Decision 42 COM 7B.57

Bahla Fort (Oman) (C 433)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 7B.26, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Commends the State Party for its efforts to ensure the sustainable management and conservation of the property, and welcomes the creation of a ‘World Heritage Sites Department’ within the Ministry of Heritage and Culture (MHC), and a site management office at Bahla;
4. Regrets that, despite previous requests, neither the finalized version of the Management Plan nor a request for a minor boundary modification have been submitted;
5. Urges the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre the finalized and updated version of the Management Plan, including the legal framework that will support its implementation;
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 detailed document summarizing the conservation and management actions already undertaken and planned at the property, (original fabric, interventions with the different earthen building techniques, interventions with other traditional materials, and new concrete construction), and showing the articulation between them and the finalized and updated version of the Management Plan;
7. Noting the recommendations of the 2017 Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, also requests the State Party to implement them, and in particular provisions for improved control and monitoring of new construction, and preparation of a conservation plan;
8. Further requests the State Party to submit, by 1 February 2019, a minor boundary modification enlarging the buffer zone, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session in 2019;
9. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2019, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above.