Decision 43 COM 7B.37

Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (Peru) (C/N 274)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 37 COM 7B.35, 39 COM 7B.36 and 41 COM 7B.36, adopted at its 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 39th (Bonn, 2015) and 41st (Krakow, 2017) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes the progress made by the State Party in implementing the recommendations of the 2017 Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, particularly the full functioning of the Machu Picchu Management Unit’s (UGM) Technical and Steering Committees, the future adoption of its Internal Regulations and inclusion of the District Municipality of Santa Teresa within the UGM;
4. Also welcomes the implementation of national regulatory measures to control solid waste in heritage-designated areas and the efforts by the District Municipality of Machu Picchu in strengthening solid waste management;
5. Deeply regrets that no sufficient progress has been made in addressing critical issues that may have an impact on the property’s conditions of integrity, namely, the lack of definition of its carrying capacity and the application of clear limits to visitor numbers;
6. Urges the State Party to ensure that the ongoing assessment of the 2015 Study of the Carrying Capacity focusses on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and, once completed, be respected by applying clear limits to visitor numbers along with the regulations and differentiation of visitor flows, and the promotion of alternative visitor sites outside the llaqta, and requests the State Party to finalize and submit it, by 1 December 2019, to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
7. Notes that two different Studies for Alternative Transport to the llaqta are being conducted, and supports the decision of the UGM Steering Committee to halt any new project to access the llaqta before a final Study of Alternative Access be conducted by the Ministry of Culture;
8. Also requests the State Party that the final Study for Alternative Transport, to be conducted by the Ministry of Culture, be undertaken once the overall carrying capacity and that of each element of the property, including maximum numbers of visitors, is defined, and expresses its utmost concern that new means of access to the archaeological site (llaqta) are envisaged or implemented, without the completion of these studies and benchmarks;
9. Also notes the ongoing efforts on the reviewing of existing documents and their harmonization into an integral vision for the whole property, and more particularly the assessment of the Strategic Vision for the future management of the property and the assessment of the Comprehensive Strategy for the Amazonian Access;
10. Further requests the State Party to review the Public Use Plan for the property with a detailed implementation plan and operative regulations referring not only to tourism, but also taking into account other uses and existing regulations and sanctioning measures, as well as municipal legislation, as part of a sole overarching regulatory framework of different uses within the property;
11. Further notes ongoing efforts towards a proposal for a Machu Picchu-Choquequirao Biosphere Reserve and further welcomes the development of options for ecological tourism, which diversifies visitor activities and increases the sustainable use of the property;
12. Also urges the State Party to ensure that the guidance and advice notes of World Heritage standards - IUCN World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment and the ICOMOS Guidance on Heritage Impact Assessments for Cultural World Heritage - are strictly applied for all interventions in the property, including means of access, tourism development, visitor facilities, infrastructural works and urban development, among others, and that corresponding assessments be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
13. Requests furthermore the State Party to ensure that any major infrastructure transport project, such as airports, railways, cable cars, tunels and roads, are rigorously assessed at an early stage of planning in terms of their impact on the property’s OUV, on its wider setting and on the proposed future Machu Picchu-Choquequirao Biosphere Reserve;
14. 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.