Decision 45 COM 7B.181

Venetian Works of Defence between 15th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – western Stato da Mar (Croatia, Italy, Montenegro) (C 1533)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.3,
2. Recalling Decisions 41 COM 8B.21 and 44 COM 7B.43 adopted at its 41st (Krakow, 2017) and extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively,
3. Commends the States Parties on their support for the International Coordinating Group (ICG) and its ongoing and important efforts to establish coordinated reporting and processes for carrying capacity studies, local management plans, visitor management plans, transnational research, conservation and interpretation strategies;
4. Notes the completion of the carrying capacity studies for each component and the progress made in relation to coordinated promotion and educational activities for the transnational property;
5. Also notes that information and documentation on the four projects identified in the Committee’s previous decision have been provided, and recommends that more detailed project information and documentation as well as Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) focusing on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and the attributes that underpin it be submitted by the respective States Parties to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, prior to the implementation of:
   1. the renewal of the Citadela Bastion project (Zadar), if it is planned to resume in the future,
   2. the Ravnice Urban Plan project/Gates of Zadar,
   3. the Visitor Centre at Minerska Bay (Šibenik),
   4. the urban redevelopment and rehabilitation project of a section of Palmanova, including the water tower reuse proposal;
6. Reminds the State Party of Italy of its previous request to comply with the recommendations of ICOMOS concerning the Fara parking project and, in particular, to submit as a matter of urgency the HIA requested by the World Heritage Centre in a letter dated 8 January 2020 and to develop a comprehensive plan for parking infrastructure and traffic control to reduce traffic and to reduce or ration car parking opportunities in the Upper City of Bergamo for non-residents in this part of the town;
7. Requests the States Parties, individually and through the ICG, to continue to complete and finalise the work in progress on the Committee’s previous requests, including:
   1. Finalising, as an urgent priority, visitor management plans based on the completed carrying capacity studies;
   2. Revising and enlarging the buffer zones as specified for the components of Zadar, Kotor and Peschiera del Garda, and submitting these as minor boundary modifications according to Paragraphs 163-164 of the Operational Guidelines;
   3. Establishing, as an urgent priority, a common template for local conservation and management plans, based on the property’s OUV and the identification of the attributes of each component, and finalise them for each component,
   4. Developing values-based, transnational conservation, promotion and interpretation strategy for the whole property;
   5. Finalising monitoring arrangements for the whole property;
   6. Finalising, as an urgent priority, a coordinated and harmonised approach to HIA, based on the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context,
   7. Ensuring that all future changes that may affect the OUV of the property are subject to formal HIA processes prior to their approval, including tourism infrastructure and restoration projects and other projects included in local management plans;
8. Also reminds the States Parties to inform the World Heritage Centre in due course about any major development project that may negatively impact the OUV of a property, before any irreversible decisions are made, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Also requests the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, a joint 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 47th session.