Decision 40 COM 7B.64

Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons) (Mali) (C/N 516)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.60, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Commends the efforts and committment of the State Party in the conservation and preservation of the property, at a time of great instability;
4. Welcomes the measures taken by the State Party to prevent illegal excavation and illicit trafficking of local cultural artefacts, particularly in the site of Bidi, and urges the State Party to take all necessary measures to enhance the protection and monitoring of vulnerable sites;
5. Also urges the State Party to continue the collaboration with the local communities to raise awareness of the value of local cultural artefacts to the property and to ensure that the different stakeholders participate in the maintenance and monitoring of this heritage;
6. Appeals to all States Parties to ratify and implement the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property to support Mali in the fight against illicit trafficking;
7. Requests the State Party to commence the process for the updating of the management and conservation plan with the active participation of all stakeholder to include measures to support sustainable livelihoods, and to identify financial support for its implementation, and to submit the draft revised plan to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
8. Also requests the State Party to invite, when circumstances allow, a joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to review the overall management of the property, and particularly ways to reinforce traditional practices and diversify sustainable development opportunities for local communities;
9. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2017, an interim report on the state of conservation and 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.