Decision 39 COM 7A.39

Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan) (C 208 rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7A.15, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Regrets that no updated state of conservation report has been submitted by the State Party, in particular regarding recent large scale of development projects;
4. Reiterates that the World Heritage Committee shall be notified prior to any major restoration and or new construction which may affect the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse in accordance to Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines and requests the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre, as a matter of urgency and prior to undertaking the work, detailed information, including a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), on the proposed Bamiyan Culture Centre and Museum, as well as proposed visitors facilities, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
5. Urges the State Party to incorporate the Cultural Master Plan into the Urban Development Master Plan for the Bamiyan Valley to mitigate development pressure, and to enforce building codes and regulations on development in the buffer zones of the property and other areas protected under the 2004 Afghan Law on the Protection of Historical and Cultural Properties;
6. Also urges the State Party to finalize and adopt the comprehensive Management Plan within an overall strategy of managing the property as a cultural landscape;
7. Also requests the State Party to take all necessary measures to restore site security and commit cost for site guard(s) in the government’s annual budget so as to fully implement the corrective measures and maintain the OUV of the property and further urges the State Party to review, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, the timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures and submit this to the World Heritage Centre for consideration by the Committee;
8. Further requests the State Party to elaborate and implement, with the support of international donors, a capacity building programme to strengthen local and national capacity in heritage conservation and management, including developing the capacity of local communities to contribute to safeguarding the property;
9. Welcomes the recommendations of the ICOMOS technical Advisory mission to the property undertaken in 2014, and encourages the State Party to implement them to mitigate the extensive intervention work carried out on the foot of the Eastern Buddha of the property so as to ensure its future protection;
10. Takes note of the need to consider future reconstruction policies for the Buddha niches, and reiterates its request to the State Party, when considering options for the treatment of the Buddha niches, to ensure that proposals are based on feasibility studies which include:
    1. an agreed overall approach to conservation and presentation of the property,
    2. an appropriate conservation philosophy based on the OUV of the property,
    3. technical and financial feasibilities for the implementation of the project proposals;
11. Calls upon the international community to continue providing technical and financial support for the protection and management of the entire property, in order to achieve the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR);
12. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 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 40th session in 2016;
13. Decides to retain the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.