Decision 43 COM 7B.89

Kizhi Pogost (Russian Federation) (C 544)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.28, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Acknowledges the considerable and continued progress made on the restoration of the Church of the Transfiguration, as well as on the development of appropriate monitoring programmes to assess and adjust the already-reconstructed portions of the Church of the Transfiguration;
4. Also acknowledges the State Party’s continued commitment to the improvement of the state of conservation of the property as well as the development of management tools according to specified timelines;
5. Requests the State Party to continue its successful efforts to ensure the continued conservation, integrity and authenticity of the property, through:
   1. Investigating different approaches to the restoration and conservation of the Church of the Intercession, which will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before the project is implemented in 2019,
   2. Continuing the development and application of restoration, reconstruction and maintenance methodologies that prioritize traditional skills and techniques,
   3. Carefully developing tourism in the property and its buffer zone in symbiosis with the attributes and Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and carefully and continually monitoring the impact of tourism thereon,
   4. Finalizing the Sustainable Development Plan for the buffer zone and its wider territory to create sustainable conditions for the long-term appropriate settlement of the buffer zone in harmony with and in support of the attributes and OUV of the property, to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies in 2021,
   5. Developing a Master Plan for the property that prioritises the maintenance of the OUV of the property and its setting, to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies in 2020;
6. Encourages the State Party to invite an ICOMOS Advisory mission to the property, to be financed by the State Party, at an opportune and appropriate time during the first phases of the conservation of the Church of the Intercession, in order to assist the State Party in assessing the appropriateness of the techniques and technologies applied in the conservation process of this important building, and advise on recommended alternatives, if any;
7. Also requests the State Party to prioritise improvements to the living conditions of the custodians of the property, the staff of the Kizhi Pogost Museum;
8. Further 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.