Decision 43 COM 7B.19

Durmitor National Park (Montenegro) (N 100bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 7B.19, adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008),
3. Notes the conclusions of the November 2018 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Advisory mission, which reviewed a potential boundary modification and the state of conservation of the property, and encourages the State Party to implement all mission recommendations, particularly to:
   1. Re-consider the boundary modification proposal for the property so as not to propose any further exclusions from the property and to implement recommendations of the 2005 mission to compensate for areas excluded at that time,
   2. Launch a process to designate a buffer zone for the property with the primary objective to protect it from anthropogenic pressures, taking into account ecological and visual considerations;
4. Notes with utmost concern that the area of the property excluded from Durmitor National Park in 2013 is no longer subject to a national park-level protection regime, and therefore urges the State Party to reinstate the boundaries of the National Park to their configuration prior to the 2013 exclusion to ensure the entire property is effectively protected, to not proceed with any further development plans in this zone, and to continue preventing such developments in future;
5. Also notes with utmost concern the 2018 mission findings that plans are being considered for a significant expansion of the existing small-scale ski centre within the property, which pre-dates its inscription, and that the construction of a water pipeline from the karst lake Modro Jezero to a newly built water reservoir in the Savin Kuk ski zone has already commenced;
6. Considers that an expansion of ski infrastructure developments inside the property would constitute an ascertained danger to the OUV of the property, in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines, and therefore also urges the State Party to unequivocally abandon any such plans and developments, and to ensure that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the constructed water pipeline is undertaken, including impacts on the karst flow regime, in line with the IUCN Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, prior to any operation of the pipeline;
7. Acknowledges that the State Party kept the World Heritage Centre informed about the upgrade of an existing transmission line which crosses part of the property, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, and requests the State Party to apply strict environmental safeguard standards during construction and maintenance works;
8. Noting the severe impacts on the Tara riverbed from the construction of a new motorway crossing located upstream of the property, expresses its concern about potential downstream impacts, and thus also requests the State Party to carefully assess any impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, including on the endangered Danube salmon, and to submit the findings to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN;
9. Also noting the pressures from increasing visitor numbers and tourism development in the property, commends the State Party for initiating the process of revoking the Plan of Temporary Structures around Black Lake, and also encourages the State Party to consult with the Sustainable Tourism Programme of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to develop a sustainable tourism management strategy for the property;
10. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, 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.