EIA on the Kuraz project;
7. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2018, 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.