Decision 41 COM 7B.7

Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve (Russian Federation) (N 1023rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 7B.98, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Welcomes the invitation by the State Party for a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property and takes note of the fact that due to climatic conditions, this mission will only be able to visit the property in July 2017 and therefore its recommendations will only be available for consideration by the Committee at its 42nd session in 2018;
4. Also welcomes the ongoing progress with the removal of metal waste accumulated during the times when limited economic activities were undertaken within the property;
5. Notes with utmost concern that the construction of facilities has continued within the property and that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been submitted by the State Party for these projects;
6. Urges the State Party to halt the construction of facilities and any associated activities until their impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property have been assessed through rigorous EIAs, in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, and reiterates its request to the State Party to submit these EIAs to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN;
7. Regrets that the State Party did not provide detailed information regarding the seismic oil exploration projects in the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchi Sea, nor any EIAs of these projects, and requests the State Party to submit this information to the World Heritage Centre as a matter of priority;
8. Considers that the ongoing construction of facilities and the associated increase in human presence on Wrangel Island continue to pose a potential danger to the OUV of the property, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2018, 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, with a view to considering, in the case of the confirmation of potential or ascertained danger to its OUV, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.