The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/7B.Add.2 and draft Decision 32 COM 7B.49 Rev,
2. Recalling Decision 31 COM 7B.47, adopted at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007),
3. Deeply regrets that the State Party has completed 80% of the construction work for the new Ahmed Baba Cultural Centre without having provided new technical documents that could have permitted a review of the architectural design;
4. Acknowledges the restoration work being carried out on the Djingareyber Mosque but requests that this is adequately documented, with existing documentation being submitted to the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS by 30 November 2008, and in future subject to approval on appropriate methods and materials before work commences;
5. Expresses its concern at the adverse impact of the new construction for the Ahmed Baba Centre on the Sankore Mosque that has caused a significant loss of its historical authenticity, as well as having had deleterious effect on its inherent characteristics;
6. Also expresses concern that little progress has been made in halting the decline of buildings in the Old City;
7. Strongly urges the State Party to implement the following corrective measures that will mitigate the threats facing the property:
a) re-location of the amphitheatre, the Ahmed Baba house, and any other planned development of the classroom and visitor facilities to another location, in order to allow the creation of an urban open space which would allow the retention of the urban coherence of the historic square of Sankore;
b) creation of a national coordinating committee for Timbuktu, which would be the only authority to receive and evaluate projects which could impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property;
c) evaluation of the various existing plans and other studies and the development of a Master plan for the Old City of Timbuktu, which would address both conservation and the aspirations of the city in the 21st century, while preserving the Outstanding Universal Value of the property;
d) development of detailed building regulations and a land-use plan for the property and buffer zones;
e) development of a plan for the participation of the population of the town in matters of heritage so that it can in practice benefit from the projects and development;
f) extension of the boundaries of the World Heritage property to cover the whole of the Old City, in order to protect the monuments, as well as their urban context;
g) accelerated implementation of the short and medium term actions envisaged in the management plan;
8. Invites the conservation community to support the State Party in it efforts to address the severe, cumulative threats that are impacting on this property;
9. Requests the State Party, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, to develop a draft Statement of Outstanding Universal Value including the conditions of integrity and authenticity, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 33rd session in 2009;
10. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission, with the aim of assessing the progress made in the implementation of the corrective measures, and to identify possible alternatives for the provision of additional facilities;
11. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2009, a progress report on the state of conservation of the property and on the implementation of the above corrective measures, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 33rd session in 2009;
12. Decides requests moreover to apply the Reinforced Monitoring mechanism in monitoring the state of conservation to the property, and the World Heritage Centre to report on the results of the Reactive Monitoring mission undertaken, and on any other relevant decision with view to establishing prioritization and a timetable.