The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-06/30.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 29 COM 7B.58, adopted at its 29th session (Durban, 2005),
3. Commends the significant efforts made by the State Party of Viet Nam towards the removal of the illegal constructions that negatively impact on the value of the World Heritage property;
4. Notes with appreciation the positive steps undertaken by the State Party to implement the recommendations made by the Committee at its 29th session in 2005;
5. Notes however that the full implementation of those recommendations requires further substantial work, and requests the State Party to pursue its efforts by:
a) Continuing the implementation of the programme for the removal of the illegal constructions within the World Heritage property, in particular those built after the floods of 1999, and the resettlement of their occupants, within the established timeframe (i.e. within 2010) in close consultation with all the concerned parties;
b) Establishing a complete inventory of all traditional buildings of Hué, possibly based upon a GIS system, that conforms to relevant international standards and which include information on their character, significance and state of conservation, so as to inform appropriate policies for their safeguarding. This inventory should be completed by June 2007;
c) Developing a comprehensive management plan, to be operational by the end of 2008, based on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property and on the outcome of the above-mentioned survey, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS. As previously recommended, this plan should involve all monuments and landscape areas considered as having a significant heritage value associated with Hué and which are currently not included in the property on the World Heritage List, in view of a possible re-nomination of the property to include more of its cultural landscape. A first draft of the management plan, including its contents, should be prepared by the end of 2006;
d) Conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment, including consideration of cultural heritage aspects, of the proposed tourist resort project on the Vong Canh hill along the Huong River. This should be carried out as soon as possible and, in any case, before irreversible decisions are taken that may affect the value of the World Heritage property;
6. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS monitoring mission in 2007 to assess the state of conservation of the property and assist in defining the scope and content of the management plan to be developed;
7. Further requests the State Party to submit a report to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2007, on the progress achieved in the implementation of the above recommendations for examination by the Committee at its 31st session in 2007.