Decision 44 COM 7B.104

Durmitor National Park (Montenegro) (N 100bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 7B.19, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
3. Welcomes that the State Party has started implementing the recommendations of the 2018 mission, including reorienting the property’s management to favour sustainable tourism and reconsidering the proposed boundary modification in line with the recommendations of the 2005 and 2018 missions, as well as the process of establishing a buffer zone for the property;
4. Requests the State Party to further consult with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN before enacting any revision of the boundaries of the National Park under national law as well as on the proposed buffer zone for the property;
5. Also recalling that an expansion of ski infrastructure developments inside the property would constitute an ascertained danger to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines, also welcomes the State Party’s decision to suspend all plans for a potential expansion of ski zones inside the property until the 2019 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Advisory mission provides recommendations on possible next steps;
6. Takes note of the conclusions of the 2019 Advisory mission that the proposed expansion of the Savin Kuk ski area inside the property would represent a serious conservation issue resulting in likely direct impacts on natural habitats and visual impacts on the property, also requests the State Party to implement all mission recommendations, jointly with the recommendations of the 2018 mission, in particular not to expand the Savin Kuk ski zone in terms of scope and capacity, prohibiting new ski runs and lifts and ensuring that any modernisation of existing ski lifts remains within exactly the same limited area closely following the existing routes;
7. Notes with utmost concern, however, that the proposed amendments to the Spatial Plan for Durmitor National Park still foresee the possibility of expanding ski areas and infrastructures inside the property and that further tourism infrastructure developments within the property are continuing to be considered, and therefore, reiterates its request not to pursue with the construction of tourism infrastructure inside the property as this might have a negative impact on its OUV, and to develop a sustainable tourism management strategy for the property in line with the recommendations of the 2018 and 2019 missions;
8. Appreciates that the State Party continuously monitors downstream impacts of the construction of the Bar-Boljare motorway, but notes with concern the negative impacts on the Tara river, and requests furthermore the State Party to confirm the status of key species contributing to OUV, including the status of the Danube Salmon, and any other downstream impacts precipitating inside the property;
9. Further recalling its Decision 29 COM 7B.21 and the conclusion of the 2005 Reactive Monitoring mission that the hydroelectric power plant project “Buk Bijela” would constitute a potential threat to the property, expresses its concern about the revival of the project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, though at a significantly smaller scale, and potential negative impacts on attributes of OUV of the property, such as the rich fish fauna of Tara River, including the endangered Danube Salmon, and therefore, requests moreover the State Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina to assess jointly with the State Party of Montenegro any potential impacts on the OUV of the property and to submit an updated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), in line with IUCN’s Advice Note on Environmental Assessment to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2022, 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 46th session.