Decision 43 COM 7B.24

Area de Conservación Guanacaste (Costa Rica) (N 928bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.12, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
3. Notes with satisfaction that the proposal for the Interoceanic Dry Canal project, which would have been incompatible with World Heritage status, was not approved;
4. Requests the State Party to ensure that the property in its entirety remains off-limits to industrial development infrastructure as provided for under the national legislation, including renewable energy projects and any associated infrastructure, and to bring any legislative changes that could facilitate such development or proposed projects to the attention of the Committee, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
5. Regrets that the State Party did not provide detailed information concerning the implementation of the recommendations of the 2018 Reactive Monitoring mission and also requests it to fully implement all the mission recommendations;
6. Further requests the State Party to conduct Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for any proposed infrastructure projects including renewable energy projects, and associated infrastructure, in the wider Conservation Area or “protected block” with a specific assessment of impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment;
7. Requests furthermore the State Party to develop a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) before the development of any further renewable energy projects in order to identify the best means to harmonize renewable energy initiatives and biodiversity conservation objectives, considering the multiple existing and proposed projects and development pressures near the property;
8. Requests moreover the State Party to consider all options to reduce the impacts of the Inter-American Highway, including the improvement of National Road 4 as an alternative route, and to inform the Committee of any plans for the possible future enhancement or expansion of the sections of the highway within and bordering the property, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Encourages the State Party to consider the development and submission of a Minor Boundary Modification for approval by the Committee in order to harmonize the boundary of the property with the management unit of the larger “protected block” bearing the same name, also considering the newly designated Bahía Santa Elena Marine Management Area;
10. Also encourages the State Party to further invest in land use planning at the level of the wider Conservation Area and marine spatial planning to consolidate the integration of conservation considerations into the wider landscape and seascape to ensure effective buffering of impacts on the World Heritage property;
11. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 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 45th session in 2021.