Decision 45 COM 7B.126

Lamu Old Town (Kenya) (C 1055)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.6 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Encourages the State Party to continue to implement all the recommendations of the 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission;
4. Acknowledges the efforts made by the State Party to address conservation issues at the property including the inventorying of the state of conservation of the built fabric of the property and requests that the State Party continue to strengthen enforcement of building controls to halt the deterioration, unpermitted development and use of inappropriate materials;
5. Regrets that the revised Management Plan, which takes into account the Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) project has not yet been completed;
6. Underlines the utmost urgency of:
   1. Completing the mapping and survey of the condition of buildings and streetscapes,
   2. Completing the clarification of boundaries of the property and putting in place a larger buffer zone to include all of Lamu Island, parts of Manda Island, and relevant mangroves belts in the area, as requested by the Committee numerous times in the past,
   3. Completing the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and other relevant Environmental and Heritage Impact Assessments (EIAs and HIAs) related to the LAPSSET project taking into account both individual and cumulative impacts that the project and all of its sub-projects may have on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of this property as well as on the Lake Turkana National Parks World Heritage property;
7. Also requests that an updated clearly delineated map of the property and its enlarged buffer zone be submitted to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for comment prior to formally submitting it to the World Heritage Committee as a minor boundary modification in line with Paragraph 164 of the Operational Guidelines and before it is adopted into the national and county planning systems;
8. Urges the State Party to complete the above-mentioned projects as soon as possible and to submit them and the revised Management Plan to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies prior to their formal adoption;
9. Takes note of the efforts to include stakeholders and community in activities related to sustainable tourism for the property, and the efforts towards re-establishing the Lamu Heritage Committee;
10. Also takes note of the initiatives to set up a core corporate social responsibility programme in collaboration with the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority and the County Government, and also urges the State Party to establish the mechanisms to ensure that sufficient funds are available for conservation at the property and heritage related projects;
11. Further acknowledges that the State Party has invited a joint World Heritage Centre/ICCROM/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property scheduled to take place in mid-2023, which will formulate recommendations for actions to be taken in order to address the numerous challenges the property is facing;
12. Notes that alternative solutions to the Lamu Coal Plant proposed to meet the electricity needs of the region were halted and requests that any proposed future development be subject to EIAs/HIAs to ensure that there are no negative impacts on the OUV of the property;
13. 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.