The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-12/36.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 34 COM 7B.70, adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010),
3. Acknowledges the efforts made by the State Party to address the conservation issues at the property; and notes the pragmatic approach currently applied by the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) to retain its special legal status, under the Bodhgaya Temple Act of 1949;
4. Also notes the results of the February 2011 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM reactive monitoring mission, endorses its recommendations on the satisfactory condition of the property, including the sacred Bodhi Tree, and requests the State Party to:
a) Ensure urgent protection of the vulnerable setting and the wider landscape through a balanced vision, which integrates conservation, pilgrimage and community development,
b) Formally designate an adequate buffer zone for the immediate setting of the property and appropriate protection for the wider landscape,
c) Identify, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies a two-step approach, firstly, an adequate buffer zone for the protection of the immediate setting as well as a regulatory framework for the protection of the wider landscape, following as second step, a serial extension of the property to include other sites with outstanding associations to the life of Lord Buddha,
d) Revise the Management Plan and the regional development plan in light of the proposed buffer zone boundaries and regulations; and conduct a study of pilgrimage patterns and visitor behaviour to identify the most significant pressures and develop, on this basis, a comprehensive visitor/pilgrims management strategy,
e) Undertake capacity-building activities for all local stakeholders concerned to raise awareness of World Heritage management requirements;
5. Encourages the State Party to submit the designated buffer zone as a minor boundary modification;
6. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2014, a report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session in 2014.