Decision 44 COM 7B.76

Trang An Landscape Complex (Viet Nam) (C/N 1438bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 38 COM 8B.14, 40 COM 7B.67 and 42 COM 7B.62, adopted at its 38th (Doha, 2014), 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) and 42nd (Manama, 2018) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes the actions taken by the State Party in addressing the Committee’s requests, including the removal of inappropriate infrastructure within the property, the regulation of local development initiatives, improvements to conservation and management, the establishment of an ad hoc Management and Scientific Advisory Committee, the active scientific cooperation for the property at the international and national levels, capacity enhancements for the staff of the Management Authority, and increased budgetary allocations;
4. Noting that visitation continues to increase beyond previous estimates, urges the State Party to expedite the proposed study to determine the sustainable carrying capacity of the property, and requests the State Party to ensure the protection of the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) is at the core of this study and that its findings are strictly enforced, especially regarding limits on visitation at ‘hot spots’ and throughout the property and the offer of alternative itineraries for visitors;
5. Also requests the State Party to ensure that existing management tools and new Decrees and Regulations are aligned in order to allow for a proactive approach to the overall management of the property by the Management Board, notably by:
   1. Ensuring a balanced approach to tourism, heritage management and nature conservation as a whole, with appropriate expertise within the Management Board,
   2. Applying a clearer reporting protocol concerning any major new development within the property and ensure the necessary prior consultation with the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
6. Notes the conclusions and recommendations of the 2019 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property and also urges the State Party to instigate a well-resourced programme for the progressive implementation of the mission recommendations, particularly with respect to:
   1. Further improvements to governance and management,
   2. Comprehensive and proactive planning, beyond project-level assessments, to ensure a systematic monitoring of natural and cultural values,
   3. A regular review of priorities to determine budget and human resource allocation,
   4. A documentation system for built and moveable heritage and a storage system for moveable heritage,
   5. The development of an overall interpretation plan and public outreach strategy,
   6. Continued international cooperation,
   7. A survey of the natural landscape, geodiversity and biodiversity, archaeological elements of different historical periods, and moveable heritage, and
   8. The involvement of the local community in site management;
7. Also welcomes the State Party’s assurances that a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) will be undertaken for any major developments within the property and its buffer zones, and reiterates its request to the State Party to use these tools to assess both the individual and cumulative impacts of current and planned developments, with a special focus on potential impacts on the OUV of the property, in line with the IUCN and ICOMOS guidelines on impact assessments;
8. Further urges the State Party to finalize the Management Plan for the property, as a matter of high priority, in line with the recommendations of the 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission, and to ensure the integration of biodiversity conservation into the management and decision-making processes;
9. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2022, 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 46th session.