Decision 40 COM 8B.10

Examination of nominations of natural properties to the World Heritage List

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Documents WHC/16/40.COM/8B and WHC/16/40.COM/INF.8B2,
2. Defers the examination of the nomination of the Mountains Ecosystems of Koytendag, Turkmenistan, to allow the State Party to prepare a revised nomination;
3. Encourages the State Party to work, with the support of IUCN if requested, to review other candidate natural World Heritage properties in Turkmenistan, in particular those identified in past global and regional analyses, so as to bring forward a nomination with the best possible chance of success;
4. Recommends the State Party to:
   1. monitor grazing pressures in the designated wildlife sanctuaries to regulate stock numbers and reduce pressure on native vegetation and natural systems,
   2. more effectively plan for increasing tourism demand including the development of appropriately scaled and low impact tourism related infrastructure and ensure that proposals to establish cable car access are subject to careful consideration and rigorous environmental impact assessment,
   3. ensure that no mining prospecting licenses and/or operations will be permitted within protected areas comprising the Mountain Ecosystems of Koytendag, and its buffer zone, and that any mining activity that might impact this site is subject to rigorous Environmental and Social Impact Assessment;
5. Encourages the States Parties of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to enhance collaboration in order to improve coordination between Koytendag State Nature Reserve (Turkmenistan) and the adjoining Surkhan Strict Nature Reserve (Uzbekistan), in particular to support improved transboundary management of wildlife populations, such as Markhor, which depend on ecological continuity between these two protected areas.