Decision 44 COM 7B.95

Western Tien-Shan (Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan) (N 1490)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.69, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Welcomes the submission of a joint report on the state of conservation of the property by the three States Parties and their efforts to strengthen transboundary management of the property, including through the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the management and protection of the property, and reiterates its request to the three States Parties to complete the establishment of the joint steering committee to ensure the implementation of the MoU;
4. Takes note of the information provided on the changes in the protection regime and the management system of the components of the property in Uzbekistan, but considers that the information provided does not sufficiently clarify whether the new protection status and management system would guarantee the effective conservation of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
5. Notes with utmost concern the excision of a substantial part of Sayram-Ugam National Nature Park in Kazakhstan from the property and its subsequent inclusion in the buffer zone, as these significant changes introduced to the zoning and protection regime of this protected area could affect the property’s OUV, including its conditions of integrity;
6. Requests the States Parties to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to assess the changes in the management regime of the above-mentioned components of the property in the Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve in Uzbekistan and the Sayram-Ugam National Nature Park in Kazakhstan, to evaluate whether these changes represent a potential danger to the property’s OUV and integrity and to verify whether any new threats to the components in Kyrgyzstan have emerged since inscription, and encourages the States Parties to discuss the progress regarding the finalization of the Statement of OUV for the property;
7. Also reiterates its request to the States Parties to review and rationalize the boundaries of the components of the property and their buffer zones to ensure that they fully correspond to criterion (x), follow ecological principles and address connectivity, exclude areas originally included for their paleontological values while also considering the potential to meet criterion (ix), and to develop, as a matter of priority, a joint proposal for a significant boundary modification, in accordance with Paragraph 165 of the Operational Guidelines, and also encourages the States Parties to seek further advice from IUCN on the proposal before submitting it to the World Heritage Centre;
8. Also requests the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2022, an updated joint report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 46th session.