Decision 42 COM 7B.47

Island of Mozambique (Mozambique) (C599)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 7B.15, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Takes note of the findings and recommendations of the 2018 joint Reactive Monitoring mission to the property;
4. Welcomes the progress made in the completion of the Conservation and Management Plan, especially as regards the inclusive process undertaken and the application of the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape and of the Sustainable Development Goals;
5. Urges the State Party to complete this process promptly and to include within the Conservation and Management Plan provisions for Disaster risk management, Heritage Impact Assessments, as well as Conservation guidelines to steer renovation and restoration project;
6. Requests the State Party to complete with haste the proposed buffer zone modification to facilitate the submission of the buffer zone proposal as a Minor Boundary Modification to the World Heritage Centre, for evaluation by the Advisory Bodies and consideration by the World Heritage Committee, in accordance with Paragraph 164 of the Operational Guidelines;
7. Also requests the State Party to undertake emergency conservation and consolidation work to safeguard the hospital building and expedite the resumption of the renovation project;
8. Notes the provision of a legislative framework for the identification categorisation of structures on the island, and the completion of an inventory for the stone and lime town area of the property, and further requests the State Party to extend this to include the macuti area of the property;
9. Requests furthermore the State Party to:
   1. Amend the regulations guiding the Conservation Office of the Island of Mozambique (GACIM), to give this body the appropriate authority to have the final approval of proposed developments in order to safeguard the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property,
   2. Appoint suitably-qualified staff to strengthen GACIM appropriately and ensure that this organisation can fulfil its appointed tasks;
10. Requests moreover the State Party to develop strategies that:
    1. Institute a regular maintenance regime for all publicly-owned buildings on the property,
    2. Address the living conditions in the macuti town in a way that is appropriate regarding the OUV of the property,
    3. Counter traffic increase in the property,
    4. Further educate the property’s inhabitants on their role as custodians of the OUV of the property,
    5. Ensure appropriate maintenance and repair regimes for both the stone and lime town as well as for the macuti town,
    6. Provide for capacity building at the national and local levels to ensure the proper management and conservation of the property,
    7. Address the reported growing social inequality on the property;
11. Finally 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.