Decision 40 COM 7B.91

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (Viet Nam) (N 951bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 8B.6, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Regrets that the State Party did not submit a report on the state of conservation of the property, as requested by the Committee;
4. Reiterates its concern about proposals to construct a cable car to provide access to the Son Doong cave within the strictly protected zone of the property and the potential impacts this may have on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and urges again the State Party to complete Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), in line with IUCN’s Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, prior to a decision on the implementation of any tourism development projects and to ensure that development proposals are not permitted if they would negatively impact the OUV of the property;
5. Reiterates its requests to the State Party to:
   1. Revise the property’s Sustainable Tourism Development Plan to include the property extension and ensure an integrated and environmentally sensitive approach to tourism that ensures visitor use remains compatible with the OUV of the property,
   2. Submit to the World Heritage Centre updated data on the population status of key large mammal species, including tiger, Asiatic black bear, Asian elephant, giant muntjac, Asian wild dog, gaur and saola;
6. Requests the State Party to provide data on the results of its law enforcement activities to address illegal logging and poaching;
7. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 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 41st session in 2017.