Decision 47 COM 7A.32

Timbuktu (Mali)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/25/47.COM/7A.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 46 COM 7A.12, adopted at its 46th session (New Delhi, 2024),
3. Welcomes the progress made with ongoing conservation of the Djingareyber and Sankoré Mosques, the rehabilitation of the enclosing walls of the Alpha Moya, Sidi Mahmoud, and Three Saints mausoleums, as well as the documentation of that work through photos and videos;
4. Welcomes the work carried out to plant over 3,300 trees and hedges around the 4 cemeteries and mausoleums as part of measures to address silting up of watercourses and thus lessen flooding, and to explain to local communities the benefits of reintroducing certain tree and plant species which are necessary to sustain traditional earthen architecture practices, but reiterates its request to develop a more expansive programme that will include:
   1. A broadened scope of the tree and hedge planting initiative for a more meaningful impact on flooding mitigation through strategic actions adapted at a regional level at the property,
   2. The planting of trees on a succession basis to ensure that they can be harvested at sizes and quantities needed,
   3. The identification of areas that are suitable and available for such planting and how the plants and trees might be maintained and managed over time,
   4. An ecological flood management strategy, based on expert knowledge on the morphology of the area, and the feasibility of its delivery, and recommends that the State Party consider submitting an application for International Assistance to that effect;
5. Reiterates its concern that the persistent lack of technical and financial resources of the Cultural Mission and traditional actors may compromise the conservation and management of the property, and reiterates its request that the State Party pay particular attention to strengthening the human and financial resources necessary for the proper functioning of the Cultural Mission;
6. Welcomes the submission of a completed Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) based on the corrective measures agreed by the Committee at its 40th session, and adopts the DSOCR, as presented under item 32 of Document WHC/25/47.COM/7A.Add.2, as a framework for work needed for the property to reach a stable Desired state of conservation that could allow the Committee to consider removing it from the List of World Heritage in Danger;
7. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2026, 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 48th session;
8. Decides to continue the application of the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism for the property;
9. Decides to retain Timbuktu (Mali) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.