10. The General Assembly then took note of the accounts of the World Heritage Fund for the financial period ending 31 December 1985, of the interim statement of accounts for the period 1986­1987 drawn up as at 31 August 1987 and of the summary of contributions received from States Parties as at 31 August 1987. The Assembly also took note of the information provided by the Secretariat concerning the contributions received since 31 August 1987.

11. Referring to the interim statement of accounts for the financial period 1986-1987, a speaker underlined the high figure of liquid assets which could be used to carry out safeguard projects. In reply to this question, the Secretariat stated that the General Assembly always met a very short time before the session of the Committee, and that the amount of liquid as­sets was normal since it was necessary at the end of each year to have sufficient funds available so as to enable the Committee to adopt a budget corresponding to the activities carried out during the following year. The next session of the Commit­tee would take place early December; at that time and thanks to the funds available, the Committee would be able to respond favourably to the requests for technical cooperation. A dele­gate drew the attention of the Secretariat to the number of unliquidated obligations for 1981-1985 and he suggested that these projects should be re-examined. The Secretariat stated that such was its intention and that this question would be brought to the attention of the Committee in December.

First ballot

Number of States absent                                                                                  28

Number of abstentions                                                                             0

Number of invalid ballot papers                                                                 2

Number of votes recorded                                                                                66

Number of votes constituting a majority to be elected.                                 34

States obtaining the required majority of votes :

United States of America                                                                        45

Brazil                                                                                                     41

France                                                                                                   41

Tunisia                                                                                                   39

Pakistan                                                                                                 38

Italy                                                                                                       36

The Chairman declared elected to the World Heritage Com­mittee after the first ballot the following States Parties : Brazil, France, Italy, Pakistan, Tunisia, the United States of America.

Second ballot :

Number of States Parties voting                                                                       96

Number of States absent                                                                                  30

Number of abstentions                                                                                       0

Number of invalid ballot papers                                                                        2

Number of votes recorded                                                                                 64

Number of votes constituting a majority to be elected                                        33

Votes obtained :

Cuba                                                                                                      33

United Kingdom                                                                                      31

The Chairman declared Cuba elected to the World Heritage Committee after the second ballot.

21. After the elections, several delegates declared that, without putting into question the results of the voting, it was possible to note a lack of balance in the distribution of seats to the different geographical groups. The Chairman was asked to see to it that the procedures for the election of the Committee Members be reviewed in order to ensure the universal and cultural representation within the Committee foreseen by the Convention.

- reviewed document SC-87/CONF.004/7 on technical cooperation requests submitted by States Parties and

- made the following recommendations:

- People's Republic of China

a) The Bureau noted that the Jixian/Tianjian Area, for which US$30,000 has been requested for supporting geological research, has not been recommended for inscription on the World Heritage List.

b) In relation to the requests for training of specialists in management of natural heritage (US$80,000) and the research studies on the Imperial Palace (US$35,000) and Caves of Mogao (US$52,000), the Bureau noted that the Secretariat will be examining details with the Chinese authorities and report back to the Committee.

- Yugoslavia

The Bureau recommended that the Committee approve the allocation of US$50,000 for the purchase of field and laboratory equipment which would help in ecosystem conservation work at Durmitor National Park.

- Ecuador

The Bureau recommended that the Committee approve an allocation of US$70,000 for restoration of monuments in the Historic Centre of Quito, Ecuador, which were damaged by the recent earthquake.

The Bureau approved the release of US$30,000 immediately, under emergency assistance.

- Honduras

In considering the request for US$114,576 for improving the protection of the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, the Bureau decided to approve an initial amount of US$30,000.

As for the remaining amount (US$84,576), the Bureau asked the Secretariat to contact the Honduran authorities to assess priorities for international assistance projects for this natural property which had already received considerable support from the World Heritage Fund.

- Madagascar

The Bureau approved US$25,000 for the organization of a workshop on the conservation of tropical forests. In this connection, the Bureau expressed the wish that the meeting would result in the drawing up of nominations to the World Heritage List.

In this connection, the Bureau recalled that States Parties could ask for preparatory assistance to draw up such requests.

In addition, the Bureau asked the Secretariat to make every effort, including missions to States Parties, to advise on the availability of international assistance under the Fund and to assist in the preparation of receivable requests. Particular attention should be given to designing technical cooperation projects in which the contribution from the World Heritage Fund acted as a catalyst for funding from other sources such as UNDP, the World Bank, WWF, etc.

The Bureau recommended that the Secretariat in future present the following elements for each technical cooperation request:

- international assistance already provided for the property in question and results obtained;

- a brief description of the different components requested, for example, laboratory equipment, vehicles, expert services, etc. and the respective amounts requested under the Fund;

- the national counterpart contribution and the sources of other funding;

- additional information of relevance, for example whether the property in question had been subject of a monitoring report, had been suggested for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, etc.

The Bureau therefore recommended that the Secretariat prepare an easily understood brochure on how to obtain international assistance under the World Heritage Fund which would be widely distributed to all States Parties.

Furthermore, considering the budgetary allocations set aside for promotional activities, such assistance could only be of modest proportions, complementing national investments. However, the Bureau noted that the Secretariat should be flexible in judging each case accordingly.

In particular, the Bureau recommended to the Committee a detailed study, in collaboration with the authorities of the People's Republic of China, on the request for the production of a film on World Heritage properties, within and outside of China, to improve the understanding of the Convention among the Chinese public.

439

China (People's Rep. of)

C(iii)(iv)

440

China (People's Rep. of)

C(i)(ii)(iii) (iv) (v) (vi)

The Committee drew the attention of the Chinese authorities to the need to take all necessary measures to safeguard the very vulnerable rock site of Mogao Caves. The Committee would like to be kept informed of all action undertaken to this end.

441

China (People's Rep. of)

C(i)(iii)(iv)(vi)

The Committee would like to be informed by the Chinese authorities of the plans for the archaeological exploration, presentation and management of the site.