Historic Town of Zabid
Factors affecting the property in 2003*
- Deliberate destruction of heritage
- Erosion and siltation/ deposition
- Housing
- Identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community
- Management activities
- Management systems/ management plan
- Relative humidity
- Solid waste
- Other Threats:
Lack of conservation measures
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
- Renovations seriously threatening the authenticity and integrity of the Great Mosque
- No system for the evacuation of waste water
- Increase of the permanent humidity of the ground, posing the threat of erosion to the brick walls
- Need for a safeguarding and urbanism plan
- Lack of traditional materials (noura bricks)
-
Lack of coordination between the activities of the different actors and donors.
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2003
Total amount approved : 154,167 USD
| 2003 | Safeguarding the Historic Town of Zabid (Approved) | 40,000 USD |
| 2001 |
Historic City of Zabid (APPROVAL OF THE SECOND HALF-NOT ...
(Approved)
Reapproval: 22 Jan, 2002 (n°1486 - 31,918 USD)
|
25,000 USD |
| 2001 | Historic City of Zabid (APPROVAL OF THE FIRST HALF) (Approved) | 25,000 USD |
| 1999 | Exposition of the photographs of the architectures in ... (Approved) | 167 USD |
| 1998 | Construction of the furnace for making mud bricks, a ... (Approved) | 19,000 USD |
| 1994 | Preparation of a publication on Zabid (Approved) | 15,000 USD |
| 1994 | Urgent protection works in the Historical Town of Zabid (Approved) | 30,000 USD |
Missions to the property until 2003**
November 1999: UNESCO mission; May 2001: joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS mission ; September-October 2001: World Heritage Centre mission ; February 2002: World Heritage Centre experts mission; June 2002: World Heritage Centre mission
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2003
WHC:
During the World Heritage Centre mission to Yemen in June 2002, a meeting of all the partners involved in the preservation of Zabid was organised to define a modus-operandi and to co-ordinate all the actions to be undertaken to safeguard the city. The elements necessary for the elaboration of a Preliminary Plan to safeguard and develop the Town of Zabid were also examined. This Plan and its regulations for application, prepared with funding from the Netherlands Funds-in-Trust, was submitted to the authorities in December 2002, during a new Centre mission to Yemen. An action plan, established by the Centre and defining the possible roles and respective responsibilities of all the actors at site, was approved by the GOHPCY. The Centre also presented a proposal for the creation of a heritage house in Zabid as a future focal point for a technical and administrative unit responsible for the implementation of the urban conservation plan. If the authorities should approve and support the creation of this Heritage House, UNDP would be willing to cover the costs linked to the recruitment of a United Nations volunteer to strengthen its staff. During the December 2002 mission, it was noted that the condition of the town has remained unchanged and that there were no visible results at site. The refuse collection project (financed by the German GTZ) has begun and a weekly market is under preparation on the esplanade of the Citadel. The infrastructure projects have been delayed due to implementation difficulties, and are now foreseen for the second half of 2003 (drainage, paving, lighting). The mission also observed the continuing lack of an administrative and technical structure in Zabid with adequate resources to ensure the co-ordination and monitoring of the different ongoing initiatives for the rehabilitation of the old town. This uncertain situation risks compromising the efforts carried out by the Yemeni authorities in 2001, when a decree to halt of all new constructions was decided upon by the Government. In April 2003, the Centre was informed that numerous sites for construction works were still on-going in Zabid.
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2003
27 COM 12.4
Technical Co-operation in Yemen
Yemen: Historic Town of Zabid. Follow-up actions for the implementation of safeguarding measures
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Decides to approve US$ 40,000 from 2003 funds.
27 COM 7A.20
Zabid (Yemen)
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Noting that, despite the commitment and support of the Government, progress has been very slow in addressing the threats that had justified the inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger,;
2. Urges the Government of Yemen to take immediate measures towards the enforcement of the ban on new constructions within the Old City decided in 2001, and the strengthening of the local bodies in charge of the conservation of the property, including the local General Organization for the Preservation of the Historic Cities of Yemen (GOPHCY) Unit, possibly through the project for the establishment of a Heritage House in Zabid;
3. Recommends to the State Party to adopt and start implementing, on a temporary basis, the Preliminary Urban Conservation Plan prepared by the World Heritage Centre in December 2002, together with its regulations;
4. Requests the State Party and the World Heritage Centre to continue working in close co-operation and in consultation with the local population and all other concerned actors and stakeholders, to finalize the Urban Conservation Plan and co-ordinate the efforts for the rehabilitation of the property;
5. Requests the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2004 a report on the progress made on the above recommendations for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 28th session in 2004;
6. Decides to retain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
27 COM 8B.2
Properties maintained on the List of World Heritage in Danger
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Following examination of state of conservation reports of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger (WHC-03/27.COM/7A),;
2. Decides to maintain the following properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger:
- Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam, Afghanistan (27 COM 7A.21)
- Butrint, Albania (27 COM 7A.26 )
- Tipasa, Algeria (27 COM 7A.17)
- Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin (27 COM 7A.15)
- Angkor, Cambodia (27 COM 7A.22)
- Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park, Central African Republic (27 COM 7A.12 )
- Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, Côte d'Ivoire/Guinea (27 COM 7A.4)
- Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo (27 COM 7A.2)
- Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo (27 COM 7A.2)
- Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo (27 COM 7A.2)
- Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo (27 COM 7A.2)
- Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo (27 COM 7A.2)
- Sangay National Park, Ecuador (27 COM 7A.13)
- Abu Mena, Egypt (27 COM 7A.18)
- Simien National Park, Ethiopia (27 COM 7A.3)
- Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras (27 COM 7A.14)
- Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, India (27 COM 7A.9)
- Group of Monuments at Hampi, India (27 COM 7A.23)
- Old City of Jerusalem & its Walls (27COM7A.29)
- Timbuktu, Mali (27 COM 7A.16)
- Air & Ténéré Natural Reserves, Niger (27 COM 7A.5)
- Bahla Fort, Oman (27 COM 7A.19)
- Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan (27 COM 7A.242)
- Chan Chan Archaeological Zone, Peru (27 COM 7A.28)
- Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Philippines (27 COM 7A.25)
- Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, Senegal (27 COM 7A.6)
- Ichkeul National Park, Tunisia (27 COM 7A.8)
- Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda (27 COM 7A.7)
- Everglades National Park, United States of America (27 COM 7A.11)
- Historic Town of Zabid, Yemen (27 COM 7A.20)
Draft 27 COM 7 (a) 20
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Noting that, despite the commitment and support of the Government, progress has been very slow in addressing the threats that had justified the inscription of the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger;
2. Urges the Government of Yemen to take immediate measures towards the enforcement of the ban of new constructions within the Old City decided in 2001, and the strengthening of the local bodies in charge of the conservation of the site, including the local GOPHCY Unit, possibly through the project for the establishment of a Heritage House in Zabid;
3. Recommends to the State Party to adopt and start implementing, on a temporary basis, the Preliminary Urban Conservation Plan prepared by the Centre in December 2002, together with its regulations;
4. Requests the State Party and the Centre to continue working in close co-operation and in consultation with the local population and all other concerned actors and stakeholders, to finalize the Urban Conservation Plan and co-ordinate the efforts for the rehabilitation of the site.
5. Decides to retain the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Yemen
Exports
* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).
** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.
