Decision 43 COM 7B.87

Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor (Montenegro) (C 125ter)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.26, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Welcomes the ongoing efforts of the State Party in many areas, including drafting the Spatial Plan for Kotor Municipality, preparing new Amendments of the Law on Protection of Natural and Culturo-historic Region of Kotor, initiating the revision of the Management Plan, and upgrading the Heritage Impact Assessment for Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor for Harmonizing Policy/Planning Framework and Instruments, and requests that the State Party submit revised versions of these documents to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
4. Also welcomes the decisions to abandon projects for the St John’s Fortress cable car and the Glavati-Prčanj tourist facility in order to protect the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and encourages the State Party to continue improving the impact assessment process so that it supports good decision-making with regard to change within and around the property;
5. Notes the State Party’s interest in allowing an accommodation complex to be built at Morinj, but urges the preparation of a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) before any irreversible decisions are made, and also requests the State Party to submit as soon as possible the HIAs both for Morinj and for the Verige bridge to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Further requests that the Management Plan, which is also being revised, should incorporate the recommendations of the 2018 Reactive Monitoring mission, so that it becomes a fully operational instrument for the efficient management of the entire World Heritage property and its buffer zone, with binding policies and provisions endorsed at national and local government level within the changing legal framework, which, in addition to tackling development issues in harmony with the Kotor Spatial Plan, should also address the conservation of the tangible and intangible attributes that convey the OUV and other values, as well as disaster risk reduction and tourism management;
7. Also urges the State Party to fully implement all the recommendations of the 2018 mission, including the immediate and permanent suspension of the administrative rule entitled “Silence of Administration” in the case of issuance of any kind of construction permits or project developments within the World Heritage property and its buffer zone;
8. Finally 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.