Decision 41 COM 7B.36

Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (Peru) (C/N 274)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decisions 37 COM 7B.35 and 39 COM 7B.36, adopted at its 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013) and 39th (Bonn, 2015) sessions respectively,
3. Notes with appreciation the measures taken by the State Party to implement the recommendations of the 2016 Advisory mission and previous Committee decisions,
4. Requests the State Party to fully implement the recommendations of the 2017 Reactive Monitoring mission;
5. Commends the State Party for the reinforcement of the property’s Management Unit UGM (Unidad de Gestión del Santuario Histórico de Machu Picchu), which improved the governance of the property and the wider landscape, and also requests the State Party to finalize the approval of the UGM’s new regulation;
6. Also commends the State Party for the strong commitment shown in the implementation of the Urban Plan of Machu Picchu district, which has achieved significant improvements in the urban landscape;
7. Takes note of the completion of carrying capacity studies, regulation for the Amazonian Access, and the development of a Public Use Plan (PUP) and Touristic Use regulations for the property; notes with concern that carrying capacity, use regulations and developments in the property are not based on the primary objective of conservation of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and further requests the State Party to:
   1. Review the carrying capacities on the basis of conservation needs and application of clear limits to visitors,
   2. Develop use regulations and sanctions to other types of uses beyond tourism,
   3. Ensure that proposed developments are rigorously assessed in terms of their impact on OUV, in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment and the ICOMOS Guidance on Heritage Impact Assessments for Cultural World Heritage properties;
8. Notes the proposed development of several major infrastructure projects in the region, and requests furthermore the State Party, to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, detailed information on planned infrastructure transport projects in the region, that might impact the OUV, prior to their approval or implementation, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Recommends that the State Party define an overall vision for the property, based on the attributes of OUV and conservation needs, rather than primarily on tourism, and linked to an integral natural and cultural monitoring system, with defined indicators, in order to identify remaining and potential new threats in a timely and systematic manner;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, 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 43rd session in 2019.