Decision 44 COM 7B.141

Historic Centre of Macao (China) (C 1110)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 7B.57, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
3. Welcomes the education and awareness-raising initiatives pursued by the State Party regarding the history of the property and its encouragement of the conservation and celebration of the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and other heritage values;
4. Takes note of further progress made towards the finalisation of the comprehensive Protection and Management Plan for the property and the development of the Master Plan of the Macao Special Administrative Region (2020-2040), which will assist with the integration of cultural heritage protection into urban planning and development, and reiterates its request to the State Party to submit the Management Plan to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies as soon as possible and prior to its adoption and implementation;
5. Reiterates its concern that potential new developments may impact adversely on the OUV of the property, and therefore also welcomes the advice from the State Party about the ongoing role of Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) in conserving the OUV of the property, and encourages the State Party to ensure that potential impacts of new developments, including visual impacts, continue to be evaluated through the preparation of HIAs that comply with the 2011 ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage Properties;
6. Also notes that the unfinished high-rise building at 18-20 Calçada de Gaio will be completed to its existing height, but requests that the design of the upper floors of this building be revised to be more transparent and less bulky to lessen their visual impact, and also requests the State Party to undertake a detailed urban design and conservation planning study for the length of the Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, taking into account existing site conditions, legal and planning constraints, HIA requirements, and to consider a potential reduction of the current maximum height limit and a moratorium on the approval of new constructions until the outcomes of this study have been formally adopted;
7. Also reiterates its request to the State Party to liaise with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies regarding the aforementioned Master Plan and major projects in the New Urban Zones, such as the underground/undersea transit line, and to follow the recommendations of the Management Plan to ensure that any development project supports rather than endangers the property and its OUV;
8. Further 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.