Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information.

Administration
Budget
Capacity Building
Communication
Community
Conservation
Credibility of the World Heritage ...
Inscriptions on the World Heritage ...
International Assistance
List of World Heritage in Danger
Operational Guidelines
Outstanding Universal Value
Partnerships
Periodic Reporting
Reinforced Monitoring
Reports
Tentative Lists
Working methods and tools
World Heritage Convention








Decision 42 COM 7B.72
Pirin National Park (Bulgaria) (N 225bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B.Add,
  2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 7B.93, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
  3. Notes that the new Management Plan for the property could not yet be finalized due to Court proceedings regarding the procedures for the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA);
  4. Noting the amendments to the current Management Plan for Pirin National Park adopted in December 2017 which now do not prohibit the construction of water catchment facilities within the property, requests the State Party to provide more detailed information on their potential extent, impacts and their relation to potential developments in the property’s buffer zone;
  5. Notes the amendments to the current Management Plan which now do not prohibit for replacement and increase in capacity of skiing infrastructure in the buffer zone of the property and requests the State Party to ensure that such developments will not impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
  6. Reiterates that any future developments within the buffer zone of the property need to be guided through strategic planning, and also requests the State Party to:
    1. Implement the Supreme Administrative Court’s Final Decision regarding the SEA procedure for the new Management Plan of the property when it becomes available,
    2. Ensure that an SEA will be undertaken for the spatial planning based on the December 2017 amendments to the current Management Plan as a matter of priority; this SEA will include a specific assessment of potential impacts on the OUV of the property, including from potential development in areas located within the property and its buffer zone, and submit a copy of the results from the SEA to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, once they become available,
    3. Refrain from introducing any new amendments, until the procedure for SEA of the draft new Management Plan has been completed,
    4. Once the results of the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, concerning the SEA for the new Management Plan become available, ensure that the new Management Plan comprehensively addresses all potential threats to the OUV of the property and clearly outlines how the management objectives, zoning and land use within Pirin National Park will contribute to enhancing the OUV of the property and preventing any degradation of its integrity, and to take into account the relevant recommendations of the IUCN 2018 Advisory mission in the above process;
  7. Strongly encourages the State Party to develop a clear and comprehensive long-term vision for socio-economic development in the buffer zone of the property and the broader region, which would be in line with the goal of long-term protection of the property’s OUV, ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are appropriately involved in the process, facilitated by external mediation, if necessary;
  8. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2019, a progress report with an update on the Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling and 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.
Decision Code
42 COM 7B.72
Themes
Conservation
States Parties 1
Properties 1
Year
2018
State of conservation reports
2018 Pirin National Park
Documents
WHC/18/42.COM/18
Decisions adopted during the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee (Manama, 2018)
Context of Decision
WHC-18/42.COM/7B.Add
top