Decision-making

Decisions about a proposed action are made throughout the impact assessment process. For example:

• Relevant authorities and proponents make decisions about whether planning for a proposed action should proceed or not at the screening (Section 6.4) and scoping stages (Section 6.5)
• A proponent may decide to change the appropriate action’s location, design, technology, etc. as the action’s impacts are identified and evaluated during an impact assessment (Section 6.8–Section 6.9)
• Major investors, such as development banks or other international financial institutions, use the final impact assessment report to make decisions about whether to fund the proposed action or not
• Relevant authorities will use the final impact assessment report as the basis on which to make a decision regarding the approval for the proposed action and, if it goes ahead, under what conditions.

The ultimate decision on whether a proposed action should be approved or not will be made by the relevant national authorities. There are three options for such a decision:

• Approval is given, including specific conditions (e.g. mitigation measures). This should only happen where the proposed action, with conditions, would avoid all negative impacts on OUV, or if any negative impacts are too minor to merit further consideration
• Approval is deferred, for example, awaiting additional information or on the basis of requests for the proposed action to be redesigned
• Approval is denied.

States Parties The countries which have adhered to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage ( World Heritage Convention The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is an international treaty adopted by the UN in 1972 that defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List for their Outstanding Universal Value for all humankind. Commonly known as the World Heritage Convention, it establishes how the international community as a whole is responsible for
the protection of such heritage and sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites that may be eligible for inscription onto the World Heritage List and their role in protecting and preserving them. By signing the Convention, each country pledges to conserve not only the sites situated on its territory that have been recognized as being of Outstanding Universal Value, but also to protect its national heritage and to be involved in international efforts to protect, conserve and promote the heritage of humankind. ) (UNESCO, 1972). are expected to take these decisions in light of their obligations under the World Heritage Convention The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is an international treaty adopted by the UN in 1972 that defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List for their Outstanding Universal Value for all humankind. Commonly known as the World Heritage Convention, it establishes how the international community as a whole is responsible for
the protection of such heritage and sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites that may be eligible for inscription onto the World Heritage List and their role in protecting and preserving them. By signing the Convention, each country pledges to conserve not only the sites situated on its territory that have been recognized as being of Outstanding Universal Value, but also to protect its national heritage and to be involved in international efforts to protect, conserve and promote the heritage of humankind. ; the impact assessment should help inform those decisions. An impact assessment in a World Heritage context is intended to ensure that a proposed action’s potential impacts on OUV are fully considered in decision-making, with the objective of safeguarding these exceptional places. All proposed actions, whether they are located in or near the World Heritage property A cultural, natural or mixed heritage place inscribed on the World Heritage List and therefore considered to be of OUV for humanity. The responsibility for nominating a property to the World Heritage List falls upon the State(s) Party(ies) where it is located. The World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, taking into account the technical recommendations of the Advisory Bodies following rigorous evaluation processes.
When used as a general term, World Heritage refers to all the natural, cultural and mixed properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. , should be considered in terms of whether they are compatible with the long-term conservation of OUV. The assessment should also consider the property’s connections to its wider setting, as World Heritage cannot be considered in isolation. Proposed actions that are not compatible with this objective should not be approved.