B. REVISION OF THE NOMINATION FORM AND FORMAT FOR WORLD HERITAGE STATE OF CONSERVATION REPORTS
VII.6 The Secretariat informed the Committee that, as requested by the Committee at its nineteenth session, it had circulated the proposed revised nomination form and format for World Heritage state of conservation reports to all States Parties and that comments had been received from thirteen States Parties as well as from the Nordic World Heritage Office.
Nomination form
VII.7 The Secretariat summarized the replies received from the States Parties and from ICOMOS and submitted a revised version of the proposed nomination form, which incorporated the observations expressed by them.
VII.8 Several of the Committee members, as well as representatives of the Advisory Bodies, proposed additional modifications to the nomination form, particularly:
- well as additional the reintroduction under item 2 of the comparative analysis as an option for the State Party;
- item 3. e to read: 'Policies and programmes related to the presentation and promotion of the property';
- the addition of mining activities as one of the possible 'factors affecting the site' under item 5;
- the deletion of the word 'inspection' from item 6;
- the revision of the last sentence of item 4.2. of the explanatory notes as follows: 'For example, it would be desirable to indicate who is responsible for ensuring that the nominated site is safeguarded, whether by traditional and/or statutory agencies, and whether adequate resources are available for this purpose.';
- the addition of the complete text of the 'Nara Document' as an annex to the explanatory notes.
VII.9 Considering that the revision of the nomination form is necessary in order to provide adequate baseline information at the time of inscription of properties on the World Heritage List and to enhance the evaluation and inscription process, and also considering that the nomination form could be revised independently from the introduction of the reporting on the state of conservation of World Heritage properties, the Committee:
a) adopted the revised nomination form (attached as Annex IV of this report);
b) decided to introduce the revised nomination form for all nominations which shall be examined from 1 July, 1998;
c) requested the Secretariat and the Advisory Bodies to widely distribute and announce the new nomination form and actively assist States Parties in its application.
Format for World Heritage state of conservation reports
VII.10 The Secretariat summarized the replies received from the States Parties and from ICOMOS, which were much more critical and fundamental than the ones regarding the nomination form.
VII.11 Therefore, considering that the matter of monitoring and reporting will be discussed at the Eleventh General Assembly of States Parties and the 29th General Conference of UNESCO, and considering the Committee's view that reports on the state of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List may be submitted in accordance with Article 29 of the Convention, and therefore would be included in the reporting on the application of the Convention, and considering the substantive comments from States Parties on the draft format for the periodic World Heritage state of conservation report, the Committee decided to:
a) defer its decision on the format for the periodic World Heritage state of conservation report awaiting the decisions of the Eleventh General Assembly and the 29th General Conference of UNESCO regarding the reporting procedures;
b) request the Secretariat jointly with the Advisory Bodies to prepare, for consideration by the Committee at its twenty-first session in 1997, a draft format for reporting on the application of the World Heritage Convention, taking into account the comments made by States Parties as well as the principles of monitoring and reporting reflected in the Committee's report and draft resolutions to the Eleventh General Assembly of States Parties and the 29th General Conference of UNESCO.
VII.12 In connection with the discussions on the nomination form and the reference made to the Nara Document in the explanatory notes, the Delegate of Japan proposed that for the next session of the Committee, the Secretariat prepares a document on how the principles of the Nara Document could be applied in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. The Representatives of ICCROM and ICOMOS offered their support in this respect.