Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its surrounding sacred landscape

• Legal Framework (Lack of legal protection for the property that covers cultural as well as natural attributes) (issue resolved)
• Mining (Mining or extractive industry)
• Management systems/Management Plan (Need to define the protection offered by the buffer zone; Lack of an overall management structure with resources 

On 3 December 2018, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report on the property, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1440/documents.The report addresses progress made on the implementation of the previous Committee Decision and presents additional information on activities undertaken to support and enhance the understanding and management of the property, as follows:

• Explanation of the legal environment for the protection of cultural heritage in Mongolia;
• Actions to implement the recommendations of the Committee, including newly promulgated legislation to protect the property from potential mining activities, additional legal protection for cultural heritage, measures taken to enhance the monitoring and control of the property, steps towards putting in place an overall management system, and physical protection and activities to mark and promote the property;
• Activities related to the application of the Operational Guidelines as well as international cooperation with other similar properties and research institutions. Much of this research focused on the natural heritage aspects of the property and included hydrological systems and their quality, along with the mammals and plants present within the property;
• Conferences, seminars and meetings with international partners and other similar cultural landscape properties such as Fujisan were organized to strategize research, management and conservation at the property;
• Publications and promotion of the property and its values.

The management of the property and its buffer zone is currently the responsibility of the Khan Khentii State Protected Area Administration, but will be transferred to a new statutory body, to be established in 2020.

The State Party reports much progress made in researching, demarcating and controlling the property, including on its legislation. The Khan Khentii State Protected Area Administration has undertaken meetings and conferences, in close collaboration with the Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO, the Japan World Heritage National Committee, and the Department of History and Archaeological Studies of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. These interactions have included exchanging experiences on the management of this and other similar properties.

Research has focused mainly on natural heritage and on assessing the status and dynamics of hydrology, plant and animal populations. Collaboration with the Japan World Heritage National Committee and other institutes, including Japanese universities have resulted in expert meetings on the conservation and management of sacred landscape, but have not yet led to fieldwork research into the cultural heritage of the property, including archaeological heritage. These studies and international exchanges are commendable and the Committee may wish to congratulate all parties involved.

The State Party also highlights the steps taken to legislate the protection of the property and its buffer zone, including the 2014 legislation of cultural heritage memorial sites to include World Heritage. New legislation, implemented since the inscription of the property on the World Heritage List in 2015, includes the implementation of a series of sanctions that can be imposed, should illegal activities be undertaken within the boundaries and buffer zones of cultural heritage memorial sites, and therefore also the property. However, these sanctions are not sufficiently dissuasive.

Other positive actions include the establishment of a better fire control infrastructure, a formalized property entrance, the demarcation of the property, the publication of material on the history and heritage of the property, and better accommodation for the rangers of the property. However, these activities have not yet led to:

• a clear indication of a timeline to update and implement the Management Plan for the property;
• a Research and Conservation Plan for the property, the latter covering preventative and active measures, based on a broad assessment of need and priorities;
• a clarification of the specific and strategic nature of protection that the buffer zone should offer the property, or
• an alignment of the boundaries of the Khan Khentii State Protected Area with that of the property (a disparity highlighted at the time of nomination).

It would be beneficial for the property if these aspects could be addressed even before the establishment of the new statutory management authority in 2020, as they may have an influence on the nature, organizational structure, and specific skill required for such an authority.