Decision : CONF 201 VII.D.52/53
SOC: Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)
VII.52 Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)
The World Heritage Committee at its seventeenth session in 1993, expressed deep concern over the state of conservation of the Kathmandu Valley and considered the possibility of placing this site on the List of World Heritage in Danger following discussions on the findings of the November 1993 Joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Review Mission.
Since then, the Government has given priority to responding to the sixteen points of concern raised by the UNESCO/ICOMOS mission.
To emphasize the increased importance being placed on the preservation of the World Heritage site as a whole, rather than on individual monuments, an information meeting was held in October 1996 on the safeguarding and development needs of the si te. During this meeting some nineteen project proposals were presented for national and international funding support.
The Secretariat informed the Committee that the State of Conservation Report prepared by the Department of Archaeology of His Majesty's Government of Nepal, with the assistance of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, was received and would be made available to the Committee members.
The Committee took note of the Secretariat's report and expressed its appreciation for the progress made by His Majesty's Government of Nepal towards the fulfillment of the sixteen-point recommendations of the UNESCO/ICOMOS mission of November 1993, which was endorsed by the Committee at its eighteenth session. It expressed hope that efforts will be continued to strengthen the institutional capacities of the Department of Archaeology and the concerned municipal authorities to protect and develop the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site by officially adopting and publicizing regulations on building control and conservation practice. The Committee noted the efforts made by the Government in convening the information meeting held in Kathmandu in October 1996 to solicit donors to finance the projects developed by the local authorities with the support of the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Division and the World Heritage Centre.
Original Decision Document