Decision 41 COM 7B.91

Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy (Indonesia) (C 1194rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.14 and 39 COM 7B.66, adopted at its 38th (Doha, 2014) and 39th (Bonn, 2015) sessions respectively,
3. Commends the State Party for the progress made in implementing the Committee’s previous decisions and the recommendations of the 2015 Advisory mission, which align with the commitments made at the time of inscription to ensure effective management as a means of protecting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
4. Welcomes the establishment of the Coordination Forum for the management of the Cultural Landscape of Bali Province, the preparation of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy and other measures to reduce the threat posed by land conversion pressures;
5. Also welcomes the initiation of programmes which provide income and financial incentives for local farmers, including land and building tax relief, grants and other assistance and concessions, but requests the State Party to make these initiatives available to all of the Subaks within the property;
6. Also requests the State Party to closely monitor the Coordination Forum, including participation rates by local farmers and province and regency governments, any emerging issues, and the timeliness and effectiveness of responses and outcomes;
7. Takes note of the continued need for a catchment management approach to water quality, forest management and natural resources, as part of strategic planning to safeguard the water catchment, and further requests the State Party:
   1. To take all necessary steps to ensure that the property is designated as a National Strategic Area, with special provisions that can deliver natural resource management within the protected zones and buffer zones of water catchments and cultural properties, and
   2. To finalize the proposed presidential decree;
8. Requests furthermore the State Party to ensure that Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and/or Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) are carried out for new developments in the property and its setting, particularly at Jatiluwih, in conformity with the IUCN World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessments and/or the ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for cultural World Heritage properties, with a specific section focusing on the potential impact of the projects on the OUV of the property, and to ensure that the EIA/HIA documentation is provided to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. 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.