Decision 45 COM 7B.31

The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities (Iraq) (C/N 1481)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.73 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Welcomes the resumption of survey and maintenance work at Ur and Uruk, and requests the completion and subsequent implementation of conservation plans for all three of the cultural components before further excavations are undertaken and before tourism is encouraged;
4. Recalling that significant fluctuations in water flows may pose a major threat to the property and non-fulfilment of minimum water requirements could represent a potential danger to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines, also welcomes the various water management measures taken to ensure the minimum water requirements of the natural components were met in 2020 and 2021, and also requests the State Party to urgently continue implementing management measures that demonstrate adequate flows to the property are ensured in the short and long-term as a matter of utmost priority;
5. Encourages the continued implementation of technical and scientific studies that inform the effective management of the property including the planned comprehensive hydrological environmental study of the marshes, ongoing monitoring and research collaborations, and the preparation of a basin-wide Strategic Environmental Assessment in line with the newGuidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
6. Further welcomes the ongoing joint technical transboundary cooperation between the States Parties of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and Türkiye for long-term sustainable transboundary water management measures, and also requests that transboundary cooperation remains a matter of utmost priority to ensure effective water management that is informed by science and that can guarantee minimum water supplies to sustain the OUV of the property in the long term;
7. Noting the concerns raised by the State Party regarding impacts, or potential impacts, of dam and irrigation projects upstream of the property that could further exacerbate water scarcity and negatively impact the OUV of the property, further requests States Parties located upstream of the property to inform the World Heritage Centre, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, of any existing and planned water-related developments that could impact on the OUV, in order to:
   1. Ensure that such projects are assessed in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, before any decision is taken to proceed,
   2. Undertake mitigation measures where negative impacts are identified, including through transboundary cooperation as required,
   3. Not to proceed with any development that would negatively impact the OUV of the property;
8. Requests furthermore the State Party to provide specific details of the protection status of the natural components designated as protected areas within the national framework, and of the amendments to the Wildlife Protection Law, to confirm that these ensure effective protection in line with the Operational Guidelines;
9. Further welcomes the actions taken to address illegal activities within the property, and requests moreover the State Party, as part of an integrated management approach, to continue strengthening its monitoring, legal protection, enforcement and management capacity to control illegal activities such as bird hunting and overfishing;
10. Reiterates its request to the State Party to finalise, as a matter of priority, the preparation of an updated Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for the entire property and updated Management Plans for each component, and to submit drafts of the Management Plans to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
11. Recognising initial steps to regulate ecotourism in the property, also reiterates its request to the State Party to develop and implement an overall tourism plan for the whole property to regulate visitation, and to ensure visitor safety and sustainable tourism practices, infrastructure and facilities, and requests moreover the State Party to revise the Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed tourist village project in the natural components in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, prior to proceeding with the proposed project;
12. Further recalling its significant concern over the continued vulnerability of the natural components of the property to oil and gas developments, acknowledges the State Party’s continued commitment to ensure that oil activities outside the property do not cause harm to the property and do not encroach on its boundaries, as well as the reported monitoring of existing activities and remediation actions, and requests moreover the State Party to:
    1. Ensure that any proposed extractive activities that may impact on the OUV are assessed for their potential impacts in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, prior to taking any decisions to approve such projects, and not to approve any project that would have an adverse impact on the OUV,
    2. Continue monitoring existing extractive activities in the vicinity of the property, report on any potential or actual impacts on OUV as previously requested, and immediately address any negative impacts and undertake remediation activities as required,
    3. Provide an overview of oil and gas developments within or in the vicinity of the property, including the assessment of potential impacts on the OUV of the property in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context,
    4. Extend its commitment to a permanent ban on all extractive industries, including oil and gas, within the property and ensuring no negative impacts on the OUV;
13. Further encourages the State Party to continue to meaningfully engage with local communities on a range of management issues, including matters concerning hunting and fishing, water usage, rights-based approaches to management and for the application of traditional ecological knowledge to any planned new constructions;
14. Also reiterates its request for the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to be undertaken as soon as possible;
15. Finally requests the State Party 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.