Upstream Process

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/9A,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 9A adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021), and its previous decisions concerning the Upstream Process,
3. Also recalling that upstream support should take place at an early stage, preferably at the moment of preparation or revision of States Parties’ Tentative Lists, welcomes that States Parties from all regions make use of the Upstream Process;
4. Also welcomes the preparation by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies of a toolkit to operationalize the “Guidance on Developing and Revising World Heritage Tentative Lists”, in response to Upstream Process requests concerning Tentative Lists and invites States Parties to follow this guidance and toolkit whether or not they engage with the Upstream Process;
5. Recognizes the efforts undertaken by the State Party involved, the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre in the implementation so far of the project and decides to phase out the Pilot Project of the Coral Stone Mosques of the Maldives (Maldives);
6. Takes note of the progress made regarding the Upstream Process requests received from 2018 to 2021;
7. Further welcomes the submission of the Upstream Process requests received by the 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023 deadlines, and the efforts by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to process all requests received in the timeliest manner possible within the resources available;
8. Also invites the States Parties to contribute extra-budgetary resources for the overall coordination and capacity building support of the Upstream Process, and also decides, in case the resources are insufficient to ensure continuity, to supplement the funding of an extra-budgetary position from the Upstream Support budget line in the World Heritage Fund;
9. Thanks the States Parties of Slovenia, Switzerland and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for their financial support to the overall coordination of the Upstream Process;
10. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to present a progress report on the support offered to Upstream Process requests received, for consideration at its 46th session.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/9A,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 9A, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019), and its previous decisions concerning the Upstream Process,
3. Welcomes the advice, consultation and analysis undertaken to improve processes and practices prior to the development of nominations for consideration by the World Heritage Committee and reiterates that, in order to be most effective, upstream support should take place at an early stage, preferably at the moment of preparation or revision of States Parties’ Tentative Lists;
4. Commends ICOMOS, which, in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre, IUCN and ICCROM, prepared a guidance document for States Parties on the development and revision of Tentative Lists to address related Upstream Process requests, as an initial response to the increased need to provide basic guidance on this matter and notes that the use of this guidance could contribute to improve quality of Tentative Lists and the consistency of related Upstream Process requests;
5. Recognizes the efforts undertaken by the States Parties involved, the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre and decides to phase out the Pilot Projects of the Ancient Kano City Walls and Associated Sites (Nigeria), the Batanes Protected Landscapes and Seascapes (Philippines) and the Grenadines Islands Group (Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines);
6. Takes note of the progress made regarding the Pilot Projects and the 2018 and 2019 Upstream Process requests;
7. Also welcomes the submission of the Upstream Process requests received by the 17 April 2020, 31 October 2020 and 31 March 2021 deadlines, and the efforts by the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies to process all requests received in the best timely manner possible and within the resources available;
8. Also recognizesthat maintaining the second yearly deadline for submission of requests for Upstream Process, 31 October, is not needed as the yearly limit of requests that can be dealt with is largely exceeded by the first deadline, and therefore, in order to ensure a more streamlined follow-up to incoming requests, also decides to only retain the 31 March annual deadline from now on;
9. Further decides to limit to one the number of requests per State Party that can be addressed in each cycle and to confirm the limit of ten as the total of new Upstream Process requests that can be processed in each cycle;
10. Bearing in mind that the Upstream Process is an activity which is not sufficiently budgeted, invites States Parties to consider financially contributing to the implementation of requests received from Least Developed Countries, Low-Income and Lower-Middle Income Countries and Small Island Developing States;
11. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to present a progress report on the remaining Pilot Project as well as on the support offered to Upstream Process requests received, for consideration at its 45th session.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/9A.Rev,
2. Recalling Decisions 34 COM 13.III, 35 COM 12C, 36 COM 12C, 37 COM 9, 38 COM 9A, 39 COM 11, 40 COM 9A, 41 COM 9A and 42 COM 9A, adopted at its 34th (Brasilia, 2010), 35th (UNESCO, 2011), 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012), 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015), 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016), 41st (Krakow, 2017) and 42nd (Manama, 2018) sessions respectively,
3. Also recalling the integration of the Upstream Process in Paragraphs 71 and 122 of the Operational Guidelines,
4. Reiterates that, in order to be most effective, upstream support should take place at an early stage, preferably at the moment of preparation or revision of States Parties’ Tentative Lists;
5. Welcomes the advice, consultation and analysis undertaken to improve processes and practices prior to the development of nominations for consideration by the World Heritage Committee, commends the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for the pilot projects that registered progress and takes note of the conclusion of the pilot project on the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region, Albania and North Macedonia;
6. Also takes note of the progress made regarding the 2018 Upstream Process requests;
7. Further takes note of the Upstream Process requests received by the 31 March 2019 deadline and also commends the States Parties for having submitted these requests;
8. Recognizing the limited available capacity, including time and resources, of the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, and on the basis of the experience acquired so far in providing upstream support, takes note furthermore of the willingness of the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to process all requests received in the best timely manner possible and, given that the number of requests received exceeds the set up cap of ten new Upstream Process requests per year, and decides to set the next deadline for receiving Upstream Process requests and to review and prioritize them at 31 March 2020;
9. Bearing in mind that the Upstream Process is an activity which is not fully budgeted, invites States Parties to consider financially contributing to the implementation of requests received from Least Developed Countries, Low-Income and Lower-Middle Income Countries and Small Island Developing States;
10. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to present a progress report on the remaining pilot projects as well as on the support offered to Upstream Process requests received, for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Documents WHC/18/42.COM/12A and WHC/18/42.COM/9A,
2. Recalling Decisions 34 COM 12.III, 35 COM 12C, 36 COM 12C, 37 COM 9, 38 COM 9A, 39 COM 11, 40 COM 9A and 41 COM 9A, adopted at its 34th (Brasilia, 2010), 35th (UNESCO, 2011), 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012), 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015), 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) and 41st (Krakow, 2017) sessions respectively,
3. Also recalling the integration of the Upstream Process in Paragraphs 71 and 122 of the Operational Guidelines,
4. Welcomes the actions undertaken to improve the processes and practices prior to the consideration of nominations by the World Heritage Committee, and commends the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for the pilot projects that registered progress;
5. Also takes note of the Upstream Process requests received by the deadline of 31 March 2018 and also commends States Parties, in particular those without any property inscribed on the World Heritage List, having submitted these requests;
6. Recognizing the limited available capacity of the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies, and on the basis of the experience acquired so far in providing Upstream advice, and of their willingness to process all requests received in the best timely manner possible and, given that the number of requests received exceeds the set up cap of ten new Upstream Process requests per year decides to set the next deadline for receiving upstream requests at 31 March 2019 ;
7. Expresses its appreciation to the ad-hoc Working Group for its work and recommendation with regard to the definition of Upstream Process;
8. Approves the revised definition of the Upstream Process presented in document WHC/18/42.COM/12A for inclusion in the footnote of Paragraph 122 of the Operational Guidelines and requests the World Heritage Centre to integrate it in the Operational Guidelines, in the framework of the revision of the Operational Guidelines at its 43rd session in 2019;
9. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to present a progress report on the ongoing pilot projects as well as on the implementation of Upstream Process requests received, for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session in 2019.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/9A,
2. Recalling Decisions 34 COM 13.III, 35 COM 12C, 36 COM 12C, 37 COM 9, 38 COM 9A, 39 COM 11 and 40 COM 9A, adopted at its 34th (Brasilia, 2010), 35th (UNESCO, 2011), 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012), 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015) and 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) sessions respectively,
3. Also recalling the integration of the Upstream Processes in Paragraphs 71 and 122 of the Operational Guidelines,
4. Further recalls that, in order to be effective, the upstream support should ideally take place at an early stage, preferably at the moment of the preparation or revision of the States Parties’ Tentative Lists, and takes notes that this has also been reiterated by the outcomes of the online survey on the Upstream Process;
5. Welcomes all the actions undertaken to improve the processes and practices prior to the consideration of nominations by the World Heritage Committee, and commends the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for the pilot projects that registered progress;
6. Also welcomes the launch of the online survey on the Upstream Process and the in-depth reflection undertaken by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies; and warmly thanks the States Parties which have participated in the online survey, for their valuable input and comments;
7. Expresses its appreciation to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for presenting proposals to ensure the effective and equitable implementation of the Upstream Process for its consideration;
8. In view of ensuring proper follow-up, greater efficiency, transparency and accountability as well as streamlining and improved coordination of the required actions following requests for upstream advice, approves with immediate effect the revised Upstream Process request format contained in Annex I to Document WHC/17/41.COM/9A and requests the Secretariat to include this item for examination and possible inclusion as a new annex to the Operational Guidelines during the next review of the Operational Guidelines at its 43rd session in 2019;
9. In view of the outcome of the online survey, also takes note of the proposed amendments to footnote of Paragraph 122 of the Operational Guidelines contained in Document WHC/17/41.COM/9A, which aims to provide useful and clear guidance to States Parties on questions relating to the implementation of the Upstream Process, and also requests the Secretariat to include this item for examination and possible inclusion in the Operational Guidelines during the next review of the Operational Guidelines at its 43rd session in 2019;
10. Recognizing the limited available capacity of the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies, and on the basis of the experience acquired so far in providing Upstream advice, further takes note that it is not feasible to process more than ten new Upstream Process requests per year and decides that this limit will be applied on a trial basis for 2 years starting in 2018;
11. Also decides that the Upstream Process requests will be reviewed and prioritized twice a year with deadlines for submission to the World Heritage Centre on 31 March and 31 October through giving priority for preparation or revision of Tentative Lists, to Least Developed Countries, Low-Income and Lower-Middle Income Countries and Small Island Developing States, followed by the mechanism of Paragraph 61.c) of the Operational Guidelines;
12. In order to ensure a fairer and more equitable use of the resources available, whether in terms of funding or in terms of staff, further decides to apply the prioritization system established by the mechanism of Paragraph 61.c) of the Operational Guidelines in conjunction with the criteria of eligibility for receiving financial support for the provision of upstream advice;
13. Requests that the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to also give consideration to the thematic and regional imbalances highlighted by the gap analyses as well as innovative approaches to heritage in the prioritization of the upstream requests;
14. Decides furthermore that the States Parties who may benefit from the “Advisory Missions” budget line within the World Heritage Fund, including for upstream support, will be limited to those falling within the categories of Least Developed Countries, Low-Income and Lower-Middle Income Countries and Small Islands Developing States and others on a case by case as well as cost-sharing basis;
15. Decides moreover to establish a sub-account within the World Heritage Fund, to be used exclusively for funding requests for upstream support, and to be funded by voluntary contributions;
16. Also decides to include in the mandate of the extended Ad-Hoc Working Group an item on the definition of the upstream process and the effectiveness of the Global Strategy for a balanced and representative World Heritage List;
17. Encourages the World Heritage Centre to take the necessary and feasible measures in a way to better cope with upstream process;
18. Recommends that other Category 2 Centres consider integrating in their capacity-building initiatives the Nomination Upstream programme following the example of the African World Heritage Fund programme in Africa in partnership with the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre, which is considered a successful regional capacity-building model;
19. Further requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to present a progress report on the ongoing pilot projects as well as on the implementation of Upstream Process requests received, for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/9A,
2. Recalling Decisions 34 COM 13.III, 35 COM 12C, 36 COM 12C, 37 COM 9 and 39 COM 11, adopted at its 34th (Brasilia, 2010), 35th (UNESCO, 2011), 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012), 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013) and 39th (Bonn, 2015) sessions respectively,
3. Also recalling the integration of the Upstream Processes in Paragraphs 71 and 122 of the Operational Guidelines,
4. Welcomes all the actions undertaken to improve the processes and practices prior to the consideration of nominations by the World Heritage Committee, including the creation of a special unit at ICOMOS; commends the States Parties of Saudi Arabia and Uruguay for the successful termination of the pilot projects in 2015 and the inscription on the World Heritage List of the Rock Art in the Hail region and the Fray Bentos Industrial Landscape respectively; and also commends the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for the pilot projects that registered progress;
5. Recognizes the efforts undertaken by the States Parties involved, the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre and decides to phase out the pilot project of Gadara (Modern Um Qeis or Qays), Jordan;
6. Recalls that, in order to be effective, the upstream support should ideally take place at an early stage, preferably at the moment of the preparation or revision of the States Parties’ Tentative Lists;
7. Notes the growing number of States Parties that request upstream advice and the lack of budgetary provisions for the appropriate implementation of the Upstream Processes, and also notes that due to the lack of such provision there is a risk of providing greater support only to those States Parties with the means to fund such advice, thus jeopardizing the universal application of the Convention;
8. Recognizes therefore that adequate and equitable financing of the Upstream Processes is needed to provide technical and financial support to States Parties which are not able to identify and secure the resources necessary to request upstream support, and that such financing is needed prior to agreeing further steps to implement any policy on upstream advice, in order to avoid generating further imbalances in the List;
9. Also recalls that upstream support can be requested by eligible States Parties under the preparatory assistance, in the framework of the International Assistance mechanism and under the new budget line approved for Advisory Missions under the World Heritage Fund, within the limits of available resources;
10. In view of ensuring proper follow-up, greater efficiency, transparency and accountability as well as streamlining and improved coordination of the required actions following requests for upstream advice, takes note of the draft Upstream Process request format contained in Annex I to Document WHC/16/40.COM/9A and invites comments from the States Parties on this format and on the wider issues with the implementation of the Upstream Processes;
11. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies and the States Parties, to further review the lessons learned in the implementation of the Upstream Processes, and to present harmonized proposals, including those addressing the needs of the African region, least developed countries and Small Island Developing States, to ensure the effective and equitable implementation of the Upstream Processes for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017, together with a report on the upstream activities currently being implemented by the Advisory Bodies and UNESCO.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/9A,
2. Recalling Decision 34 COM 13.III adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010), Decision 35 COM 12C at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011), Decision 36 COM 12C at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012) and Decision 37 COM 9 at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Welcomes all the actions undertaken to improve the processes and practices prior to consideration by the World Heritage Committee of a nomination (the ‘Upstream Processes’) and commends the States Parties, the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre for the pilot projects in which progress was made;
4. Acknowledges that outside of the referenced pilot projects, in order to be effective, the upstream support should ideally intervene at an early stage, more precisely at the moment of the revision or preparation of States Parties Tentative Lists;
5. Also commends Saudi Arabia and Uruguay for submission of their nominations, the Rock Drawings in the Hail region and the Cultural and Industrial Landscape of Fray Bentos respectively;
6. Urges the States Parties concerned that have not yet done so, to fully collaborate providing technical and financial support to implement the required actions to make progress with the pilot projects, and encourages them to seek assistance, if necessary, from the World Heritage Centre to identify opportunities to secure resources to advance on the project;
7. Calls upon the international community to provide technical and financial support to assist the States Parties concerned in the implementation of their pilot projects, which were not able to identify and secure adequate resources;
8. Requests the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre to report on the progress in implementing the pilot projects for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.