Decision 43 COM 7B.72

Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore (Pakistan) (C 171)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.14, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Acknowledges the efforts made by the State Party to address some of the Committee’s requirements with regard to the conservation of the property and the directions provided by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in particular in relation to the construction and operation of the Orange Line Metro (OLM) project, such as the planting of trees which may screen the view of the OLM from the property and the test operations to evaluate vibration levels, and requests that the method and outcomes of all monitoring activities, including Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), including a Visual Impact Assessment (VIA), and the vibration analysis previously undertaken by the State Party be communicated to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
4. Notes the creation of the Special Committee of Experts and Technical Committee under orders of the Supreme Court which oversee and monitor the Orange Line Project, and further recommends that similar regulatory committees be set up by the Directorate General of Archaeology for Orange Line related operations and future projects to enable informed decision-making processes, in compliance with the provisions of the World Heritage Convention and its Operational Guidelines;
5. Also notes the State Party’s advice that a number of conservation projects have been implemented in and around the Lahore Fort component of the property, including the conservation of murals, and also requests, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, that the State Party submit full details of the work undertaken and of any plans for future projects, before any decision is made that would be difficult to reverse;
6. Urges the State Party, in dialogue with the Advisory Bodies, to discuss the recommendations of the 2018 Reactive Monitoring mission concerning the mitigation of the OLM’s impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in light of the outcomes of the VIA, and the vibration analysis undertaken by the State Party, as a basis for a feasibility study of mitigation options and further requests the State Party, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, to submit in relation to future projects, detailed project studies to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies prior to the commencement of these works, which should only proceed once positive feedback has been received;
7. Requests furthermore the State Party to conduct careful and thorough technical investigations when revising the property’s boundaries and proposing buffer zones and to consider appropriate social measures, particularly if any of these actions to create open space around the property involves the displacement of people residing in the neighbouring areas of the property, as a result of the acquisition of land and houses;
8. Requests moreover the State Party to report on the effectiveness of the roof waterproofing systems and the new and old drainage systems of runoff water in the open courtyards and in the historical buildings in the Lahore Fort, and particularly those corresponding to the Picture Wall sections;
9. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, 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 44th session in 2020.