Curonian Spit

• Potential pollution from the oil exploitation of the D-6 oil field in the Baltic Sea by the Russian Federation
• Lack of bilateral cooperation between Lithuania and the Russian Federation, including joint assessment of environmental impact of the D-6 project
• Impacts of sewage spill accident which took place at Klaipėda Water Treatment Station (Lithuania)
• New constructions and possibly illegal constructions
• Sand dunes erosion
• Possible tourism economic zone in Kaliningrad
• Construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal outside Klaipėda and proposed construction of a deep sea port at Klaipėda
• Reported plans to construct a suspension bridge from Klaipėda across the Lagoon to the Spit
• Absence of a Management Plan and associated cooperative management system between the States Parties

On 20 November 2017, the State Party of Lithuania submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property; followed on 1 December 2017 by a report from the Russian Federation, which are both available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/994/documents/. These reports outline progress made in relation to the requests of the Committee:

Lithuania:

• An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be completed by the end of 2018 for the proposed deepening of the inner navigation canal of Klaipėda Port up to a depth of 17.0 m, the deepening of the external navigation canal up to a depth of 17.5 m and the reconstruction of the hydraulic structures for the Port entry gate;
• The General Plan of Klaipėda Port territory is due to be approved in early 2018. It is intended to establish regulations for Klaipeda Port area activities and the main trends of Klaipeda Port development for 15 years;
• There has been no final decision concerning a deep sea outer port at Klaipėda;
• A new construction of the Sea Therapy Centre is planned within the property, but has not yet been examined at national level;
• The State Party plans to start designing works for the small boats and yacht harbor in Juodkrantė, as well as a high-voltage line-cabling project;
• The two States Parties wish to prepare two separate Management Plans for the property. The Lithuanian authorities have already drafted a Management Plan, taking into account the concerns of the local people and the visions of the local institutions;
• The State Party strongly reaffirms that there is no formal proposal for construction of a suspension bridge from Klaipéda across the Lagoon to the Spit;
• Lithuanian authorities have implemented national and international projects for the conservation and protection of the property.

Russian Federation:

• The Draft Program for Social and Economic Development of Curonian Spit Rural Settlement Municipality (2014-2021) was prepared but is not yet approved by the Administration of Curonian Spit National Park (CSNP), nor by the Government of the Kaliningrad Region;
• The Project of the CSNP Preservation Area is being considered by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;
• The Project of the preservation of protective dune ridge was validated by the State Environmental Review and is currently under the State Technical Expertise;
• The CSNP took necessary actions for the conservation of the stretches of the protective coastal dune ridge (total 3.1 ha).

The reports indicate that the States Parties have continued efforts to address the property’s current conservation issues.

The State Party of Lithuania will complete the EIA regarding the deepening of the navigation canal and a reconstruction of Klaipėda Port by the end of 2018 and has confirmed that there is no formal proposal for construction of a suspension bridge from Klaipéda across the Lagoon to the Spit. The State Party of Lithuania should submit the General Plan of Klaipeda Port to the World Heritage Centre for review, prior to its formal adoption.

The Reactive Monitoring mission of January 2015 concluded that the proposed construction of a deep sea port has potential to impact upon the attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property. However, if the enlargement of the existing channel area does not exceed the current port borders, the project may be consistent with the OUV of the property. Therefore, potential impacts should be thoroughly addressed through EIAs and Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs), in conformity with the ICOMOS Guidelines on HIAs for World Heritage Cultural Properties and with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment. They should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before any decision is made.

The State Party of Lithuania reports briefly on a planned new construction of the Sea Therapy Centre within the property, plans to start designing works for the small boats and yacht harbor in Juodkrantė, as well as a high-voltage line-cabling project. An independent HIA is necessary before any planning provision is finalized and building permit issued for these projects.

In response to their different legal systems and institutions, the States Parties of Lithuania and the Russian Federation are considering developing two separate interrelated Management Plans (with similar content and measures) in which the management of the Curonian Spit, the actions for the preservation of the OUV of the property and responsible institutions are defined, and means of information exchange are provided.  While it is understood that the management systems in the two countries are different, as this is a trans-boundary property with shared attributes, an agreed formal over-arching management approach is necessary.  It is recommended that the States Parties agree on a suite of shared strategies to guide both separate Management Plans, agree to undertake HIAs on the OUV of the whole property, not just national components, and agree to the formation of a system of inter-institutional and international (transboundary) cooperation in order to oversee the coordinated implementation of shared strategies. There are a number of matters raised in the conclusions of the 2015 Reactive Monitoring mission report which are yet to be addressed.  These include, for example, preparation of a capacity development strategy for the national parks administrations and municipalities’ staff, a construction policy for the shores and fore dunes, improved processes for resolving conflicts between the national parks and the municipalities, identification and regulation of appropriate buffer zones and development of an education and information strategy. These matters should appropriately be addressed through the integrated trans-boundary Management Plan.