Decision 43 COM 7B.8

Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area (India) (N 1406rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 37 COM 8B.11, 38 COM 8B.7 and 40 COM 7B.88, adopted at its 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 38th (Doha, 2014) and 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) sessions, respectively,
3. Welcomes the ongoing efforts of the State Party to significantly extend the property and, in particular, initiate the process to merge Khirganga National Park with Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area (GHNPCA) and encourages the State Party to proceed with the creation of a significantly expanded conservation complex in the Indian Western Himalaya under the World Heritage Convention, with the technical support of the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, as required;
4. Recalls that the intended extension would require a Significant Boundary Modification in line with Paragraph 165 of the Operational Guidelines and would follow procedures similar to a new nomination, including the requirement for any proposed areas to be previously included on the Tentative List;
5. Also welcomes continuous efforts to strengthen the involvement of local communities and indigenous peoples and requests the State Party to ensure meaningful involvement of local stakeholders and rights holders in the governance and management, including in the process of enlarging the property;
6. Reiterates its encouragement to the State Party to fully involve local resource users in decision-making to find mutually acceptable ways to resolve any ongoing resource use conflicts, while respecting any rights of use, and also requests the State Party to conduct an assessment of the impacts from existing resource use (in particular grazing and collection of medicinal plants) on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property to help establish a basis for such decision-making;
7. Notes that a decision was made by the State Party not to re-categorize Tirthan and Sainj Wildlife Sanctuaries as national parks on the grounds of avoiding a relocation of villages;
8. Regrets that the State Party did not provide sufficient information to allow for an assessment of its response to deficiencies identified in a Management Effectiveness Assessment and reiterates its request to the State Party to report on:
   1. Transit of livestock through the property,
   2. The process to recognize the rights of local communities in Jiwanal Valley,
   3. Consolidation of management of the Parvati Valley,
   4. Human-wildlife conflicts,
   5. Adequate levels of staffing, equipment and training for patrolling in high-altitude terrain;
9. Further welcomes the reaffirmed commitment of the State Party to undertake a regional comparative study of natural World Heritage potential within the Himalayas and adjacent mountain regions, and also encourages the full consideration of the property, including its envisaged extension, and reiterates its recommendation to the State Party to consult with other relevant States Parties from the region on this matter and seek technical support of the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, as required;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, 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 45th session in 2021.