Decision 39 COM 7B.44

Fossil hominids sites of South Africa (South Africa) (C 915bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision COM 7B.44 adopted as its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Commends the State Party on activities so far undertaken to improve water management on the property, and encourages it to continue with the implementation of all relevant measures and projects;
4. Also commends the State Party for the measures so far undertaken to implement systems and programmes to mitigate the impacts of acid mining drainage on the property, and also encourages the State Party to sustain these efforts;
5. Requests the State Party to:
   1. provide additional information on the management framework for the property including identifying each agency’s roles and responsibilities for the water management of the property and the reporting structure,
   2. provide further clarification on the design specifications for the second phase of the western basin works;
   3. undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), on the second phase of works on the Western Basin mine water treatment plant for submission to the World Heritage Centre and review by the Advisory Bodies,
   4. provide additional information on the water management monitoring programme, specifically on the definition of water quality targets and associated monitoring time frames and the dissemination of information,
   5. develop a programme to mitigate the risks from the impact of acid mine drainage and municipal wastewater effluent for the south-western portion of the property still at risk from these factors;
6. Also requests the State Party to consider external factors, such as climate change and leakage from drinking water supplies, in its ongoing water management for the property;
7. Further requests the State Party 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.