State of conservation of properties inscribed on List of World Heritage in Danger – World Heritage Committee 40th session – UNESCO document (excerpts)

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
 AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF
 THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE

WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE

Fortieth session

Istanbul, Turkey
 10-20 July 2016

Item 7A of the Provisional Agenda:  State of conservation of the properties
 inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger

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13. Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls (site proposed by Jordan) (C 148 rev)

See Document WHC/16/40.COM/7A.Add (subject to the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism)

14. Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem (Palestine) (C 1433)

See Document WHC/16/40.COM/7A.Add (late request for an Advisory mission)

Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines — Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir (Palestine) (C 1492)

Year of inscription on the World Heritage List 2014

Criteria (iv)(v)

Year(s) of inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger 2014-present

Threats for which the property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger

● Potential construction of a separation fence (wall)

● Abandonment of terraces and afforestation

● Impact of socio-cultural and geo-political transformations

Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger Adopted; see pagehttp://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/6245 

Corrective measures identified

Adopted; see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/6245

Timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures

In progress

Previous Committee Decisions see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1492/documents/

International Assistance

Requests approved: 1 (from 2016-2016)

Total amount approved: USD 30,000

For details, see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/149²/_assistance/

UNESCO Extra-budgetary Funds
N/A

Previous monitoring missions
N/A

Factors affecting the property identified in previous reports

● Potential construction of a separation fence (wall)

● Abandonment of terraces and afforestation

● Impact of socio-cultural and geo-political transformations

● Changes in traditional ways of life and knowledge system

● Identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community

● Invasive/alien terrestrial species

Illustrative material see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1492/ Current conservation issues

On 28 January 2016, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1492/documents/, providing information on the corrective measures undertaken to achieve the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) and other key corrective measures, which were adopted by the World Heritage Committee (Decision 39 COM 7A.29), as follows:

● The construction of the Wall by the Israeli Government has been frozen by the Israeli Court of Justice on January 2015. However, a binding decision stipulating that no Wall shall be constructed in the property or its immediate setting has not been adopted yet;

● A Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) is being prepared addressing management and conservation policies as well as factors such as sewage and water network, and will include a timeframe to implement the corrective measures of DSOCR;

● The illegal construction of settlements that negatively affect the property is reported as a consequence of geopolitical and socio-cultural factors threatening the integrity of the property and limiting or preventing the maintenance of agricultural practices by the farmers;

● A list of envisaged, initiated or completed local-community funded projects and initiatives has been provided. Projects completed in 2015 include rehabilitation of stretches of dry stone walls, agricultural terraces, water channels, pools and springs, historic buildings and roads, as well as the water network in Battir. Ongoing works concern the rehabilitation of the school, the open garden and shops. Battir 2020, a promotional initiative to foster culture and tourism development, has been initiated, whilst other projects are pending, in the absence of funds (water supply and sanitation, sewage network, waste water treatment plant, rehabilitation of road surfaces, irrigation system);

● The UNESCO Ramallah office proposed and submitted, within the United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2014-2016 (UNDAF), an integrated project for the Bethlehem Western Villages (including Battir), addressing environmental protection, agriculture and livelihood support, heritage preservation, landscape planning and community empowerment. It involves UNESCO, FAO, and UN-Habitat. The project is pending awaiting feedback from potential donors.

● Following the submission of the report, the State Party informed the World Heritage Centre that the new constructions presented in its report are minor, and expressed its awareness of the need to halt such practices.

● To prepare the CMP in accordance with the DSOCR, the State Party submitted in November 2015 an International Assistance Request, which was approved and whose implementation is due to start mid-2016.

Analysis and Conclusions of the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM

The report shows the efforts of the State Party to manage the threats and begin to address the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee and the DSOCR. The report describes actions undertaken by the national and local authorities and community with regard to conservation actions and awareness-raising initiatives.

It is acknowledged that addressing the management and conservation of the property requires a holistic approach that also tackles socio-economic factors. The CMP needs to involve the relevant bodies and stakeholders that can guarantee its proper implementation and effectiveness, and shall include legal and regulatory protection, so far not in place, for the property and its buffer zone, so as to lay down a complete array of measures to safeguard the OUV of the property and its attributes. The effectiveness of the CMP will be strengthened by adequately integrating within it, the corrective measures adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session. A timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures is of utmost importance to achieve the DSOCR but so far has not been submitted.

The elaboration of the CMP is expected to integrate infrastructure and economic revitalisation improvements. The six projects mentioned include one for Bethlehem Western Villages that could trigger mechanisms of economic revitalisation and one for the revival of agricultural practices, but of these only one has funding from the World Bank and is being implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Local Development.

It is crucial that measures are now taken to put in place a robust management system as soon as possible with adequate staff who can take forward responsibility for driving forward the development and adoption of the management plan and the projects needed to allow sustainable management of the property — regardless of whether external funding is achieved.

Meanwhile until the CMP is agreed, all projects for new constructions should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review, prior to their implementation, in order to ensure that they do not have negative impacts on the OUV of the property.

The Committee might wish to express its disappointment that two years after inscription, no clear timetable for implementing the corrective measures has been submitted by the State Party, as was requested at the time of inscription.

Draft Decision: 40 COM 7A.15

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COMI7A,

2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7A.29, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),

3. Takes notes of the actions undertaken by the State Party to initiate the implementation of the corrective measures adopted to achieve the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR);

4. Expresses its disappointment that a timeframe for implementing the agreed corrective measures has not been submitted as requested, and reiterates its request to the State Party to develop and submit a timeframe for the full implementation of the adopted corrective measures by 1 February 2017, for examination by the Committee at its 41st session in 2017;

5. Notes progress with the process to elaborate the Conservation and Management Plan (CMP), with funding through International Assistance, and recommends that the corrective measures are adequately integrated into the CMP under elaboration;

6. Urges the State Party to put in place, as soon as possible, a robust management system for the property and its buffer zone, for taking forward the defined infrastructure and other projects needed to support traditional agricultural systems with or without external funding and, until the CMP is established and operational, to submit all construction projects to the World Heritage Centre for review;

7. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017;

8.  Decides to retain Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines — Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir (Palestine) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

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http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2016/whc16-40com-7A-en.pdf