Decision 38 COM 7B.74

Gros-Morne National Park (Canada) (N 419)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.18, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Welcomes the decision taken by the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador not to accept applications for petroleum exploration using hydraulic fracturing until a full review of the process is completed, as well as the decision by the joint federal-provincial Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board to reject the extension of the Exploration License adjacent to the property;
4. Notes that the reactive monitoring mission requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 37th session has not been carried out as the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and IUCN considered the mission not necessary in the current circumstances, in particular in view of the moratorium on acceptance of applications for petroleum exploration using hydraulic fracturing;
5. Reiterates its request to the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre / IUCN reactive monitoring mission to the property, if the moratorium on acceptance of applications for petroleum exploration in the vicinity of the property is discontinued without putting in place other appropriate measures for maintaining the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
6. Requests the State Party to complete the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process, to review the potential impacts on the VUE of the property and to submit a copy of the SEA to the World Heritage Centre, prior to making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
7. Encourages the State Party to establish a buffer zone to enhance the effective protection of the property;
8. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2015, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the findings of the SEA, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.