Decision: 39 COM 8B.4 

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Documents WHC-15/39.COM/8B and WHC-15/39.COM/INF.8B2,

2. Refers the nomination of Landscapes of Dauria, Mongolia and Russian Federation back to the States Parties, noting the potential for a nomination in the wider Daurian Steppes Ecoregion to meet natural criterion (x), in order to allow the States Parties to provide supplementary information, taking into account the need to: 

a) Review, with the support of IUCN, the boundaries of the nominated area and buffer zones to include areas important for the protection of forest steppe ecosystems which are an essential component to demonstrate Outstanding Universal Value, and are currently poorly represented within the nominated property and to ensure the property is designed with boundaries that better support the critical habitat of migratory birds and habitat associated with the migration of Mongolian Gazelle;

b) Prepare a joint management plan for the property to ensure a strengthened approach to sustainable regional development, tourism planning, threatened species conservation actions, research, monitoring and environmental education. This plan should be developed consistent with the transboundary framework provided by the Joint Commission between the States Parties of the Russian Federation, Mongolia and China supporting the Dauria International Protected Area (DIPA) initiative. 

3. Requests the States Parties to strengthen transnational collaboration to mitigate threats and ensure consistent capacity and effectiveness in both the Russian Federation and Mongolian components of the nominated property, and specifically to: 

a) develop strengthened, better coordinated policies, practices and action plans to combat the threat of fire;

b) develop strengthened, better coordinated management of buffer zones including with regard to grazing and cutting, in order to prevent overexploitation;

c) establish enhanced legal and other measures to reduce hunting and poaching pressures on the nominated property;

d) provide the necessary long term resourcing and capacity to address imbalances and ensure effective management across the transnational nominated property as a whole.

4. Also requests the State Party of Mongolia, in line with the position of the World Heritage Committee on the incompatibility of mining with World Heritage site status, to confirm unequivocally that mining exploration and exploitation activities will not be permitted within the nominated property;

5. Commends the States Parties of the Russian Federation and Mongolia for their commitment to the protection of important Central Asian steppe ecosystems which remain poorly represented on the World Heritage List; 6. Further requests IUCN in consultation with the relevant States Parties, to update the 2005 Central Asia Regional Thematic Study on natural World Heritage to identify at a regional scale the most outstanding steppe areas with potential for future nomination to the World Heritage List.