Decision 41 COM 7B.76

Ancient Thebes and its Necropolis (Egypt) (C 87)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 37 COM 7B.48 and 39 COM 7B.49, adopted at its 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013) and 39th (Bonn, 2015) sessions respectively,
3. Notes the physical conservation works, including cleaning of inscriptions, masonry repair and stabilization, which has occurred at the Karnak, Luxor and Madamud temples, and the works undertaken and proposed for the Avenue of the Sphinx;
4. Also notes the conclusions and recommendations of the World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission undertaken in April 2017 and urges the State Party to implement the mission report recommendations;
5. Regrets that the State Party has not fully complied with the requests expressed by the Committee in Decisions 37 COM 7B.48 and 39 COM 7B.49, and considers that the continuing absence of the Management Plan, the lack of adequate human and technical resources and the growing number of development projects at the property are exerting a growing impact on its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
6. Expresses concern with regard to the over-emphasis on tourism in the overall management of the property, and the resulting destruction or neglect of attributes that do not belong to the period of Pharaonic Egypt;
7. Also urges the State Party to revise the 2030 Masterplan for the property to integrate the conservation of the OUV across all projects within the property;
8. Further urges the State Party to expedite the preparation of the previously-requested Management Plan, incorporating a conservation plan which establishes priorities, needs and harmonized approaches, and a tourism control strategy and comprehensive tourism management plan;
9. Requests the State Party to invite representatives from the UNESCO Office in Cairo to visit the property at the earliest opportunity in order to inspect the Tomb of Seti, the Shrine of Hatshepsut, the closed tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens and the Gourna site of the Noble tombs;
10. Also requests the State Party to submit a revised Statement of OUV, which incorporates newly-discovered archaeological remains within the property and its buffer zone;
11. Encourages the UNESCO Office in Cairo to conduct capacity-building workshops, which may improve the management of the property;
12. Reiterates its previous requests to the State Party to provide, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, detailed information on the planning and design of proposed and on-going projects, in particular those related to infrastructure development and the programme of works, and Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) where appropriate, for review by the Advisory Bodies, prior to approval and implementation;
13. Further requests the State Party to submit the following documentation, which was not available to the 2017 mission experts, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies:
    1. A report on the documentation process followed in the conservation of the noble tombs TT.112 and TT.131 including the basis on which the methods of intervention were decided,
    2. Comprehensive documentation on the project of lighting and security cameras with details regarding its implementation,
    3. A report on the underground water project design and implementation,
    4. A complete report on the flood channeling and the Flood Emergency Plan established for the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens;
14. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, 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 43rd session in 2019.