Decision 43 COM 7B.63

Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy (Indonesia) (C 1194rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 38 COM 7B.14, 39 COM 7B.66 and 41 COM 7B.91, adopted at its 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015) and 41st (Krakow, 2017) sessions respectively,
3. Commends the State Party for progress made in implementing the Committee’s previous decisions and the recommendations of the 2015 Advisory mission, and encourages it to continue working to implement effective mechanisms for the management and protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
4. Welcomes in particular the information provided by the State Party concerning the introduction of financial incentives to assist subak farmers at the district level in 2019 and the financial support provided by the Regencies of Gianyar and Tabanan, and requests that the State Party monitor the effectiveness of all financial support mechanisms, taking all necessary steps to ensure that all subaks within the property have full and equitable access to such incentives;
5. Also welcomes the ongoing designation of the property as a National Strategic Area, and also encourages the State Party to finalize this process as soon as possible;
6. Notes that further review, assessment and enhancements are planned to strengthen the coordination of the numerous programmes and initiatives that can have an impact on the effectiveness of the management system established for the property, including the functioning of the Coordination Forum and the national Coordination Team, and also requests the State Party to submit reports on the progress and monitoring of these mechanisms, particularly the effectiveness of the participation of subak farmers in decision making and the formal management system for the property;
7. Further requests the State Party to develop specific Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) mechanisms that are linked to the property’s management system and can explicitly address the need for the ongoing protection of the OUV of the inscribed cultural landscape;
8. Requests furthermore the State Party to conduct HIAs for all new developments within the property and its setting, particularly at Jatiluwih, and submit documentation on all proposed developments and associated HIAs for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies before taking any decision that would be difficult to reverse, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
9. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 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 45th session in 2021.