Decision 42 COM 7B.21

Historic Centre of Prague (Czechia) (C 616bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 36 COM 7B.73, adopted at its 36th session (Saint- Petersburg, 2012),
3. Notes the information provided and progress made by the State Party in restoration works, on the North-South Trunk Road project modifications, as well as revision of the draft Management Plan following ICOMOS recommendations;
4. Urges the State Party to finalize the Management Plan of the property, including details of the protective measures and reference to decision making framework in regulatory regimes as well as to implement all relevant measures and plans, defining appropriate degrees of intervention for each element of the property, its buffer zone and its wider setting, to prevent any threats to its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
5. Encourages the State Party to approve all relevant legal documents and amendments, such as an “Amendment of State Heritage Care Act”, to reinforce heritage protection and management, and invites the State Party to strengthen the authority of the national institution in charge of the implementation of the World Heritage Convention to enable it to focus major decisions on the retention of the OUV of the property;
6. Expresses its great concern about the number of large-scale development projects proposed within buffer zone of the property and its wider setting, as well as the lack of specific regulations on high-rise developments, which may substantially impact on the OUV of the property;
7. Requests the State Party to prevent further misinterpretation of its previous decisions (particularly Decision 32 COM 7B.86) on height limits and the extent of the area previously named as ‘Pankrác Plain’; and also invites the State Party to introduce a moratorium on major projects within the property, its buffer zone and its wider setting, which may substantially impact on the OUV of the property, until appropriate regulations are developed and implemented, including the high-rise limitations plan, with specific regulations to prevent exacerbating the damage already caused by the cluster of high-rise buildings;
8. Reminds the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, details and Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) of any proposed project which may affect the OUV of the property, together with a cumulative HIA of the projects within the property, its buffer zone and its wider setting focusing on their potential impact on the OUV of the property, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
9. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to assess its state of conservation, review all ongoing studies and proposals and assist with the identification of options regarding possible developments that are consistent with the OUV of the property, as well as to review whether the property is faced with threats, which could have deleterious effects on its inherent characteristics, such that the property meets the criteria for its inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in line with Paragraph 179 of the Operational Guidelines;
10. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 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 44th session in 2020.