Decision 42 COM 7B.12

Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) (C 121bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.95 adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
3. Acknowledges the strong commitment of the State Party and the work that it has undertaken for the recovery of the property, particularly its capacity-building efforts, as well as the efforts of international agencies and the six year plan for the recovery of the monuments damaged by the earthquake;
4. Also acknowledges the scale and scope of the disaster (as described in the reports of the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring missions to the property of October 2015 and March 2017), the laudable work undertaken and the continuing, serious deterioration of the property's architectural and town-planning coherence resulting from the immediate impacts of the earthquakes;
5. Recognizes that the pace of recovery and the damaging restoration work on some monuments appears to reflect the current need for improvement in management capacity across the property, to undertake the necessary documentation, research and analyses that should underpin all recovery work;
6. Requests that the recommendations of the October 2015 and March 2017 missions be systematically carried out, fully followed and implemented in a best way by the State Party;
7. Encourages the State Party to invite the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to provide technical support to assist the State Party with developing structures to coordinate and guide the recovery of the property and its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
8. Also considers that the potential and ascertained threats to the OUV of the property are so considerable that the recovery process needs to be made more effective, and that the scale and scope of the disaster and the response required goes well beyond the capacity and resources of the Department of Archaeology of Nepal (DoA), and also considers that much greater input, collaboration and coordination of support is needed from the international community;
9. Requests the State Party to fully commit to use appropriate methods and materials in recovery works;
10. Reiterates its request that the State Party integrate the Recovery Master Plan (RMP) within an overall socio-economic revitalization programme for urban communities, encourage residents and local business to engage in the recovery process and ensure that it delivers wide-ranging social and economic benefits;
11. Calls upon the international community to support the State Party’s urgent recovery work through financial, technical or expert assistance, including support for local communities in terms of their housing and social needs;
12. Suggests the State Party to invite a Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory Mission to ascertain the progress accomplished by the State Party to assist in the implementation of the six year RMP as well as to give guidance on reviewing it and recommends that this mission take place by the end of 2018;
13. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2019, 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; with a view to assuring the maintenance of the OUV of the site.