The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 29 COM 7B.60, adopted at its 29th session (Durban, 2005),
3. Notes the considerable efforts made by the Heritage House in the exercise of its functions and calls for a better definition of the Heritage House's mandate and the strengthening of local capacities and involvement.
4. Recommends to the State Party the creation of a buffer zone, to mitigate the pressures on the World Heritage property, and requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission, at the end of 2007, to evaluate the property's state of conservation and to make recommendations concerning the establishment of a buffer zone, in the form of a revision of the Urban Development Plan and based on the recommendations formulated in the Territorial Coherence Plan (SCOT);
5. Notes with satisfaction the efforts undertaken by the State Party for the creation of a biosphere reserve in the catchment area of the Nam Khan and encourages it to pursue this process which would contribute to improving the equilibrium between the World Heritage site and the region;
6. Calls the attention of the State Party to the need for implementing measures for the prevention of natural risks, flooding in particular, and requests it to carry out a study on risks involved with the urbanisation of the flood run-off zones and the impact of the hydraulic projects envisaged on the Mekong and the Nam Khan ;
7. Also recommends to the State Party to carry out an evaluation of the quality of the development projects and on developments noted since the inscription of the property, especially in terms of overpopulation and use;
8. Also requests the State Party to pursue the strict application of the Safeguarding and Enhancement Plan (PSMV), and especially:
a) to preserve the non-constructible status of the natural zones within the inscribed perimeter,
b) to control the densification of the site in application of the provisions of the PSMV,
c) to pursue the survey of illicit constructions.
9. Further recommends the organization of a coordination meeting of the funding agencies at the end of 2007, with the participation of the World Heritage Centre, to coordinate the projects envisaged in the property and its periphery by bilateral and multilateral cooperation agencies, in the framework of principles established in the SCOT ;
10. Also encourages the State Party to call upon support, if necessary, from decentralised cooperation between Luang Prabang Province, the city of Chinon and the Central Region, as well as from Technical Assistance provided by UNESCO in the framework of the France-UNESCO Convention, to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations above ;
11. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2008 a report on the state of conservation of the property and on the steps taken to implement all of the above recommendations, for examination by the Committee at its 32nd session in 2008.