Decision 45 COM 7B.27

Western Caucasus (Russian Federation) (N 900)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 32 COM 7B.25, 42 COM 7B.80, 43 COM 7B.18 and 44 COM 7B.110 adopted at its 32nd (Quebec City, 2008), 42nd (Manama, 2018), 43rd (Baku, 2019) and extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively,
3. Reiterates its deep concern that the construction of the Lagonaki Mountain Resort remains under consideration, with preparatory work underway, and the alleged planning of another ski resort within the property on Tabunnaya Mountain range, and requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with more details on both projects, indicating their exact location with respect to the inscribed property and explaining how this development is consistent with statements committing to no large-scale infrastructure development in the property;
4. Reiterates its position that the construction of large-scale infrastructure within the property, including on Lagonaki Plateau, would constitute a case for inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines, and urges the State Party to confirm that no infrastructure is planned within the property as inscribed in 1999;
5. Recalls that the entire Lagonaki plateau was included in the property on the basis of the 1999 IUCN evaluation, which considered the area to be an essential element to express the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), in particular, for its rich biodiversity, especially its high carabid species diversity, and the fact that the area includes two thirds of the site’s vascular plant species including many endemics and therefore also requests the State Party to confirm unequivocally that no economic development is possible or planned in the Lagonaki plateau;
6. Reiterates its request to the State Party not to permit any construction of large-scale infrastructure in the Sochi Federal Wildlife Refuge and Sochi National Park immediately adjacent to the property given its potential impact on the OUV of the property, and further requests the State Party to immediately halt the reported infrastructure projects until an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is carried out in conformity with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context and submitted to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN;
7. Also urges the State Party to ensure that the legal regulations applying to all components of the property, in particular the Nature Parks and Nature Monuments managed by the Republic of Adygeya, are brought into line with the protection requirements of the Operational Guidelines;
8. Expresses its utmost concern over reports of a possible new draft law which would allow the boundaries of federally protected areas to be changed to accommodate economic activities and recalls that the legal protection status is an integral part of the OUV of the property and that the removal of the legal protection from parts of the property would constitute a clear case for inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Notes the confirmation by the State Party that no further works have been undertaken on the road to Lunnaya Polyana, invites nevertheless the State Party to further clarify the status of this roadwork in response to third party information (based on satellite imagery) indicating that works are on-going, and recalls the importance of ensuring that all infrastructure facilities, even if deemed necessary for management and research purposes, have no negative impacts on the OUV and that an EIA should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre before any final decision is taken on this development, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
10. Expresses its utmost concern about the plans for the construction of a new highway and railway connecting North Caucasus to the Black Sea, including routes which would bisect the property, and further urges the State Party not to proceed with these developments, in line with the assurances provided at the time of inscription that no linear infrastructure projects such as highways or railways would be allowed within the property;
11. Reiterating its position that the construction of large-scale infrastructure within the property, including on Lagonaki plateau, would constitute a case for inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, requests furthermore the State Party to define a strategic approach to tourism development which respects this position, including through the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) reported to be underway, by identifying suitable alternative locations for tourism infrastructure development outside the boundaries of the property, as well as appropriate mitigation measures to ensure that any tourism-related development in the vicinity of the property is consistent with the conservation of the property’s OUV;
12. Reiterates the need to deploy the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission as soon as feasible in order to assist the State Party in the evaluation of the state of conservation of the property, in particular the status of the envisaged infrastructure and road development projects inside and near the property, and their cumulative impacts and whether the property meets the conditions for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines, as well as to assess other threats to the property including the scale of impacts from invasive alien species and the status and adequacy of the legal protection of the property;
13. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 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 46th session, considering that the urgent conservation needs of this property require a broad mobilization to preserve its OUV, including the possible inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.