World Heritage 32 COM Distribution Limited WHC-08/32.COM/8A Paris, 15 April 2008 Original: English/French UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE Thirty second Session Quebec City, Canada 2 – 10 July 2008 Item 8 of the Provisional Agenda: Establishment of the World Heritage List and of the List of World Heritage in Danger 8A. Tentative Lists submitted by States Parties as of 15 April 2008, in conformity with the Operational Guidelines SUMMARY This document presents the Tentative Lists of all States Parties submitted in conformity with the Operational Guidelines as of 15 April 2008 and subject to the new procedure requested in Decision 31 COM 8A.3. The World Heritage Committee is requested to note that all nominations of properties to be examined by the 32nd session of the Committee are included in the Tentative Lists of the respective States Parties. This document also presents a proposal for a new procedure of technical analysis of the Tentative Lists and for revision of the Operational Guidelines (Part II.C). • Annex 1 presents a full list of States Parties indicating the date of the most recent Tentative List submission; • Annex 2 presents new Tentative Lists (or additions to Tentative Lists) submitted by States Parties since the last session of the World Heritage Committee; • Annex 3 presents a list of all properties submitted on Tentative Lists received from the States Parties, in alphabetical order. Draft Decision: 32 COM 8A, see point III I. Examination of Tentative Lists 1. The World Heritage Committee requests each State Party to submit to it an inventory of the cultural and natural properties situated within its territory, which it considers suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List, and which it intends to nominate during the following five to ten years. The purpose of these inventories, also known as Tentative Lists, is to enable the World Heritage Committee to evaluate, within the widest possible context, the "Outstanding Universal Value" of each property nominated to the List. At its 24th session (Cairns, 2000), the Committee confirmed the importance of these Lists for planning purposes, comparative analyses of nominations and for facilitating the undertaking of the global and thematic studies. It also decided that inclusion in the Tentative List would be mandatory for all properties which the State Party intends to nominate for inscription on the World Heritage List. 2. In considering the use of Tentative Lists as a means for achieving the objectives of the Global Strategy, the Special Expert Meeting on “The Concept of Outstanding Universal Value”, Kazan, Russian Federation, (April 2005), recommended that: • States Parties should each establish a coordination mechanism with an interdisciplinary composition to undertake and oversee effectively the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and the preparation and review of Tentative Lists in particular; • Tentative Lists should be seen as part of the effort of conservation of national heritage; • Properties on Tentative Lists should have national and/or other appropriate recognition; • Compilation of Tentative Lists should involve local communities and indigenous peoples and should include public consultation where appropriate; • The compilation of Tentative Lists should take account of the Global Strategy, comparative studies and the Advisory Bodies gap analysis; • The preparation of Tentative Lists should have due regard to other international conventions and programmes; • In preparation of their Tentative Lists, States Parties should be rigorous in their local evaluation to ensure that expectations of inscription match reality; • The size of a Tentative List should take into account the Cairns-Suzhou decision (Decision 28 COM 13.1) and the 10 years cycle of the Tentative List recommended by the Operational Guidelines (paragraph 65); • The comparative analysis should be developed by regions and themes; • Regional meetings on harmonization of Tentative Lists should identify types of properties for nomination in a given region, and those for possible inclusion as transnational and transboundary properties; • The Advisory Bodies should complete their thematic studies and initiate and facilitate appropriate regional and comparative studies as soon as possible and in a WHC-08/32.COM/8A, p. 1 time scale to allow States Parties to identify categories and themes of heritage that are relevant for completion of all Tentative Lists in 2007 and the revision of existing Tentative Lists; • States Parties with no Tentative Lists should be encouraged to request preparatory International Assistance if necessary for preparing their Tentative List; • The Advisory Bodies, within their available resources, should comment on the Tentative Lists of all States Parties upon request; • The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies should provide a compilation of best practices and publish a number of training manuals; • The World Heritage Centre should prepare a handbook to inform property owners and stakeholders about the process and requirements for inscription on the List of World Heritage, and to clarify expectations concerning the benefits and commitments that may result from being inscribed as a World Heritage property. 3. According to paragraph 65 of the Operational Guidelines, States Parties shall submit Tentative Lists preferably at least one year prior to the submission of any nomination. States Parties are also encouraged to re-examine and re-submit their Tentative Lists at least every ten years. A standard format for Tentative Lists is set out in Annex 2 of the Operational Guidelines. 4. As of 15 April 2008, of the 185 States Parties which have ratified the Convention, 162 had submitted Tentative Lists in accordance with the requirements specified in the Operational Guidelines, 23 States Parties had not submitted any Tentative List. All the nominations submitted for examination in 2008 (see Document WHC-08/32.COM/8B) are included on the Tentative Lists of the States concerned. 5. In conformity with Committee Decision 27 COM 8A, paragraph 4, this document presents the Tentative Lists submissions received since the last session of the World Heritage Committee in a separate annex. Since the 31st session of the Committee, 32 States Parties had submitted new Tentative Lists or modified existing Lists. The number of new properties added to the Tentative Lists is 227. These properties are presented in Annex 2 of this document. 6. In conformity with Committee Decision 7 EXT.COM 4A, properties already inscribed on the World Heritage List were removed from the Tentative Lists of States Parties. 7. In conformity with the Committee Decision 27 COM 8A, paragraph 5, the complete Tentative Lists of all States Parties are accessible to the public at the following web address of the World Heritage Centre: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists. 8. Moreover, the World Heritage Committee invites the States Parties, which have not yet done so, to submit as early as possible Tentative Lists in accordance with the Operational Guidelines. Preparatory assistance can be provided if necessary and requested by the State Party concerned. II. Proposal for a new procedure of technical analysis of the Tentative Lists and for revision of the Operational Guidelines (Part II.C) 9. The World Heritage Committee, at its 31st session by Decision 31 COM 8A.3: WHC-08/32.COM/8A, p. 2 4. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, to propose a revision of Part II. C ("Tentative Lists") of the Operational Guidelines, in order to clarify the procedures of technical analysis by the World Heritage Centre and to ensure that properties proposed on the Tentative Lists are consistent with properties already inscribed on the World Heritage List; 5. Further requests the World Heritage Centre to present to the World Heritage Committee, at its 32nd session in 2008, a proposal in this regard. 10. The need to present Tentative Lists has been foreseen in Article 11.1 of the World Heritage Convention as a preliminary step to the inclusion of properties on the World Heritage List: Article 11 Every State Party to this Convention shall, as far as possible, submit to the World Heritage Committee an inventory of property forming part of the cultural and natural heritage, situated in its territory and suitable for inclusion in the list provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article. This inventory, which shall not be considered exhaustive, shall include documentation about the location of the property in question and its significance. 11. The presentation of Tentative Lists of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention and their registration process by the World Heritage Centre is regulated in Part II.C of the Operational Guidelines, paragraphs 62 to 76. 12. The current Operational Guidelines, clearly define in paragraphs 62, 65 and 66 the nature and function of Tentative Lists, while the functions of the Secretariat are spelled out in paragraph 68. Finally, paragraph 73 encourages States Parties to harmonize their Tentative Lists. 13. According to the current Operational Guidelines, the World Heritage Centre has the task of: • Checking if all the information requested by the Operational Guidelines has been provided; • Registering the Tentative Lists; • Transmitting the Tentative Lists to the Advisory Bodies for information; • Presenting a summary