Decision 45 COM 7B.95

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

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 42 COM 7B.75, 43 COM 7B.16 and 44 COM 7B.106 adopted at its 42nd (Manama, 2018), 43rd (Baku, 2019) and extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively,
3. Regrets again that the State Party did not provide sufficiently elaborated information on the different points raised by the Committee in its previous decisions;
4. Urges the State Party to provide detailed information on:
   1. The exact alternative route of the proposed Altai gas pipeline and the current status of the pipeline project,
   2. The exact location of the proposed tourism infrastructure at Lake Teletskoye, including whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been undertaken for the development, in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context,
   3. The status of current or proposed mining operations at the Brekchiya or Maly Kolychak deposits, including whether these have been subject to a full EIA, specifically assessing the potential impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property,
   4. The state of conservation of all components of the property: Belukha Mountain Nature Park, the Ukok Quiet Zone and the Lake Teletskoye buffer zone, in addition to the Katunsky State Nature Reserve and the Altaisky State Nature Reserve (ASNR);
5. Appreciates the ongoing work to extend the ASNR component to provide legal protective status over the entire Lake Teletskoye, however reiterates its concern that parts of the buffer zone of the Lake Teletskoye component of the property remain without legal protection in contradiction with the requirements of the Operational Guidelines, and urges the State Party to expedite this extension and to ensure that legal protection is also extended to the buffer zone of the Lake Teletskoye component of the property;
6. Welcomes the continued efforts to improve transboundary cooperation with the States Parties of China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia and encourages the States Parties to explore the feasibility of a potential further extension of the property to also include components in China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia;
7. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, a 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.