Decision 46 COM 7B.11

Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor (Montenegro) (C 125ter)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 45 COM 7B.191 adopted at its extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023),
3. Welcomes the preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) for a number of developments and the provision of information on various proposed projects, and encourages the State Party to continue to improve the HIA process and to pay particular attention to the indirect and cumulative impacts of the many projects being implemented, in the light of the strategic documents being prepared for the property and the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
4. Welcomes the commitment of the State Party to invest in the further development of knowledge, expertise and capacity-building in the field of cultural heritage and impact assessment, and invites the State Party to coordinate with the World Heritage Centre for any required support;
5. Notes the progress made by the State Party in finalising the draft Management Plan, urges it to expedite the process with a view of making it a fully operational tool for the effective management of the entire World Heritage property and its buffer zone, to submit the final draft to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies at the earliest opportunity and prior to its formal adoption, and to ensure appropriate incorporation of the recommendations of the Advisory Bodies, and reiterates its request that the Management Plan incorporate the recommendations of the 2018 mission and address the following issues, in particular:
   1. Development issues in harmony with the Spatial Urban plan for Kotor Municipality,
   2. Protection and conservation of tangible and intangible attributes that convey Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and other heritage values,
   3. Disaster risk reduction,
   4. Tourism management, including issues related to the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts that tourism could have on the property;
      
      and underlines the availability of the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to accompany the final stages of this process, including through an Advisory mission, if the State Party deems it appropriate;
6. Welcomes the State Party’s efforts to find an adequate and sustainable tourism management model for the property that is compatible with the protection of the OUV of the property, recommends that a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) be carried out to manage proactively tourism development throughout the property and invites the State Party to submit any relevant strategic document to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies prior to its finalisation and implementation;
7. Further reiterates its request to the State Party to submit the following documents at the earliest opportunity to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies:
   1. The buffer zone study to define areas in and around the property where an impact assessment should be required for potential projects,
   2. A planning document for the Lepetani area that would detail direct construction requirements and complement the Spatial Urban Plan of Tivat currently in force,
   3. The HIA comprising alternative comparative solutions for the Verige bridge, when it is completed,
   4. The detailed spatial plan under preparation for the conversion and construction of a hotel complex on the site of the former Fjord Hotel and the Jugooceanija building,
   5. Relevant documentation on any other projects proposed in the property, buffer zone or wider setting that may have a potential negative impact on the OUV, with particular attention to the indirect and cumulative impacts of the many projects being implemented, in the light of the strategic documents being prepared for the property and in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
8. Notes that according to the Technical Review of the proposed quarrying within the property and its buffer zone, it appears to be incompatible in scale and intensity with the sustainable management of the property, recommends that no new quarrying concessions be granted and that a mitigation strategy be developed to limit the potential harm to the property’s OUV and requests furthermore that the recommendations of the Technical Reviews for the other proposed projects are considered with regards to authorisations and mitigation measures;
9. Encourages the State Party to invite an Advisory mission to the property to assist in defining a strategic and sustainable approach to the multiple development requests and to avoid any risk of cumulative impacts on the property’s OUV, using all available planning tools, including the Management Plan and SEAs;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2025 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.