The World Heritage Committee,
1. Recalling that the Committee, since 1996, has expressed its serious concerns about the management and planning arrangements of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu,;
2. Recalling that reactive monitoring missions were undertaken in 1997, 1999 and 2002 and that the recommendations of these missions were endorsed by the Committee and transmitted to the Government of Peru for consideration and implementation,;
3. Recalling further that in May 2002, as an exceptional measure, the Chairperson of the Committee addressed letters of concern to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Education urging the Government to take the necessary measures for the implementation of the recommendations of the missions and alerting the Ministers that in the absence of these measures, the Committee would be obliged to consider the inscription of Machu Picchu on the List of World Heritage in Danger;
4. Acknowledging that progress has been made on specific issues such as the preparation and adoption of a Master Plan, the creation of a Management Unit, the management of the Inca Trail and planning for the village of Aguas Calientes,;
5. Noting however, that the information submitted by the Government of Peru does not make a convincing case that the state of conservation and the management of the property have been improved significantly as compared to the situation referred to in the mission reports of 1999 and 2002,;
6. Urges, once again, the Government of Peru to take the necessary measures for the implementation of the recommendations of the missions of 1999 and 2002 and to provide, within ten weeks of receipt of this decision, a report on these measures as well as detailed information on:
(a) the timeline for the revision of the Master Plan,
(b) the Organization and Functions Regulations of the Management Unit,
(c) the evaluation of transport options,
(d) the studies related to the carrying capacity of the Ciudadela ad Camino Inca,
(e) the development of a Public Use Plan,
(f) the implementation of urban planning and control measures for Aguas Calientes,
(g) the implementation of geological studies and the development of a study on the impacts of buses on landslides,
(h) the possibility to develop, in co-operation with UNESCO, a feasibility study to establish a permanent international institution for the protection of the property;
7. Requests that IUCN and ICOMOS evaluate reports concerning the property, including on activities undertaken with regard to Machu Picchu submitted by the State Party on 3 July 2003, report whether the outstanding universal value of the property has been maintained, assess the threats to the property and what the State Party has undertaken to mitigate those threats, and to submit this report to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2004;
8. Decides to examine the state of conservation of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu at its 28th session in 2004.