Decision 43 COM 7B.75

Golden Temple of Dambulla (Sri Lanka) (C 561)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.16, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Commends the State Party for the completion of the revised Management Plan for the property and the constitution of a Management Committee, including members from both the temple authorities and government officials;
4. Notes the request to change the name of the property be ‘Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple’, which is in line with the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and welcomes the progress made with monitoring, research and documentation of the property, along with the ongoing development of responses to physical conservation concerns, and requests the State Party to continue exploring suitable solutions for the property’s various conservation issues and to submit documentation on proposed conservation works to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies before any decision is made that would be difficult to reverse;
5. Urges the State Party to finalize the comprehensive Visitor Management Strategy, adopting a balanced approach to the property’s OUV, its role as a pilgrimage site, its conservation requirements and the needs of visitors, and to submit the draft strategy to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Also requests the State Party to explore actively means to ensure the transmission of traditional knowledge and skills for wall painting and sculpting;
7. Further requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to assess the state of conservation of the property, and in particular the implementation of the revised Management Plan, the ongoing work to document and conserve the property, progress with the Visitor Management Strategy and the proposed minor boundary modification to expand the property’s buffer zone;
8. 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.