Fertö / Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape

• Large-scale heart clinic development (issue resolved)
• Climate change and severe weather events (progressive water shortage)
• Housing
• Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure
• Renewable energy facilities (wind farms)

A joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/Ramsar Secretariat Advisory mission visited the property in October 2023 (mission report available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/772/documents/).

On 31 January 2024, the States Parties submitted a joint state of conservation report, the summary of which is available at the above-mentioned web address. The report provides information on the measures implemented by the States Parties in response to Decision 45 COM 7B.52, as follows:

• The new Management Plan should be finalised and approved imminently. The implementation of the measures set out in the new Management Plan will be a priority for World Heritage management in Hungary and Austria: this includes the revision of the ‘Criteria for Building in World Heritage’ (Austria) and the re-establishment of the cross-border ‘Consultative Council’;
• Further bilateral cooperation was agreed upon, to develop a vision for the future of the property and to establish a joint strategy, including for tourism infrastructure and management, so as to ensure a sustainable and equitable use of the property consistent with the objectives of protecting and preserving its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
• Construction of the Sopron Fertö Lake Resort project was suspended at the end of 2022 in order to review the entire project. On 24 October 2023, the Ministry of Construction and Transport of Hungary launched a public procurement for the redesign of the project with a reduced scale, improved sustainability and a more regional architectural profile. However, there are insufficient funds for the public procurement, which has to be repeated for technical reasons. No construction activity is expected in 2024; only the northern port will be partially opened. The State Party refers to the Complex World Heritage Impact Assessment, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and the Natura 2000 Assessment submitted in 2022 to support the conclusion that the said project, even in its original concept, would not have a negative impact on the OUV of the property. At the same time, the State Party asserts that future design and construction works within the project will be carried out in compliance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context and the recommendations of the Advisory mission;
• Apart from the ongoing redevelopment of the lakeside resorts of Fertörákos and Breitenbrunn, there are currently no additional plans for further infrastructure development in or around Lake Fertö/Neusiedl. An assessment of existing and potential cumulative impacts should be examined before any further development takes place;
• With regard to a proposed possible water supply from the Danube to the Seewinkel-region to protect and preserve the soda pans, and with regard to a possible further water supply to Lake Fertö/Neusiedl, the report emphasises that all required investigations and modelling should be carried out before any irreversible measures are taken. It stresses that all the optional solutions should be subject to transboundary EIAs;
• The Federal State of Burgenland (Austria) is committed to implementing the recommendations of the Advisory mission on further development projects. However, the State Party emphasises the adoption of a provincial strategy to accelerate the expansion of the renewable energy. The expansion of wind power systems will continue, while ensuring that it is consistent with the protection and preservation of the OUV of the property.

The achievement of a joint Management Plan for the property is to be welcomed, as is the agreement of the States Parties to strengthen their cooperation to develop a vision for the future of the property consistent with the maintenance of its OUV.

The 2023 mission advised that the updated Management Plan would benefit from being augmented to address current weaknesses and achieve better coordination of the management of the transboundary property. In addition, implementation of the Management Plan will require strengthened transboundary cooperation and additional resources from both States Parties.

The forthcoming revision of the ‘Criteria for Building in World Heritage’ developed by the Lake Neusiedl World Heritage Association (Austria) is to be welcomed. The revised document, with clear provisions for impact assessments based on the potential of developments to adversely impact the OUV, should be given legal weight in the planning system, to ensure the maintenance and transmission of the property’s OUV.

In view of the increasing tourism pressure, the 2023 mission concluded that the scale and extent of the lake-side tourism infrastructure in the property has reached the maximum capacity that the property can carry and therefore no further expansion should be allowed in the future. Instead, the focus should be on renewing or rehabilitating the existing infrastructure while correcting past interventions that were not in keeping with the World Heritage status. It is recommended that the States Parties jointly undertake an inventory of all existing and planned tourism facilities along the lakeshore, together with an assessment of the cumulative adverse impacts on the attributes underlying the property’s OUV.

It is regrettable that the public procurement for the redesign of the Sopron Fertö Lake Resort project was launched by the State Party of Hungary on 24 October 2023, without awaiting the recommendations of the 2023 mission. While it is noted that the public procurement has to be repeated for technical reasons, it is recommended that the Committee requests the State Party of Hungary to follow the recommendations of the 2023 mission to redesign the project, to conduct a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) of the redesigned project in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context and to submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before making any decision that would be difficult to reverse.

The commitment of the States Parties to continue to investigate possible water supplies – to Lake Fertö/Neusiedl and to preserve the soda pans in its vicinity – and to ensure that all optional solutions are subject to appropriate impact assessments is welcome. Both States Parties need to be encouraged to conduct scientific research within the framework of the Austro-Hungarian Water Commission in order to address knowledge gaps and to pursue a long-term, cooperative approach to establishing an appropriate transboundary governance system for water supply.

The mission found that the proposed repowering of the Neusiedl-Weiden and Gols wind parks will prolong the existing negative visual impact of the wind farms on the OUV of the property. Therefore, the State Party of Austria should seek ways to mitigate these negative impacts. Overall, the existing processes for wind repowering need to be strengthened to better safeguard the property’s OUV. In particular, the visual setting of the property should be better protected, as the wider landscape contributes significantly to its OUV. The mission advised the State Party of Austria not to proceed with the project for a new hospital outside the town Gols at the proposed location, on the boundary of the buffer zone and within the visual setting of the property, as this would have a negative impact on the property’s OUV. It also advised the State Party of Austria to undertake a thorough assessment of the buffer zone and to consider submitting an enlarged buffer zone boundary through the Minor Boundary Modification process. Furthermore, a framework for assessing the visual impact of wind turbines needs to be developed based on an inventory of the spatial and landscape attributes underlying the property’s OUV.