Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions

• Erosion (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Housing, (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Commercial development
• Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure
• Illegal construction
• Interpretative and visitation facilities
• Ground transport infrastructure
• Ground Water Pollution
• Solid waste
• Management systems/management plan (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Legal Framework
• Financial resources
• Heavy rain (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Wind (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Changes to oceanic waters
• Salt-laden atmosphere (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Lack of maintenance of built fabric

Total amount granted: USD 26,770 provided in 2007 by the Australia Trust Fund for the project "Cleaning Ussher Fort; USD 49,261 received in 2007 by the European Commission for the project "External Works for the Restoration and Redevelopment of Parts of Ussher Fort"; USD 33,593 provided in 2019 by the UNESCO / Netherlands Funds-in-Trust for the project "The rehabilitation of Ussher Fort Slave Museum and Documentary Centre".

A joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property in February 2020 (mission report available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/34/documents). Subsequently, on 4 February 2020, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, followed by a supplementary report from the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB) submitted on 6 February 2020, both of which are also available at the above-mentioned address, and respond to the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee as follows:

• The GMMB has implemented a three-phased strategy to address the 14 recommendations of the 2019 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory mission. Phase 1 consists of emergency inspections of all components of the property, the creation of a stakeholder database, and the assessment of past developments on the integrity, authenticity and Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property; Phase 2 focuses on stakeholder engagement including governmental agencies, at all property components; and Phase 3 will involve preparation for compiling a management plan for the property, including cadastral surveys, which have not yet been carried out, as a basis for boundary delineation;
• Development and sanitation around the property’s components is of major concern, even where components are in a fairly good state of conservation. Specific development projects are mentioned such as the Fort Amsterdam project, for which an engineering survey has been undertaken; the Elmina Bay Heritage Project, for which the GMMB is still awaiting submission of details; and the redevelopment of the Ussher Fort Museum which is ongoing;
• The GMMB and the Ghana Survey Department have initiated visits to all the sites with a view to delineating boundaries (buffer zones);
• Factors negatively affecting the property include environmental pressures, lack of delineated buffer zones, development pressures, inadequate funding, lack of skilled personnel, the absence of a management system or plan, and a lack of research and documentation;

The GMMB report provides additional information, including that the State Party has allocated funding to address challenges at the property; initiated the process to establish a Heritage Fund, which will provide for the financial means to manage the property and other heritage resources in the country; initiated the process to enact new legislation entitled the Culture and Heritage Development Act; and approved an increase in the number of GMMB staff, with 60 new appointments. 

In June 2020, the State Party submitted documentation outlining the Fort Amsterdam consolidation project to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The response of the State Party to the recommendations of the 2019 Advisory mission is commendable, including the efficiency with which the GMMB has undertaken an evaluation of the various components of the property, the State Party’s funding commitments, and the initiative to establish the Heritage Fund, as well as the commitment to increase the staffing of the GMMB.

The 2020 mission presented the manifold challenges faced by this serial property. The need to define the boundaries of each component and delineate a buffer zone for each is a deficiency in the property’s management system that was already identified in 1996 (CONF 202 IV.7) and 1998 (CONF 203 VII.35). To address this, it is recommended that the State Party engage the assistance of the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies.

The 2020 Reactive Monitoring mission reported that components of the property are continuously decaying. It highlighted the high urgency of securing components of the property and implementing immediate remedial actions to the structurally weak elements. It further underlined the continuing encroachment by informal settlements and the lack of a management system to ensure the maintenance of the property’s OUV. Construction projects at some components may have a further negative impact on the OUV. The State Party has halted a number of planned projects until these have been submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review, but the mission reported that the James Town Fishing Harbour project is proceeding, although no information has been provided to the World Heritage Centre as recommended by the 2019 mission.

The 2020 mission observed a general lack of coordination between the GMMB and other government entities. A new parking area with landscaping was created by the Ghana Tourism Authority at St George Castle at Elmina and Fort St Anthony at Axim, potentially impacting on archaeological attributes, despite this not having been authorised by the GMMB. A National Heritage Committee, which will bring together governmental bodies and universities, is being created; its statutes are under development. The management plan review, funded through International Assistance, was initiated at the time of the 2020 mission. The new Management Plan should aim to streamline governmental coordination and improve stakeholder involvement.

Noting the brevity of the reports submitted, it is recommended that the Committee request more information to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre on:

• The consultation meetings with communities, chiefs and protocol leaders;
• The work on boundaries and buffer zones;
• The current status of the Fort Amsterdam, Elmina Heritage Bay, and James Town Fishing Harbour projects before further implementation is undertaken, and a report on other already undertaken activities, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
• The Heritage Fund and the Culture and Heritage Development Act.

Further, information was submitted by the State Party in June 2020 regarding the project “Fort Amsterdam Restoration for the Activation of Tourism in Ghana”. This was assessed by ICOMOS in a July 2020 Technical Review, which provided several recommendations to be considered by the State Party. Unfortunately, in December 2020, the State Party and the World Heritage Centre were informed that  the European Union (EU) support for the project was cancelled, although the reasons for this remain unclear.

Ongoing activities to protect from coastal erosion, although generally beneficial, appear nevertheless to be of additional concern. At Fort Fredensborg at Old Ningo, classified as 'ruins with visible structures', such interventions caused the collapse of a wall and the removal of part of another element next to the main structure on the site. A letter sent to GMMB by the UNESCO Accra Office on 25 February 2021 inquiring on the incident, prompted the GMMB to send a situation report on 25 March 2021. This reaction is appreciated. The report informs that the site is used as a site office by the works contractor undertaking the sea defence wall construction, and the site has been filled with large rock boulders and gravels to make the sandy ground compact for heavy duty trucks to navigate through the site to the seashore, with potential detrimental impact on archaeological attributes. While the report states that GMMB is closely monitoring the situation on the ground, the State Party should be asked to halt the intervention and to consider relocating the site office and the equipment installed and further secure the full area formerly occupied by the fort by fully closing it for the trucks and conduct a conditions survey, including identifying all attributes displaced during these operations. With reference to this incident, the State Party should be encouraged to urgently address the integration of Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), together with protective measures at that site, and ensure close monitoring at other components as well that are facing similar issues.

The 2020 mission reports that the combinations of threats and factors impacting each component be considered as a major threat to the OUV of the property, that warrants the urgent implementation of remedial actions. It is therefore recommended that the Committee request the State Party to urgently develop an action plan, with timelines, to address the deteriorating state of conservation of the property and improve local awareness of its international significance. The Committee may also wish to request the State Party to invite another joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to the property in early 2023 to assess the execution of the action plan, the state of conservation of all the components of the property and the implementation of the recommendations of the 2020 mission.

Finally, given the lack of research on the property’s components, and of coordinated interpretation and presentation of the entire property, it is crucial to develop an inventory that compiles documentation and information critical to the maintenance, restoration, and interpretation of the property and its components. The State Party should be encouraged to establish partnerships with national and international universities and experts for enhanced interpretation and presentation of the property, and to engage actively in UNESCO's Slave Route Project to further research and international cooperation.