Decision 38 COM 7B.96

Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls (Zambia, Zimbabwe) (N 509)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 36 COM 7B.7, adopted at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012),
3. Welcomes the completion of the monitoring plan, and requests the States Parties to report on the monitoring results as soon as these are available;
4. Also welcomes the voluntary measures taken by the State Party of Zambia to limit the dry-season diversion of water from the falls for hydro-electric power generation, thereby restoring part of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, and encourages the State Party of Zambia to consider further reductions in water abstraction;
5. Notes with concern the notified intention of the State Party of Botswana to abstract 495 million cubic metres of water per annum from the Zambezi River for irrigation, which represents 5-10 % of dry season water flow at the falls, and strongly urges the States Parties of Zambia and Zimbabwe, in consultation with the State Party of Botswana and the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM), to include a full evaluation of this project and its impacts on the OUV of the property in the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) that is currently in preparation;
6. Recognises the measures taken by the States Parties of Zambia and Zimbabwe to protect the OUV of the property by denying authorisation of inappropriate tourism development activities, and urges them to not permit any further proposals for a tethered balloon, cableway or other tall structure in the vicinity of the property, if they would have a negative visual impact on the property;
7. Further urges the States Parties of Zambia and Zimbabwe to expedite the completion of the sustainable financing/business plan, and to consider mechanisms for financing management operations largely from park entry fees and other site-based revenue;
8. Further requests the States Parties of Zambia and Zimbabwe to provide, to the World Heritage Centre, an electronic and three printed copies of the draft revised joint management plan as well as the SEA for review by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN;
9. Requests furthermore the States Parties of Zambia and Zimbabwe to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017.