Decision 41 COM 7B.95

Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) (C 121bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 7B.41, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Acknowledges the strong commitment of the State Party and work that it has undertaken for the recovery of the property, particularly by salvaging important elements, its capacity-building efforts and the six-year plan for the recovery of the monuments damaged by the earthquake;
4. Takes note of the report of March 2017 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to the property;
5. Also acknowledges the scale and scope of the disaster, as described by the 2017 mission and the continuing, serious deterioration of the property’s architectural and town-planning coherence resulting from the immediate impacts of the earthquakes;
6. Recognizes that the pace of recovery and the damaging restoration work on some monuments appears to reflect the current need for improvement in management capacity across the property, to undertake the necessary documentation, research and analyses that should underpin all recovery work;
7. Considers that the potential and ascertained threats to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property are so considerable that the recovery process needs to be quickened and made more effective, and that the scale and scope of the disaster and the response required goes well beyond the capacity and resources of the Department of Archaeology (DoA), and also considers that much greater input, collaboration and coordination of support from the international community could likely help to achieve this shift;
8. Requests the State Party to fully commit to use appropriate methods and materials in recovery works;
9. Reiterates its request that the State Party integrate the Recovery Master Plan (RMP) within an overall socio-economic revitalization programme for urban communities, encourage residents and local businesses to engage in the recovery process and ensure that it delivers wide-ranging social and economic benefits;
10. Calls upon the international community to support the State Party’s urgent recovery work through financial, technical or expert assistance;
11. Strongly encouraqes the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory mission to ascertain the progress accomplished by the State Party in implementation of six-year RMP and to give guidance on reviewing it;
12. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 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 42nd session in 2018.