10. The Committee adopted the agenda as it had been set out in Document SC-91/CONF.002/1.
11. Mr. Azedine Beschaouch (Tunisia) was elected Chairman of the Committee by acclamation. Mr. Diaz Barrio (Mexico) was elected as the Rapporteur, and the following members of the Committee were elected as Vice-Chairpersons: Brazil, France, Senegal, Thailand and the United States of America.
15 COM VII
Monitoring of the State of Conservation of the World Heritage Cultural and Related Technical Problems
18. The monitoring report presented by the Secretariat dealt with the following sites: Xanthos-Letoon (Turkey), the City of Valletta (Malta), Shibam (Yemen), National Historical Park - Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers (Haiti), Kathmandu Valley (Nepal), Moenjodaro (Pakistan), and the Madara Rider (Bulgaria). Monitoring visits had been made to seventeen sites by an expert who was in charge of coordinating action for the preservation of 115 Mediterranean sites within the framework of the UNEP - Barcelona Convention. These visits had yielded a wealth of information and documentation which ...
27. Special attention was given by the Committee to the dangers threatening the World Heritage sites during armed conflict. The Secretariat informed the Committee of the situation of the historical City of Dubrovnik. It also announced the decision of the Director-General to launch an international campaign for the restoration of Dubrovnik.
28. Aware of the fact that it represents 123 States, including Yugoslavia, which are signatories of the Convention, the Committee expressed deep concern about the armed conflict, devastating a region that comprises several sites inscribed on the World ...
Sites: Old City of Dubrovnik
15 COM VII
Monitoring of the State of Conservation of the World Heritage Cultural Properties: Situation in Iraq and Future
31. Two other observers drew the attention of the Committee to the situation of the cultural heritage in Iraq. One of them requested UNESCO to send a mission to Iraq in order to evaluate the restoration work required on the sites damaged by war. The Secretariat informed the Committee that the Director-General of UNESCO was ready to send an intersectoral mission to Iraq as soon as he receives the agreement of the United Nations Security Council.
32. The Secretariat announced that following a Resolution of the General Conference, a report would be prepared concerning the possibilities for ...
15 COM VIII
Monitoring of the State of Conservation of the World Heritage Natural Properties and Related Technical Problems: Overview
34. The Committee was satisfied with the joint efforts of the Secretariat and IUCN to provide information on the status of conservation of an increasing number of natural and mixed World Heritage sites. The Committee was informed of the co-operation between UNESCO, UNEP and the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in organizing an international workshop on the sustainable development of tourism in the World Heritage site of Mount Huangshan, China, in October 1991, and of plans for extending this co-operation in 1992-93 to develop guidelines for tourism development for managers of World ...
Wet Tropics of Queensland (Australia)
When this site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988, the Committee requested IUCN to provide a report on the status of conservation in 1991. The Committee noted that IUCN had gathered some information but, as requested by the representative of IUCN, deferred the submission of this monitoring report until 1992, to accommodate the findings of a proposed field visit to this site next year.
Sites: Wet Tropics of Queensland
Iguazu National Park (Argentina) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil)
The Committee noted that eight helicopters simultaneously overfly these adjacent sites which cover the same waterfall area. Over 7,000 visitors had registered complaints and local conservation groups are opposed to the use of helicopters in the area because it contravenes legal regulations for air traffic over protected areas. The Brazilian Delegate informed the Committee that a working group had been established to study the matter with a view to introducing more stringent regulatory measures for helicopter ...
Pirin National Park (Bulgaria)
The Committee noted that the Bulgarian authorities were considering a major expansion of this site to include the area of the Rhodope Mountains and recognized the potential for establishing a transfrontier site with Greece that could be one of the most outstanding sites of Europe. The Committee encouraged the Bulgarian authorities to proceed with the extension of Pirin National Park and submit a nomination for the extension of the site. The Committee also requested the Secretariat to contact the Greek authorities to obtain their views on the possibilities ...
Sites: Pirin National Park
Srebarna Biosphere Reserve (Bulgaria)
The Committee was concerned to note that the water quality and balance in this small World Heritage site (600 ha) has deteriorated to such an extent that the site is no longer ecologically viable; large colonies of water birds, except for the Dalmation Pelican, are absent, and many of the passerine species have emigrated or occur only in low numbers. The Committee recognized that most problems were attributable to the slow drying of the lake bed, exacerbated by upstream development projects, impacts of nearby pig farms and a rise in the wild boar ...
Sites: Srebarna Nature Reserve
Dinosaur Provincial Park (Canada)
The Committee noted that IUCN agreed, in principle, to deleting 1,415 acres of privately owned land comprising natural gas deposits from this site and including 1,478 acres of higher geological value as compensation. The Committee noted that the technology used to drill gas wells had low impacts but pointed out that it would be concerned if the drilling extends to sites within the World Heritage property. The Canadian Delegate informed the Committee that the maps of the area clearly showed that the sites which will be drilled are outside the Park ...
Sites: Dinosaur Provincial Park
Wood Buffalo National Park (Canada)
The Committee recalled that logging was permitted within this site and that as many as 3,200 of the Park's bison population were affected by brucellosis and tuberculosis. The Committee was satisfied to note that forestry regulations are now more strictly enforced by the Canadian Park Service personnel and that negotiations are underway to terminate logging rights before their official expiry in the year 2002. The Committee recognized that the large size of a site is no longer a guarantee for the conservation of this site and development activities in ...
Sites: Wood Buffalo National Park
Talamanca-La Amistad (Costa Rica/Panama)
The Committee was pleased to note that in accordance with its request the authorities of Costa Rica and Panama had agreed to a single listing of this site. The Committee was satisfied that the Costa Rican authorities had agreed to the IUCN recommendation to delete three Indian reserves and add one forest and wildlife refuge. In accordance with another IUCN recommendation, the Committee urged the Costa Rican authorities to delete four additional Indian reserves in the north-eastern Atlantic sector and provide to the Secretariat a map showing the ...
Sangay National Park (Ecuador)
The Committee was satisfied to note that the Secretariat, based upon the information provided by IUCN, had sought clarification on the construction of an eight-kilometre highway through this Park. The Committee was pleased to note that the Sub-Secretariat of Forestry and Natural Resources in Ecuador had been able to halt the construction of this road until environmental impact studies are completed. The Committee complimented the Ecuadorean authorities for taking timely action and requested the Secretariat to remind them of the. possibilities for obtaining ...
Sites: Sangay National Park
Kahuzi Biega National Park (Zaire)
The Committee was glad to note that the Government of Zaire and the German Ministry for Co-operation (BMZ) have dropped plans to construct a road through this Park. The Committee commended the Government of Zaire for its decision and encouraged the BMZ to continue its technical co-operation to strengthen protection of the Kahuzi Biega National Park.
Sites: Kahuzi-Biega National Park
Mt.Nimba Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire/Guinea)
The Committee recalled that the Bureau at its last session requested the Guinean authorities to submit a new file stating the boundaries of the property receiving adequate protection, and the long-term guarantees for that protection. The Committee was glad to note that such a file had been submitted by the Guinean authorities and that IUCN had undertaken a field mission to evaluate the information provided in that file.
The Committee noted that the proposed iron-ore mining site was within the boundaries of the Mt.Nimba Nature Reserve ...
Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras)
The Committee noted that there had been a recent change in the national agency responsible for the management of this site. The Vice-President of Honduras requested the Committee at its last session to include this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee was informed that the new management authority would submit to the Secretariat a request for international assistance in order to enable the Committee to consider including this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (India)
The Committee recalled that this site had been threatened by the invasion of the Sanctuary by the people of the Bodo tribe in 1989. The Committee was concerned that there had been no response from Indian authorities to its recommendation, made in 1989 and 1990, to nominate this site to the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee noted that a survey undertaken by WWF of the surrounding villages might lead to a more co-operative approach to management in the future and a programme for implementing corrective measures has been suggested by members of ...
Sites: Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
Royal Chitwan National Park (Nepal)
The Committee was pleased to note that the Irrigation Department and the Nepal Planning Commission have formally dropped their plans for a US$30 million irrigation project to divert the Rapti River which would have seriously threatened the integrity of this Park. A study undertaken by the Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank, following the intervention of the Committee, showed the project was environmentally unacceptable and its economic benefits to be doubtful. The Committee commended the Nepalese authorities for taking decisive action ...
Sites: Chitwan National Park
Djoudj National Park (Senegal)
The Committee recalled that this site was taken off the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1988, and since then had been the location of a training course from 4-15 March 1991 on Wetland Management, jointly organized by the National Parks Service of Senegal, IUCN's Wetland Programme and the Netherlands Research Institute for Nature Management.