Decision 46 COM 7B.49

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/24/46.COM/7B.Add.4,
2. Recalling Decisions 44 COM 7B.73 and 45 COM 7B.31 adopted at its extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) and extended 45th (Riyadh, 2023) sessions respectively,
3. Notes with appreciation that the process to prepare an updated Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for the entire property, and updated management plans for each component has been initiated, and reiterates its request to the State Party to finalise, as a matter of priority, drafts of these plans and submit them to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
4. Notes with concern that water scarcity in the property has continued for a fourth consecutive year, and recalls again 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;
5. Welcomes that measures are being implemented to mitigate the impact of water scarcity, and that the update of the strategic study for water and lands intends to develop a strategy to ensure an integrated management approach of water resources across all sectors, including the allocation of water requirements to the marshes, and to mitigate negative effects on the marsh components, and also requests the State Party to:
   1. Urgently implement management measures that demonstrate that adequate flows to the property are ensured in the short and long-term as a matter of utmost priority,
   2. Finalise the study on water and lands and the resulting strategy for an integrated water management approach, and submit these to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, and ensure these inform the preparation of a basin-wide Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in line with the principles of the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
6. Continues to encourage the continued implementation of technical and scientific studies that inform the effective management of the property, ongoing monitoring and research collaborations;
7. Requests the State Party to continue strengthening its technical cooperation with the States Parties located upstream of the property for long-term sustainable transboundary water management measures, and also requests that transboundary cooperation remains a matter of priority to ensure effective water management that is informed by science and can guarantee minimum water supplies to sustain the OUV of the property;
8. Recalling the concerns raised by the State Party regarding dam and irrigation projects upstream of the property that could further exacerbate water scarcity and negatively impact the OUV of the property, also welcomes that the Makhul dam, which could have impacted the OUV of the property, has been halted, notes however that information on other upstream developments and their impacts on the OUV remains unclear, and further requests the States Parties located upstream of the property to ensure that any projects that may negatively impact the OUV are assessed in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and that any projects which would impact the OUV are avoided;
9. Further welcomes the commitment of the State Party to ensure legal protection for the marsh components within its national legal framework, and its efforts to reduce over-fishing and prohibit poaching, and requests furthermore the State Party to provide an update on the amendments to the Wildlife Protection Law to ensure broader effective protection of the property, and to continue strengthening its monitoring, legal protection, enforcement and management capacity to control illegal activities such as bird hunting and overfishing;
10. Also recalling its significant concern over the continued vulnerability of the marsh components and the related natural values 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 damage the property, as well as the reported monitoring of existing activities, and reiterates its request to 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 from activities beyond the boundaries;
11. Further acknowledging steps to regulate ecotourism in the property, also reiterates its request to the State Party to develop and implement an overall Tourism Management Plan for the whole property to regulate visitation, and to ensure sustainable tourism practices, infrastructure and facilities, and requests moreover the State Party to provide an update on the status of the tourism project located in the buffer zone of the property;
12. Welcomes furthermore the activities undertaken to engage with local communities in management issues, and further encourages the State Party to continue engagement, including on 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;
13. Takes note that the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property in March 2024 and its recommendations will be presented to the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session;
14. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2025, 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 47th session.