Decision 43 COM 7B.49

Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab) (Lebanon) (C 850)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.82, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
3. Welcomes the formal establishment of a Management Committee and requests further information on the structure and team entrusted with the day-to-day management of the property;
4. Notes that a revision of the property and buffer zone boundaries is underway and also requests the State Party to pursue its finalization in close consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, and to submit it as a Minor Boundary Modification, in line with Paragraph 164 of the Operational Guidelines;
5. Also notes that the project for the “Rehabilitation and Valorization of Ouadi Qadisha” is due to start during 2019, and that a project was implemented for the “restoration of traditional agriculture stone terraces for improvement of the cultural landscape values and rural livelihoods through sustainable value chains of local plant species”, with a socio-economic dimension;
6. Urges the State Party to ensure the implementation of the Action Plan for the World Heritage property in a holistic manner, ensuring the integration of sustainable development components, and to inform the World Heritage Centre on the progress;
7. Reminds the State Party about the need to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for evaluation by the Advisory Bodies, detailed information of the project and its HIA, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
8. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, 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 45th session in 2021.