Decision 40 COM 7B.27

Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah (Saudi Arabia) (C 1361)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 8B.21, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Welcomes the significant achievements in many key areas for the effective protection, conservation and management of the property in response to the World Heritage Committee’s recommendations of 2014;
4. Encourages the State Party to set out a detailed database of the attributes relating to the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, such as the tower houses, other urban houses, the wikalas, mosques and Zawiyas (and not just the protected historic buildings) as well as the spatial patterns of urban forms and defined urban quarters;
5. Recommends that the State Party continue its efforts through the elaboration of a comprehensive conservation strategy based on legal, financial, planning and technical measures that aims to achieve a position where the downward conservation trend has been reversed; and also encourages the involvement of owners, residents and the private sector in its implementation; and to submit this document to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Also recommends that the urban and spatial dimension of the property be fully reflected in the policies, measures and tools adopted to ensure the conservation of the latter; using if necessary the approach carried by the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (2011);
7. Further recommends that the State Party incorporate a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) approach into the regulatory and management framework and to carry out specific HIAs for all projects that may impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, in accordance with the ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage properties;
8. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2017 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 42nd session in 2018.