Decision 40 COM 7B.63

Ancient Maya City and Protected Tropical Forests of Calakmul, Campeche (Mexico) (C/N 1061bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 8B.16, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Welcomes the progress made by the State Party in responding to the World Heritage Committee’s recommendations;
4. Also welcomes the ongoing establishment of a Development Wide Vision Programme for the Municipality of Calakmul 2013-2040 and encourages the State Party to refer to the Policy for the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage Convention, adopted at the 20th session of the General Assembly (UNESCO, 2015), to inform the further development of this strategic document, and requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre further information about the plans and actions envisaged therein;
5. Strongly encourages the State Party to:
   1. Complete the updating and reinforcement of legal protection for the extended property as a mixed site, including through the ongoing revision of the zoning of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, in order to ensure that both the natural values and the cultural heritage and sites contained in the entire property are adequately protected,
   2. Submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, the draft proposal for the revision of the zoning of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, including maps,
   3. Finalize the revision of the General principles for collaboration between the National Institute for Anthropology and History (INAH) and the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), and the establishment of the World Heritage Technical Sub-Council within the Advisory Council of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve as a coordination instrument,
   4. Complete and approve the integrated Management Plan for the extended mixed property, which also includes a monitoring program for both cultural and natural attributes of the property, as well as risk management measures specifically addressing threats to these attributes, and submit its final draft to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Reiterates its request to the State Party to consider in the future the revision of the boundaries of the property so as to include additional identified cultural sites that relate to Calakmul and improve the configuration of the buffer zone so as it provides an effective layer of additional protection to the property;
7. 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.