Decision 45 COM 7B.10

Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls (Zambia, Zimbabwe) (N 509)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 36 COM 7B.7, 38 COM 7B.7 and 44 COM 7B.177 adopted at its 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012), 38th (Doha, 2014) and extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes the continued cooperation between the two States Parties in strengthening the joint management of the transboundary property, and the continued efforts to undertake monitoring and control of invasive alien plant species;
4. Notes again with increasing concern the inevitable negative impacts of the proposed Batoka Gorge Hydro Electric Scheme (BGHES) on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property due to seasonal rising of water levels and partial disappearance of some swash in a portion of the gorges within the property, and requests the States Parties to implement the 2022 Reactive Monitoring mission recommendation to revise the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context to undertake a comprehensive geomorphological and/or geological assessment of the gorge environment that takes into account the property boundaries, and resubmit the revised ESIA to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN before making any decisions that may be difficult to reverse in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
5. Reiterates its concern over the increasing pressure from tourism infrastructure within and around the property, exacerbated by the absence of strategic planning and also requests the States Parties to prioritize the review and update the Joint Integrated Management Plan (JIMP) to ensure that necessary safeguards and thresholds are incorporated to mitigate against developmental pressures for the protection of the property’s OUV and further requests the States Parties to adhere to the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, prior to taking any decision that is difficult to reverse; 
6. Regrets that the construction of the Mosi-oa-Tunya Livingstone Resort Hotel has concluded despite the Committee’s request to halt further activities and urgently requests the State Party of Zambia to implement mitigatory measures integral to legal conditions of approval issued by Zambian Environmental Management Authority and contained in the Joint Management Plan (JIMP), the ESIA has been revised in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context and a comprehensive Environmental and Social Management Plan has been developed and submitted together with impact assessments to the World Heritage Centre;
7. Further requests the States Parties to submit a request for a boundary modification in accordance with the Operational Guidelines to set the precise boundaries of the property and its buffer zone, aligned with past Committee Decisions and the property’s Statement of OUV and including details of the internal zonation system and its rationale to protect the property and its OUV;
8. Notes that the first phase of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on the cumulative development and environmental pressure on the property has been undertaken, requests furthermore the States Parties to seek early inputs and technical guidance from IUCN in undertaking the second phase of the SEA and encourage the States Parties to submit an International Assistance request to that effect;
9. Reiterates its request to the States Parties to summarize how the findings of the analysis undertaken on the water flow, rainfall and upstream activity has informed management, and the measures subsequently taken to ensure water abstraction from the Zambezi River continues to be adapted in the face of climate change;
10. Requests moreover the States Parties to implement all other recommendations from the 2022 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission, including to:
    1. Ensure that tourism infrastructure development within the property and its buffer zone is consistent with the aim to enhance the protection of the OUV of the property and in line with the Joint Integrated Management Plan,
    2. Harmonize the roles and responsibilities of the National Heritage Conservation Commission and the Department of national Parks and Wildlife for the management of the property in Zambia;
11. Finally requests the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2024, 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 46th session in 2024.