Decision 41 COM 7B.75

Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun (Bahrain) (C 1192ter)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7B.48, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Notes the progress achieved by the State Party in the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (2008-2013);
4. Also notes with satisfaction that the tunnel has been adopted as the only feasible option for the road connectivity development for Nurana Island;
5. Further notes that the revision of the Heritage Law is still under revision and invites the State Party to consider this revision as a priority, particularly to enable the signature of memoranda of understanding with the owners of lands located within the area designated for the extension of the property, in order to improve its management and conservation;
6. Urges the State Party to implement fully the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan and to include within it the proposals developed by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) for a vision document, new zoning codes, and requirements for Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs);
7. Encourages the State Party to pursue the use of the approach carried by the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape as well as the urban study carried out by the Directorate of Urban Planning at national level in order to conduct a wider reflection on the stakes related to the urban development of the areas surrounding the property;
8. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, as soon as they are available:
   1. The results of the updated HIA carried out by the developer of the the road connectivity development for Nurana Island, in line with the ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage Properties,
   2. The results of the consultation based on the proposal elaborated by BACA aiming at reinforcing the protection of the property’s attributes, including a vision document for the integrated management of the property and its buffer zone, a new zoning code, specific requirements at the parcel level and a call for HIA for big scale projects around the property;
9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre the results of the first review of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan as soon as it has taken place;
10. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 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 43rd session in 2019.