Decision 42 COM 7B.68

Keoladeo National Park (India) (N 340)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 7B.87, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Reiterates its utmost concern that new data shows that, in 4 out of 7 recent years, water provision to the property has remained well below the 550 million cubic feet recommended by the 2008 mission as a minimum to sustain its wetland values, and strongly urges the State Party to identify and implement solutions to sustain adequate and reliable long-term water supply to the property and its satellite sites;
4. Welcomes the continued efforts to combat invasive species within the property but reiterates its request to develop an adaptive invasive species control and eradication strategy for the property and to integrate this strategy into the revised Management Plan;
5. Also welcomes the further progress accomplished towards the establishment and issuance of a final notification declaring a 500-metre strip of Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the property, and also reiterates its request to the State Party to ensure full stakeholder consultation prior to finalizing the notification, and during the subsequent development of the Zonal Master Plan;
6. Further welcomes the survey data provided on bird species in the property and its satellite wetlands, and requests the State Party to engage in systematic monitoring of bird populations in the property based on a clearly identified long-term approach and methodology, which should be clearly documented in the pending revised Management Plan;
7. Also encourages the State Party to use the on-going revision of the Management Plan to assess the effectiveness of current management responses to the well-known challenges the property is facing as a basis for enhanced responses, and to obtain advice from the World Heritage Centre and IUCN as required, and further reiterates its request to the State Party to submit an electronic copy of the draft revised Management Plan to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN;
8. Also requests the State Party to invite an IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to assess its state of conservation and progress made in addressing issues of water provision and invasive species;
9. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, a written clarification of the current situation regarding the reported disposal of cattle carcasses near the property, including possible impacts on the property’s OUV;
10. Requests furthermore 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.