Decision : 40 COM 7B.21
Stone Town of Zanzibar (United Republic of Tanzania) (C 173rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7B.45, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Acknowledges the actions taken by the State Party to implement its recommendations and urges the State Party to secure the necessary resources for the full operation of the newly created management arrangements, including the Development Control Unit (DCU) and the strengthening of the Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority (STCDA);
4. Notes the results from the condition survey of the property and requests the State Party to continue its efforts on addressing the state of the building stock by implementing conservation and restoration projects, by developing appropriate methodological guidance and an effective monitoring system, and by increasing technical capacities and skills;
5. Expressing concern at the shortcomings in the documentation submitted and the methodologies to be used for the proposed restoration of Beit-el-Ajaib (House of Wonders), highlighted by an Advisory Bodies technical review, also urges the State Party to halt all work on this building apart from urgent shoring, and to develop detailed documentation as indicated in the technical review, including archival research, and submit this revised documentation to the World Heritage Centre for further review by the Advisory Bodies before any work on the proposed project commences;
6. Also notes the results of the 2016 Reactive Monitoring mission to the property and further urges the State Party to implement the agreed upon measures, in accordance with the proposed timelines, regarding the Specific Recommendations for Procedures to Adequately Control Development and Promote Conservation;
7. Also requests the State Party to finalize consultations with the current property management of the Mambo Msiige building to implement all feasible mitigation measures, as outlined in the 2014 and 2016 mission reports, to lessen negative impacts of the hotel on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, and to provide a proposal for this work, including a timeline for implementation, to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
8. Further requests the State Party to provide project proposals and details on the potential urban interventions for the Container Port, for any commercial space on the Darajani Corridor, for the proposed promenade along the Mizingani seawall, and for potential restoration interventions and use plans for the Tippu Tip House, and the Creek Road Chawl Building, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before any permits are granted for implementation;
9. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2017, a progress report and, by 1 December 2017, 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 42nd session in 2018.