Decision 45 COM 7B.100

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

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 37 COM 7B.35, 39 COM 7B.36, 41 COM 7B.36, 43 COM 7B.37 and 44 COM 7B.172 adopted at its 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 39th (Bonn, 2015), 41st (Krakow, 2017), 43rd (Baku, 2019) and its extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes the advances in protection of the original surfaces, the initiation of the Video Surveillance System Project alongside improvements to visitation management and increased management capacity;
4. Notes the advances in the process of updating the Master Plan, the elaboration of Regulations for Sustainable Tourism Visits to the Llaqta of Machu Picchu, as well as the advance of the elaboration of the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) of the Chinchero International Airport – Cusco, and reiterates its request to the State Party to ensure their development is effectively harmonized with existing strategies, visions, operational plans, regulations and sanction measures, and to ensure their effective implementation to protect and manage the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property; all of the above-mentioned documents should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre once they are complete;
5. Requests the State Party to clarify the status of the Public Use Plan, supposed to have been finalized in 2022, including information on how this relates to the various documents and regulations mentioned above;
6. Also requests the State Party to confirm that the current number of visitors to the Llaqta has been decreased, in accordance with the study on carrying capacity, following the end of a temporary increase in admission capacity on 31 December 2022;
7. Considers that the admission capacity of the property should be directly related to the availability of sufficient human and material resources necessary to manage and control the flow of tourists, the adequate preparation and maintenance of the property, as well as the monitoring and mitigating actions in relation to natural erosion and geological stability at the Llaqta and at the access routes and urges the State Party to ensure that inter-institutional commitments within the Machu Picchu Management Unit (UGM) to comply with these conditions are upheld, and to address the pending issues in visitation management of the property;
8. Takes note that the information in the Annex 2.2 of the State Party report (Final Diagnóstico SHM-PANM), which mentions an increase in incidences of site invasion, looting and illegal changes of land use at the property, particularly along the entrance routes, and further requests the State party to the elaborate a report on this issue, including information on mitigating actions taken or planned, to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre;
9. Also reiterates its request to the State Party to ensure that any major infrastructure transport project, such as airports, railways, cable cars, tunnels and roads, are rigorously assessed, in line with Paragraph 118bis of the Operational Guidelines, and with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and encourages the State Party to develop land use plans for the areas surrounding the property prior to the expected increase of tourism pressure caused by the construction of the Chinchero International Airport;
10. Further reiterates its request to undertake the Studies on Alternative Transportation to the Llaqta based on the established carrying capacity and OUV of the property, prior to any decisions regarding new transportation projects;
11. Also welcomes the information on the new Visitor Centre and encourages the State Party to finalise the HIA, through a consultative process involving relevant rights holders and stakeholders such as the local communities, and in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
12. Also notes that no further progress towards a proposal for a Machu Picchu-Choquequirao Biosphere Reserve was reported and further encourages the State Party to continue this process;
13. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, 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 47th session.