Western Caucasus

• Management systems/ management plan (lack of Management Plan)
• Legal framework (weakening of conservation controls and laws)
• Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation (impacts of proposed tourism infrastructure development)
• Ground transport infrastructure (road construction)
• Illegal activities (deforestation)

N/A

On 19 February 2024, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/900/documents/, providing the following information:

• The construction of the Lagonaki Mountain ski resort is still under consideration. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the impact of the proposed resort on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre. The decision to proceed with the construction will only be taken after approval by the World Heritage Committee;
• The possibility of building ski infrastructure on Mount Tabunnaya is not considered;
• Regarding the development of areas adjacent to the property, the State Party notes that the territories of the Sochi All-Republican State Nature Reserve and the Sochi National Park are not part of the property;
• The “Upper reaches of the Pshekha and Pshekhashkha rivers” natural monument has been redesignated into the “Mountain Adygea” natural park. The “Upper Reach of the Tsitsa River” natural monument has been redesignated as the “Upper Reach of the Tsitsa River” natural park. Construction or major rehabilitation works in these areas of the property can only be considered if all the requirements of the Convention are met;
• The proposed bill that would have allowed for changes in the boundaries of protected natural areas of federal significance for the implementation of economic activities has been suspended;
• The road to Lunnaya Polyana is used for forestry and fire management purposes;
• In considering the possibility and feasibility of constructing a new highway and railway from the North Caucasus to the Black Sea, which will cross the property, the State Party will follow the spirit of the Convention;
• A scientifically based assessment of the recreational capacity of the territory of the Caucasus State Nature Reserve shall be conducted in response to a series of regulatory acts adopted in 2023.

On 31 January 2024, the World Heritage Centre transmitted to the State Party third party information reporting on:

• Further preparatory works for the ski resort in the Lagonaki area of the property and the creation of a biosphere polygon to allow this construction within the property;
• Plans for a second ski resort “Zikhiya” on the slopes of Mounts Guzeripl and Oshten within the property;
• Large scale road construction in the area included in the property in the Republic of Adygea;
• Plans for the transfer of lands in the property to the adjacent Sochi Wildlife Refuge;
• Road construction in the Sochi National Park close to the boundary of the property and road construction in the Mountain Adygea Nature Park within the property;
• Plans for the construction of a reservoir in the River Tsitsa Headwaters Nature Park within the property;
• Plans for construction of new mountain resorts in the Tabunnaya Mountain range within the property and the Grusheviy ridge in the Sochi National Park;
• Plans for the construction of a railway and highway between the proposed Lagonaki resort, the Arkhyz resort and Krasnaya Polyana passing through the property; and
• Plans for the construction of an airport in the Republic of Adygea.

On 2 April 2024, the World Heritage Centre received a response from the State Party confirming several statements made in its state of conservation report, as follows:

• The construction of the Lagonaki ski resort is not underway, but it is acknowledged that surveys are being carried out and that an EIA is being prepared. It is acknowledged that the approved 2021 Regulation for the Caucasus State Nature Reserve established a biosphere polygon in an area within the property in the part of the Lagonaki plateau, which allows for the development of educational tourism, physical culture and sports;
• The current strategic planning documents do not provide for the construction of the “Zikhiya” ski resort, and the construction of resorts on Mount Tabunnaya is not being considered;
• No areas are planned to be excluded from the property. The protected buffer zone area of 6,000 ha in Adygea, included in the property at its inscription in 1999, was abolished by a regional regulatory legal act in 1998, prior to the inscription of the property; therefore, it needs to be clarified whether it can be considered as part of the property;
• The reported roads within the property in Adygea have a firefighting purpose, with one of them also being used for drinking water facilities. The mentioned reservoir in the River Tsitsa Headwaters Nature Park is located outside the property;
• No information is available on the possible construction of an airport in Adygea.

On 7 May 2024, the State Party invited the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to visit the property in October 2024.

Whilst it is welcomed that the proposed Mount Tabunnaya ski resort is no longer under consideration, the confirmation that the construction of a ski resort in the Lagonaki area of the property is still under consideration remains of utmost concern. In this regard, it is worth recalling the position of the Committee that the construction of large-scale infrastructure within the property, including on the Lagonaki Plateau, would constitute a case for inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines. Therefore, the State Party should be urged not to proceed with plans for a ski resort within the property, to immediately cease all ongoing preparatory work at Lagonaki, and to identify alternative locations, in accordance with the request of the Committee in its Decision 45 COM 7B.27. It should also be recalled that previous Reactive Monitoring missions and Committee decisions clearly established that the entire Lagonaki Plateau was included in the property at the time of inscription and that the IUCN evaluation considered the area as an integral part of the property’s OUV, in particular for its rich biodiversity, especially its high carabid species diversity, and the fact that the area contains two thirds of the vascular plant species of the property, including many endemics.

It is of further concern that the information provided by the State Party on 2 April 2024 indicates that the approved 2021 Regulation for the Caucasus State Nature Reserve established a biosphere polygon in a part of the Lagonaki Plateau, allowing for the development of educational tourism, physical culture and sports, whilst the State Party had confirmed in its 2022 report that the legal protection regime of the Lagonaki Plateau was determined by its ‘statutory protection regime’ and that economic development of the part of the Lagonaki Biosphere Polygon within the property was neither possible nor planned. Given that the Lagonaki ski resort is still under consideration, despite the very clear position of the Committee, as reflected in all its decisions on this property since 2011, that this is not in keeping with the World Heritage status, the organisation of the Reactive Monitoring mission to the property is pressing.

It is also of great concern that the State Party questions whether the 6,000 ha protected buffer zone area in Adygea is included in the property. It should be recalled that the State Party had assured the 2010 Reactive Monitoring mission to the property that authority over this area had been returned to the federal level and that the protected status of this area would be reinstated. To date, this issue remains unresolved and there are numerous reports of road development and other activities in the area which, if confirmed, would not be consistent with World Heritage status. It should also be recalled that the State Party should submit a boundary clarification based on the boundaries of the property as inscribed and in accordance with the technical clarifications provided by the World Heritage Centre in its letter of 5 April 2022.

The information on ongoing proposals for a new highway and railway connecting the North Caucasus to the Black Sea remains of utmost concern, as it would bisect the property. While noting the State Party’s statement that the Operational Guidelines do not explicitly prohibit activities within World Heritage properties, it needs to be stressed that only activities that do not adversely impact on the property’s OUV can be permitted. In addition, at the time of inscription, the State Party provided explicit assurances that linear infrastructure projects, such as highways, would not be implemented within the property. In line with this commitment, the State Party should be urged not to proceed with these developments. Further concerns are raised in relation to proposals for the development of a 13 km tunnel for the road between Arkhyz and Krasnaya Polyana, which is reported to fall partially within the property boundaries. In this regard, the State Party should provide further information on this proposal, indicating the exact location in relation to the property boundaries and explaining how this development is consistent with the protection requirements of the Operational Guidelines. Similarly to the highway, this tunnel proposal (i.e. a linear infrastructure project) should not proceed if it is inconsistent with the requirements to protect the OUV of the property, and if it may negatively impact the property’s OUV.

It is noted that the Lunnaya Polyana road is used for forestry and fire management purposes. However, the importance of ensuring that all infrastructure facilities, even if deemed necessary for management and research purposes, does not have a negative impact on the property’s OUV should be reiterated. The State Party should also be requested to provide information on whether the road provides access to the private ski resort / Biosphere Centre at Lunnaya Polyana, as alleged in previous third-party reports, noting that the State Party stated in its 2022 state of conservation report that work on the road had been discontinued.

Whilst acknowledging that the proposed developments in the Sochi Federal Wildlife Refuge and Sochi National Park are located outside the property, it is worth recalling the repeated requests of the Committee not to allow the construction of large-scale infrastructure in the Sochi Federal Wildlife Refuge and Sochi National Park immediately adjacent to the property, given the potential impacts on the OUV of the property, and also noting concerns about the potential and existing impacts of development in these areas on a number of key species within the property. Furthermore, recalling Paragraph 118bis of the Operational Guidelines, which states that States Parties shall ensure that Environmental Impact Assessments are carried out as a prerequisite for development projects and activities that are planned for implementation within or around a World Heritage property, the State Party should also be requested again to immediately halt the notified infrastructure projects until their potential impacts on the OUV have been assessed in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context and the assessment submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN.

Recalling the Committee’s utmost concern about reports of a possible new draft law that would allow the boundaries of federally protected areas to be changed to accommodate economic activities, it is noted with appreciation that this bill has been suspended.

However, concerns remain about the legal protection status of the regional protected areas included in the property, including the above-mentioned protected buffer zone in Adygea, especially in light of reported infrastructure projects in some of these areas. The State Party should be urged once again to ensure that the legal regulations applying to all components of the property, in particular the Nature Parks managed by the Republic of Adygea, are brought into line with the protection requirements of the Operational Guidelines, and should therefore be requested to provide detailed information on the legal status of all components of the property in advance of the Reactive Monitoring mission.

The joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, proposed by the State Party to be held in October 2024, should assess a range of issues, including whether the legal protection of the property meets the requirements of the Operational Guidelines and whether the potential impacts of proposed infrastructure and road development projects pose a potential danger to the OUV of the property in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines, thereby meeting the conditions for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The mission will also need to assess other possible threats to the property, including the extent of the impact of invasive alien species.