Kathmandu Valley

18 COM IX

SOC: Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)

Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)

The Secretariat recalled the concern raised over the state of conservation of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site and the debate during the seventeenth session of the Committee in December 1993 and the Bureau at its eighteenth session in July 1994 on the possible inscription of the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger and the delisting of certain parts of the site damaged by uncontrolled development. The 16-point recommendation of the UNESCO/ICOMOS Review Mission of November 1993 and the pledge made by' the Representative of His Majesty's Government at the seventeenth session of the Committee to follow-up on these recommendations were also recalled.

The Committee was presented with a monitoring report prepared by the Department of Archaeology on progress made in the follow-up activities. In the absence of the Nepali Representative, the Secretariat summarized the main points of this report.

Actions reported include:

• adoption of revised byelaws which came into effect in February 1994 requiring prior permit for any demolition within the core area of the city;
• submission to Parliament of the proposed Fifth Amendment of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act strengthening the enforcement mechanism of design and development control within the World Heritage protected zones which could not be passed due to the dissolution of the Parliament;
• approval by the Government of the redefined boundary of Swayambunath and publication of this in the Nepal Gazette;
• completion of a map of the revised boundary of Patan Darbar Square checked on the ground, house-by-house, and agreed upon with the Municipality and other relevant bodies which is to be gazetted in the near future;
• completion of maps of the revised boundaries of the five other monument zones as recommended by the UNESCO/ICOMOS mission which will soon be verified through ground survey;
• completion of the inventories of public and religious monuments in Patan Darbar Square, Pashupati and Bauddhanath;
• publication of information pamphlets on the seven World Heritage monument zones containing general information on conservation norms, particularly the ban since July 1994 of the use of cement mortar in the repair of monuments;
• initiation of computerized documentation and manual recording of monuments zones;
• removal of commercial advertisement panels from the monument zones and the museum building of Swayambunath.

The Secretariat also reported on the Nepal/UNESCO/ICOMOS strategy meeting held in mid-November 1994 immediately following the Kathmandu Valley International Campaign Review Meeting and drew the attention of the Committee to the action plan to be coordinated by an inter-ministerial task force which the representatives of the various ministries to the strategy meeting agreed to establish. This action plan contained in the monitoring report includes, inter alia, the development and publication of guidelines on building and conservation practice with graphic illustrations and establishment of a development control unit in the Department of Archaeology to work closely with the municipalities and town development committees.

The Committee, having noted the efforts being made by the Nepali authorities to rectify the damage caused to the Kathmandu Valley, requests UNESCO to support the Government of Nepal in strengthening the mechanism of coordination of all international conservation activities, whether bilateral or multilateral, especially with regard to the method of conservation to be applied. The Committee also calls upon the Government of Nepal to take into consideration, the recommendations made by the joint UNESCO/ICOMOS mission of November 1993 in ensuring the protection of the World Heritage site from uncontrolled development, especially by adopting a more stringent policy in the granting of demolition and construction permits and other landuse authorization in both the core area and the buffer zone. Recognizing the limited national resources in carrying out the variety of required activities, the Committee requests UNESCO to assist the Nepali authorities in preparing a package of projects to seek international donor support including the documentation of the World Heritage site, to be undertaken as a priority. In this connection, the Committee discussed the advantages of the Kathmandu Valley being put on the List of World Heritage in Danger to draw the priority attention of the international community and urged the Government of Nepal to reconsider this option.

18 EXT.BUR V.B.2.1

Examination of requests for International Assistance - Cultural Heritage - Requests for which the Bureau formulated a recommendation to the Committee - Technical cooperation

1. Old City of Dubrovnik (Croatia) - US$50,000

The Bureau recommended the approval of the full requested amount of US50,000 for, inter alia, the purchase of equipment for the documentation centre; expertise for the development of a tourism development plan; promotional and educational material and activities on World Heritage in Dubrovnik.

2. Wielizska Salt Mine (Poland) - US$100,000

The Bureau recommended, after considerable debate, the approval by the Committee of this request for US$100,000 to purchase the dehumidifying equipment required for the preservation of the salt sculptures of this World Heritage Site in Danger.

3. Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) - US$52,000

The Bureau recommended approval by the Committee of the requested US$52,000 for the deployment of a UNESCO international technical advisor for 6 months in view of the serious and urgent need for strengthen measures to redress the present state of conservation of the Kathmandu Valley.

4. The Complex of the Hue Monuments (Vietnam) (Upgrading of the Hue Conservation Laboratory) - US$108,000

The Bureau recommended the approval of the amount of US$108,000 to meet the cost of laboratory equipment purchase (US$72,700) and related short-term training to enable the Hue authorities to have the basic facilities to overcome the present obstacles to conservation. The World Heritage Centre should, however, be consulted on the list of equipment, and approve the detailed specification and cost estimate, as well as the selection of the international experts.

5. Historic Areas of Istanbul (Turkey) (Restoration of the mosaics of Hagia-Sophia) - US$80,000

The Bureau recommended approval by the Committee of an amount of US$80,000 to complete the final phase of this restoration project.

18 BUR VI.B

Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)

The current state of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site had been the cause of apprehension since 1992 and had already appeared on the agenda of a number of meetings of the Bureau and of the World Heritage Committee. The Bureau was informed of the conclusions of the joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Review Mission of 14-30 November 1993, which had recommended that the site be placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger and returned to the World Heritage List within a period of one to three years, after sixteen specific matters of concern had been met. It was explained that the World Heritage site consists of seven distinct monument zones, three of them urban, centered round the palaces of the cities of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, and the remainder, two Buddhist and two Hindu shrines, which had formerly been in rural surroundings. The mission report had recommended the effective delisting of parts of the Kathmandu Darbar Square and Bauddhanath monument zones, following a general failure to control development, but an extension of the monument zones of Swayambunath, Patan and particularly Bhaktapur, which was now the only Newari city to retain its overall traditional character. It was pointed out that the Hindu shrine of Pashupati, although part of the World Heritage site, had never been afforded the protection of being gazetted as a protected' monument area in Nepalese law.

The mission report illustrated examples of demolition, encroachment, traffic pressure, the unsympathetic introduction of modern services and conservation practices which did not conform to accepted international standards. UNESCO had undertaken a number of initiatives, including plans for technical training and an advisory mission on amendments to the Nepalese Ancient Monuments Preservation Act. ICOMOS had plans for a professional seminar in October 1994.

The Representative of Thailand stated that it was important to judge the degree to which the site had deteriorated and whether it was now worthy of being included in the World Heritage List. The Nepalese State Party should be made aware of the Bureau's concerns and informed that, if the situation was not remedied, steps to delist the site would be initiated. He suggested that, rather than delisting part of the monument zones, that the State Party should be asked to redefine the areas which constitute the World Heritage site. The Representative of the United States concurred in these sentiments. The German Observer highlighted the importance of concentrating efforts on the core areas, where the best results could be achieved, rather than on peripheral areas which might still be part of the monument zones but in which traditional buildings had since been demolished and replaced with concrete-framed structures.

ICOMOS argued that the matter was an extremely delicate one, which could be approached from a number of standpoints. It would be possible to suggest that in the spirit of the World Heritage Convention, the site should be placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, but Nepalese opposition to such a move might make it self-defeating. He emphasized that it was important to do what was best for the site, which should be in cooperation with the Nepalese authorities to try and resolve outstanding difficulties. The Representative of Senegal also proposed a new approach which would enable the Nepalese to be more protective towards the World Heritage Site and argued that the State Party should be made fully aware of the Bureau's concerns with regard to violations of the articles of the World Heritage Convention.

The Director of the Centre endorsed the idea of redefinition of the monument zones but proposed that, rather than the site being placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, it would be more constructive if a package of assistance to the Nepalese could be developed which would enable them to act as more effective guardians of the World Heritage site in cooperation with UNESCO and other relevant agencies. He would be contacting his colleagues in the Division of Physical Heritage to develop more concrete proposals.

The Chairperson summarized the discussion, to the effect that a letter should be sent to the State Party expressing the Bureau's deep concern about the state of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site. The Bureau recommends to the Committee to envisage partial delisting and redefinition of the part still intact and qualifying as World Heritage, which should be placed on the List of World in Danger to bring particular attention to the need to avoid further deterioration. At the same time, UNESCO is asked to work out an international assistance project.

18 COM XII.3

Requests for International Assistance: Technical Cooperation - Cultural heritage

The Committee noted that the Bureau in examining the ten technical cooperation requests for cultural properties, two submitted by ICCROM and eight by States Parties, gave priority to activities for properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger and to those having a catalytic affect rather than for the funding of specific restoration works, in accordance with previous decisions taken by the Committee.

Reauests approved by the Bureau:

1. The Historic Town of Ouro Preto (Brazil) - US$20,000
   The Bureau approved US$20,000 out of the total amount of US$50,000, subject to obtaining assurance that the balance of US$30,000 for the construction of five houses for the relocation of the affected inhabitants is funded by other sources.
2. ICCROM Technical Assistance - US$25,000
   The Bureau approved this financial support to the ICCROM Technical Assistance Programme to supply institutions of State Parties, free of charge, with basic documentation, scientific and didactic equipment and conservation products.
3. Printing of Management Guidelines for World Cultural Heritage Sites, by B.M. Feilden and J. Jokilehto - US$6,900
   The Bureau approved this request to support the printing cost of the French-language edition of this publication if other sources, notably of the Fra-ncophone community cannot be identified.

Requests approved by the Committee:

The Committee approved the following requests on the basis of the recommendations of the Bureau:

1. Old City of Dubrovnik (Croatia) - US$50,000
   The Committee approved the full requested amount of US$ 50,000 for, inter alia, the purchase of equipment for the documentation centre; expertise for the development of a tourism development plan; promotional and educational material and activities on World Heritage in Dubrovnik.
2. Wieliczka Salt Mine (Poland) - US$100,000
   The Committee approved this request for US$100,000 to purchase the dehumidifying equipment required for the preservation of the salt sculptures of this World Heritage Site in Danger.
3. Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) - US$52,000
   The Committee approved the requested US$ 52,000 for the deployment of a UNESCO international technical advisor for 6 months in view of the serious and urgent need for strengthen measures to redress the present state of conservation of the Kathmandu Valley.
4. The Complex of the Hue Monuments (Vietnam) - US$108,000
   (Upgrading of the Hue Conservation Laboratory)
   The Committee approved the amount of US$108,000 to meet the cost of laboratory equipment purchase (US$ 72,700) and related short-term training to enable the Hue authorities to have the basic facilities to overcome the present obstacles to conservation. The World Heritage Centre should, however, be consulted on the list of equipment, and approve the detailed specification and cost estimate; as well as the selection of the international experts.
5. Historic Areas of Istanbul (Turkey) - US$80,000
   (Restoration of the mosaics of Hagia-Sophia)
   The Committee approved an amount of $80,000 to complete the final phase of this restoration project.

Requests not approved by the Committee:

1. Ngorongoro Conservation Area (United Republic of Tanzania)
   (International Conference on Ngorongoro, in Bellagio, Italy)
   The Committee endorsed the Bureau's view not to approve this request although the value of the proposed international conference in Italy for the Tanzanian conservators is recognized, and in view of the fact that other funding sources are available for this Conference at the Rockefeller Foundation in Italy.
2. Palmyra (Syrian Arab Republic)
   The Committee did not approve this request for US$90,000 but suggested that the Syrian authorities submit an alternative request to prepare a global and coherent conservation programme for this site in accordance with the recommendations of the UNESCO expert mission which took place in December 1993.