The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 30 COM 7B.25 and 31 COM 7B.26 adopted at its 30th (Vilnius, 2006) and 31st (Christchurch, 2007) sessions respectively,
3. Also recalling Decision 24 COM VIII.44-49 (Cairns, 2000) on World Heritage and mining and the subsequent commitment by major stakeholders in the mining industry (International Council on Minerals and Metals,2003) not to mine in World Heritage properties,
4. Notes that the Outstanding Universal Value of the property remains intact and is not subject to immediate threat but that important issues related to the integrity and management of the property exist which, if not addressed, could jeopardize its Outstanding Universal Value and integrity;
5. Urges the State Party to implement the following recommendations of the 2007 mission in order to strengthen the protection and management of the property:
a) upgrade the protection regime of the regional Nature Parks, either by upgrading them to National Park status, as originally foreseen by the State Party, or by revising their zoning to better conserve the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, and in particular its biodiversity values;
b) establish a management structure and institutional strategy for the property, which can ensure that all resources in the property are managed with the objective of conserving the Outstanding Universal Value of the property and its integrity;
c) develop an integrated management plan for the entire property, defining its management objectives based on its Outstanding Universal Value and associated conditions of integrity, setting common standards for management to maintain the World Heritage values across the property and define planning and management responsibilities for the different management entities;
d) develop or revise the management plans for each of the six components of the property as part of the integrated management plan that detail how each will be managed to maintain the values for which the whole property was inscribed as well as how these plans will be resourced to ensure their implementation;
e) precisely set the boundaries of the property within the management plan, by translating the boundaries identified at the time of inscription into geographical coordinates;
6. Requests the State Party to implement the other recommendations of the 2007 mission to address key conservation issues, in particular:
a) submit to the World Heritage Committee, the Environmental Impact Assessments for existing and planned mineral mining, geothermal exploitation as well as exploration projects situated near the boundaries of the property;
b) monitor closely on-going mining, gas pipeline, and mineral or geothermal exploration activities close to the boundaries of the property to avoid adverse impacts on the property and to ensure that the highest environmental standards are met;
c) submit an additional scientific report on the state of conservation of the salmon populations in the property, showing the trends since the time of inscription;
d) as part of an overall management framework, establish an access policy for the entire property, based on establishing an overall framework for access control and limiting accessibility;
7. Also urges the State Party to provide, by 1 November 2008, information on the alleged changes in the regulations of Bystrinsky Nature Park to allow geological prospecting and reported plans to change the boundaries of the park to accommodate mining activities;
8. Invites the State Party to consider addressing the issue of joint management plans, management frameworks and management standards for all natural World Heritage properties in the Russian Federation composed of federal and regional protected areas through a national law for the management of natural World Heritage properties that meets the State Party's obligations to the Convention;
9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2010, a report on the state of conservation of the property and on progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the 2007 mission, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010.