Decision 44 COM 7B.139

Angkor (Cambodia) (C 668)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B.add,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.8, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Takes note with satisfaction that the national authorities have been undertaking activities in the field of conservation and management for numerous archaeological and hydraulic structures and for the natural environment of the property, benefitting from the expertise of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Sustainable Development of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) and strong support of a number of international partners;
4. Commends the State Party for not pursuing the reported project for the construction of a tourist complex on the area immediately outside the buffer zone of the property, following the technical review of the ICC-Angkor, and acknowledges with satisfaction that the extension project of the existing International Airport of Siem Reap has not been approved, noting however that the State Party opted for a new International Airport far from the property, and requests the State Party to provide technical documents to the World Heritage Centre, if alternative proposals are to be considered for both cases, for review by the Advisory Bodies, at the earliest opportunity;
5. Also requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with information about any major restoration and proposed project with potential impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, including detailed information on Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) prepared in conformity with the 2011 ICOMOS Guidelines on HIAs for World Heritage cultural properties, for review by the Advisory Bodies, before any decision is made that would be difficult to reverse;
6. Also notes the elaboration of the Tourism Development Plan in order to diversify the tourism offer; encourages the State Party to seek advice from the UNESCO World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme and update the sustainable Tourism Development Plan for the property to provide an over-arching principles to guide the scale, scope and nature of future tourism projects in relation to how they might support the integrity and authenticity of the property; and further requests the State Party to submit the draft Tourism Development Plan, and the updated sustainable Tourism Development Plan, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
7. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2022, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property, including the overall situation of the management framework, presenting the major management tools, guidelines and plans under application, and the implementation of the above, for review by the Advisory Bodies.