Decision 44 COM 7B.180

Greater Blue Mountains Area (Australia) (N 917)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 7B.2, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
3. Expresses its utmost concern about the unprecedented fires that affected large parts of the property and significantly impacted some areas and habitats, and commends the State Party for its immediate fire-fighting responses, including those targeting specific attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, such as the Wollemi pine stands;
4. Welcomes the information provided by the State Party regarding the immediate management responses to the 2019-2020 bushfires, including the assessment of direct and indirect impacts, plans for longer-term actions and the consideration of funding commitments to ensure long-term recovery, and requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, an update on the process of assessing the impacts of fires on the OUV of the property and its recovery prospects, as soon as this significant information has been collated;
5. Takes note of the information provided by the State Party regarding the ongoing preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall, reiterates its request to the State Party to ensure, in line with its commitments, that the current process to prepare the EIS fully assesses all potential impacts on the OUV of the property and its other values, including Aboriginal cultural heritage, and also requests the State Party to thoroughly assess whether raising the wall could exacerbate bushfire impacts on the property and affect the medium- and longer-term recovery prospects of key species and habitats within the predicted temporary inundation areas, and to submit the EIS to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, prior to its final approval;
6. Notes the initiation of an assessment of the cumulative impacts of existing and planned mining projects in the vicinity of the property, including a specific assessment of all stressors that present a risk to the property’s OUV, and the confirmation regarding the development of the airspace and flight path design for the Western Sydney Airport and its subsequent environmental assessment, and further requests the State Party to submit the results of these processes to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, as soon as they become available;
7. Also welcomes the continued development of a revised Strategic Plan for the property and the confirmation that this plan will undergo consultation with the Aboriginal communities and be subject to the necessary environmental assessment, and also reiterates its request to the State Party to ensure that potential threats to the property from activities outside its boundaries, in particular mining activities, are fully considered in the development of this management framework;
8. Encourages the State Party to consult IUCN for advice on the development of the EIS planning documents prior to their finalisation, as well as on the development of longer-term bushfire recovery plans for the property’s OUV;
9. Also recalling Decision 41 COM 7, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017), which reiterated the importance of States Parties undertaking the most ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), notes with concern that climate change is recognized as an increasing threat to the property, and further welcomes the efforts of the State Party to develop an understanding of projected changes resulting from climate change in relation to the property’s OUV and to strengthen climate and disaster resilience;
10. Appreciates the efforts made through the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements to look at lessons learned, develop recommendations on how to strengthen emergency management as well as climate and natural disaster risk reduction, and to implement reforms based on experience, and also encourages the State Party to share the lessons learned with other States Parties to the Convention facing similar threats, promoting knowledge exchange on fire management strategies at natural World Heritage properties;
11. Requests furthermore 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.