Decision 43 COM 7B.16

Golden Mountains of Altai (Russian Federation) (N 768rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.75, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Warmly welcomes the confirmation by the State Party that the route of the proposed Altai gas pipeline (Power of Siberia-2) would pass around the property, but reiterates its position that any decision to route the Altai gas pipeline through the property would constitute a clear case for inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger and requests the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre the relevant documents confirming the exact alignment of this alternative route;
4. Appreciates the ongoing transboundary cooperation between the States Parties of the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Mongolia in the field of management of protected areas in the Altai region, and encourages again the three States Parties to continue consolidating these efforts, including within the framework of the World Heritage Convention;
5. Express its strong support for the proposed extension of the Strict Nature Reserve to cover the entire Teletskoye Lake basin in order to address the unclear legal protection of the part of the lake included in the property but not in the Strict Nature Reserve;
6. Notes the progress made in addressing some of the recommendations of the 2012 Reactive Monitoring mission, in particular the strengthening of the management capacity of Belukha Nature Park by including part of its territory within the extended buffer zone of Katunsky State Nature Reserve and the development of an ecotourism strategy for Katunsky State Nature Reserve, and urges again the State Party to fully implement all other recommendations of the mission;
7. Also welcomes the confirmation that the exploration license for the Kalgutinskoye molybdenum-tungsten ore deposit was terminated in 2017;
8. Also notes the information that the proposed gold mining project at Brekchiya gold deposit could only proceed if the required Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would conclude that no impact would be caused to the environment, and also requests the State Party to ensure that, should the project proceed to the EIA stage, the potential impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property are specifically assessed, in line with IUCN’s Advice Note on Environmental Assessment and that the EIA is submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN;
9. Noting with concern that no information was provided by the State Party regarding the Maly Kalychak gold deposit, further requests the State Party to provide information regarding the current status of this deposit and any associated licenses, as a matter of priority;
10. Recalling its established position that mining is incompatible with World Heritage status, reiterates its request to the State Party to revoke any mining licences or concessions that overlap with the property and to ensure that mining outside the property is not permitted if it is likely to have negative impacts on the property’s OUV;
11. Taking note of the information provided by the State Party that the planned tourism infrastructure project at Lake Teletskoye is located outside the boundaries of the property, requests furthermore the State Party to provide detailed information about the exact location of the proposed infrastructure and not to approve the project until an EIA has been undertaken, including a specific assessment of potential impacts on the OUV of the property;
12. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 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 44th session in 2020.