Decision 45 COM 7B.191

Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor (Montenegro) (C 125ter)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.51 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Welcomes the preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) for a number of developments and the provision of information on various proposed projects, and encourages the State Party to continue to improve the HIA process and to give particular consideration to the indirect and cumulative impacts of the many projects being implemented, in the light of the strategic documents being prepared for the property and the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
4. Expresses concern about the slow pace of revision of the Management Plan and requests that it is completed as a matter of priority, incorporating the recommendations of the 2018 Joint Reactive Monitoring mission so that it becomes a fully operational instrument for the efficient management of the entire property and its buffer zone, with binding policies and provisions endorsed at national and local government level within the changing legal framework, addressing the following issues in particular:
   1. Development issues, in harmony with the Spatial urban Plan for Kotor Municipality,
   2. The conservation of the tangible and intangible attributes that convey Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and other values,
   3. Disaster risk reduction,
   4. Tourism management, including issues related to the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts that tourism could have on the property;
5. Notes that the moratorium on new construction and development ended in 2020 and urges the State Party to renew it until a complete suite of planning and protection measures are in force to satisfactorily accommodate possible sustainable developments within the sensitive landscape of the area and prevent any impact on the cultural and landscape values of the property;
6. Reiterates its request to the State Party to submit the following documents to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies at the earliest opportunity:
   1. The updated HIA for Natural and Culturo-Historic Region of Kotor for Harmonizing Policy/Planning Framework and Instruments,
   2. The Detailed Urban Plan for Lepetani and the Urban Plan for the Lepetani Tourist Zone,
   3. The buffer zone study to define areas in and around the property where an impact assessment should be required for potential projects,
   4. An HIA for the Verige Bridge project,
   5. Documentation on the proposed underpass near Kotor old town and the planned developments associated with the Luštica peninsula road, even if these have already been authorised,
   6. The revised project for the Morinj accommodation complex,
   7. The detailed spatial plan under preparation for the conversion and construction of a hotel complex on the former Fjord Hotel site and the Jugooceanija building,
   8. Relevant documentation on any other projects proposed in the property, buffer zone or wider setting that may have a potential negative impact on the OUV, such as the projects proposed on the Sveti Marko Island and the projects located on either side of the entrance to Kotor Bay;
7. Further expresses concern about quarries which were recently permitted in the buffer zone of the property, and about plans for future quarries, requests the State Party to provide as a matter of urgency to the World Heritage Centre precise maps indicating the exact location of these quarries, as well as the relevant sections of the adopted Spatial Urban Plan of the Municipality of Kotor with reference to quarries, and advises the State Party to immediately halt any further projects until an Impact Assessment has been completed and submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
8. Further requests that the planning for the property, its buffer zone and wider setting be carried out in the light of the State Party’s commitment to protecting the property’s OUV and be informed by a strategic approach to impact assessment that considers the potential cumulative impacts of proposed projects; and requests furthermore that decisions to authorise new developments should only be taken where it is clear that negative impacts on OUV will be avoided;
9. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2024, 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 46th session.