Saint Lucia will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Pitons Management Area (PMA) as a treasured UNESCO World Heritage Site on June 30, along with a landmark victory granted by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee which allowed for the threat of danger listing to be removed from the PMA.

The Committee made its decision on June 18, at the Committee’s 38th session in Doha, Qatar, after a study concluded that the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Pitons had not been compromised by developments within the PMA. This allowed the World Heritage Committee to remove the threat of listing the PMA as “World Heritage in Danger.”

“In Decision 38 COM 7B.85, the World Heritage Committee welcomed the completion of the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) study and noted ‘with appreciation the efforts’ of the Government of Saint Lucia ‘to address the problem of invasive species and to improve stakeholder engagement’,” a press release stated.

Saint Lucia’s Minister for Sustainable Development, Hon. James Fletcher made the commitment to conduct the LAC study in 2012, at the Committee’s 36th Session in St Petersburg, Russia, when the PMA was under imminent threat of danger-listing.

The LAC was completed last year, and concluded that the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Pitons had not been compromised by any developments that have taken place within the Pitons Management Area since its inscription as a World Heritage Site.

It was this independent assessment, together with a framework for managing new and existing developments within the PMA that allowed the World Heritage Committee to remove the threat of listing the PMA as World Heritage in Danger.

The Committee advised the Saint Lucia Government to fully implement its recommendations; to ensure the legal recognition of the LAC study and its integration within the PMA’s development, planning, and control legislation; and to disallow any developments from proceeding if they are considered to exceed the LAC.

The Committee concluded its deliberations on Saint Lucia’s World Heritage Site by requesting a report after a two-year period on the state of conservation of the PMA, the legal adoption and full implementation of the recommendations of the LAC, and any additional measures taken to preserve the OUV of the property. The report will be due on February 1, 2016.

The Ministry of Sustainable Development has planned a celebratory activity at the Soufriere Waterfront in recognition of the positive decision of the World Heritage Committee and in commemoration of the PMA’s 10th anniversary as a World Heritage Site.

The activity will be held on Monday, June 30, at 5 p.m.