Decision 41 COM 7B.87

Historic Centre of Macao (China) (C 1110)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.59, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Notes the efforts made by the State Party to further strengthen the protection of the property through the Cultural Heritage Protection Law and the Urban Planning Law, both adopted in 2014;
4. Regrets the lack of progress with the completion of the Management Plan, which was due for submission by 1 February 2015, and reiterates its requests to the State Party to complete this Management Plan as a matter of priority, and to submit it to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for review prior to its adoption;
5. Expresses concern over possible future development projects involving reclaimed land and requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre the draft Master Plan for Land Reclamation (MPLR) before it is approved, along with details of all current proposals for land reclamation, e.g. for Zone B, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Also notes that a holistic Urban Master Plan is foreseen to be launched in the next three to five years, to be followed by a detailed plan that aims to control and regulate urban development in a scientific and transparent manner, and also requests the State Party to provide details of the draft Urban Master Plan for review by the Advisory Bodies, as well as information on how it relates to the MPLR;
7. Further requests the State Party to carry out Heritage Impact Assessments for future and planned development projects, focusing on the potential impact of new construction projects on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, and to submit these to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before any irreversible decision is made;
8. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 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 43rd session in 2019.