Decision 40 COM 7B.54

Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor (Montenegro) (C 125ter)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.29, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Welcomes the progress made by the State Party in strengthening the legal, planning and management framework of the property;
4. Strongly requests the State Party to proceed with promptly finalizing the appointment and enforcement of the Management Council with a clear mandate to ensure effective coordination in management;
5. Also strongly requests the State Party to finalize the actions undertaken to respond to the World Heritage Committee’s recommendations, in particular to:
   1. Review and harmonize all planning instruments through a comprehensive Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), based on the ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage Properties, so as to establish a clear planning / policy framework that is consistent with the need for protecting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and its attributes and promoting sustainable, equitable and compatible forms of development,
   2. Finalize the Study of protection of cultural properties for the Special Purpose Spatial Plan for the Coastal Area (SPSPCA), as a basis for defining land-use zoning and its related system of measures and detailed provisions, which should be founded on the OUV of the property and the characteristics of its landscape, and incorporate them into all other plans,
   3. Finalize the HIAs for the Verige Bridge and for any alternative options to it as a basis for developing the Regional Transport Strategy,
   4. Conclude and adopt the Spatial Urban Plan for the Municipality of Kotor, in coherence with the objectives, zoning and provisions that will be elaborated for the SPSPCA;
6. Requests the State Party to undertake an independent HIA, in line with the ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage Properties, for the tourist facility at Glavati - Prčanj for which a Local Study of Location has been adopted, as well as for all planned, approved and begun development projects, in order to assess their impacts on the OUV of the property and its attributes;
7. Reiterates its request to the State Party to submit the results of the above HIAs to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, prior to undertaking any further commitment;
8. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018.