Decision 46 COM 7B.9

Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape (Hungary) (C 1063)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7B,
2. Notes the establishment of a Management Plan for the property and requests the State Party to submit its electronic copy in one of the working languages of the Committee to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
3. Also requests the State Party to amend Decree 485/2016 on the World Heritage Management Plan for the Historic Tokaj-Hegyalja Wine Region, so that the attributes supporting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property are identical to those adopted by the Committee in Decision 37 COM 8E;
4. Notes with regret that the Minaro Hotel Tokaj has been constructed within the property without prior preparation of a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) or notification of the project to the World Heritage Centre in accordance with paragraphs 118bis and 172 of the Operational Guidelines, and urges the State Party to ensure that there is no future expansion of this facility or related creation or widening of roads on the property, as recommended in the ICOMOS Technical Review of the Visual Impact Assessment of the project;
5. Notes with concern that the Kopasz Hill Cable Car project, if built on any of the proposed routes, would adversely affect the OUV of the property, advises that the project should not proceed in its current form, and further requests the State Party to reconsider it, having regard to the findings of the ICOMOS Technical Review to consider alternative routes and potential direct and indirect impacts, and to submit full documentation, including a new HIA, for review by the Advisory Bodies, before making any irreversible decisions;
6. Reminds the State Party of the requirement to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, detailed information on all planned and ongoing works that may have an impact on the OUV of the property, including HIAs prepared in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and to do so before making any decisions that are difficult to reverse, in accordance with paragraphs 118bis and 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
7. Reiterates its previous request to the State Party to provide information to the World Heritage Centre on proposals for new or improved roads, including a bypass to replace the high traffic road that crosses the property;
8. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2025, 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 48th session.