Decision 46 COM 7B.67

Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago (Viet Nam) (N 672ter)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 44 COM 7B.98, 45 COM 7B.89, 45 COM 8B.3 and 45 COM 8D adopted at its extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) and extended 45th (Riyadh, 2023) sessions respectively,
3. Also recalling the significant boundary modification of the Ha Long Bay property to include the Cat Ba Archipelago in 2023, notes that the State Party report provided limited information on the Cat Ba Archipelago area and on the overall state of conservation of the property, and requests the State Party to ensure the implementation of an integrated management approach for the property, including in its reporting on the state of conservation, and develop an effective coordination mechanism between the Quang Ninh Province and Hai Phong City to ensure integrated management of the property;
4. Welcomes the plans to expand the existing carrying capacity analysis to the entire property, also requests the State Party to complete the carrying capacity study as soon as possible in order to finalize the Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy and the Integrated Visitor Management System, and encourages the State Party to seek guidance from the World Heritage Centre and IUCN as needed;
5. Expresses concern that multiple development projects for new tourism and urban residential areas along the coastline in Ha Long City have been approved and implemented without clarification whether the potential impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property have been appropriately assessed in line with the Operational Guidelines, and further requests the State Party to:
   1. Inform the World Heritage Centre of any planned development projects within the property, its buffer zone or wider setting that may impact the OUV of the property, and ensure that their potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts on the OUV are assessed through an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), including identification of development alternatives, in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse, in accordance with Paragraphs 172 and 118bis of the Operational Guidelines,
   2. Submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN, an overview of ongoing and planned development projects in the vicinity of the property, including the eight projects mentioned in the State Party’s report of August 2023 as soon as possible,
   3. Undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to assess the cumulative impact on the OUV of the property from the tourism and industrial development projects that are located within the property, its buffer zone and in the wider setting to inform effective management planning and strategic decision making,
   4. Ensure that the various plans for the property, including a new Master Plan for 2025-2035 (Vision to 2050) and the updated Management Plan, are coordinated and provide a solid legal basis and management framework to ensure impact assessment processes are in accordance with the Operational Guidelines;
6. Notes with appreciation various measures to address waste and other forms of environmental pollution implemented by Quang Ninh Province in order to maintain the air and water quality within allowable national limits, but notes with concern that the World Heritage Centre continues to receive third-party information on water pollution;
7. Reiterates its request to the State Party to submit a detailed zoning map of the Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago property showing the land use and management regime within its inscribed area, buffer zone and wider setting, to the World Heritage Centre;
8. Requests furthermore the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to assess the overall state of conservation of the property, particularly in relation to its governance, the effectiveness of the overall management framework to protect the OUV, and the expansion of tourism and urban infrastructure development along the coastline, and to provide guidance on any outstanding boundary issues;
9. 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 both the above and the recommendations requested in Decision 45 COM 8B.3, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.