Decision 45 COM 7B.138

Saint Catherine Area (Egypt) (C 954)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decisions 27 COM 8C.16 and 28 COM 15B.51 adopted at is 27th (UNESCO, 2003) and 28th (Suzhou, 2004) sessions respectively,
3. Notes with appreciation the conservation and research work undertaken by the State Party, specifically the archaeological research undertaken and requests that the State Party ensure these excavations are adequately consolidated;
4. Also notes that large scale developments have been implemented as part of the Saint Catherine City Development Initiative entitled ‘Great Revelation Initiative – the Land Peace’ which may have superseded the 1998 Sustainable Development Plan (SDP), and due to the envisaged further tourism development at the property and the lack of a Management Plan with a tourism management component, also requests that:
   1. Further developments included in the Saint Catherine City Development ‘Great Revelation Initiative – the Land Peace’ be halted until a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is undertaken, in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and the HIA report and details of the Saint Catherine City Development have been reviewed by the Advisory Bodies,
   2. The State Party initiate and complete an inventory of urgent conservation needs and develop a Conservation Plan for the property,
   3. Develop a Management Plan with a tourism management component that also makes provision for the implementation of the Conservation Plan for the property and submit these to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
5. Further requests the State Party to assess all future development projects that may affect the integrity or authenticity of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property through impact assessments in conformity with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, developed in collaboration between the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre;
6. Reminds the State Party 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;
7. Requests furthermore the State Party to invite urgently a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to assess the state of conservation of the property, the already executed components of the ‘Great Revelation Initiative – the Land of Peace’ project, and the efficacy of the protection and management system of the property;
8. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 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 47th session.