Decision 38 COM 7B.76

Lake Baikal (Russian Federation) (N 754)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.22, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Welcomes the information provided by the State Party that the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM) has been shut down, although it continues to produce heat, and requests the State Party to develop a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the future use of the BPPM site and its impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
4. Notes with concern that the State Party of Mongolia continues to consider the development of dams on the Selenga and Orkhon rivers, and also requests the State Party of Mongolia to ensure that no dam development on either river proceeds before the potential impacts, including cumulative impacts, of these projects on OUV have been duly assessed, in conformity with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, and to provide a copy of the environmental impact assessments of these projects to the World Heritage Centre in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines ;
5. Further requests the State Party of Mongolia to invite an IUCN reactive monitoring mission, with an invitation also extended to the authorities of the Russian Federation, in order to review the scope, scale and status of the dam projects in Mongolia and to have a discussion early in the planning process about the potential impacts of these projects on the property;
6. Reiterates its position that mining is incompatible with World Heritage status, and requests furthermore the State Party of the Russian Federation to ensure that mining at the Kholodninskoye deposit remains prohibited beyond 31 December 2014;
7. Expresses its concern over the continued development of the “Baikal Harbour” and “Gate of Baikal” Special Economic Zones and the lack of assessment of the impacts of these developments on the OUV of the property, and requests moreover the State Party to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs), in particular concerning tourism development within the property and its vicinity, in order to identify alternatives that will not have a negative impact on the OUV of the property;
8. Also expresses its concern over reported proposals to introduce changes to Federal Law N 94-FZ which would weaken the protection of the property, and requests in addition the State Party to provide further information on these proposed changes;
9. Urges the State Party to expedite the development of management plans for the protected areas which constitute the property as well as an integrated management plan for the property as a whole, in line with Paragraph 112 of the Operational Guidelines;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property, including on the implementation of the actions noted above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.