The Fourth General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage met at Unesco Headquarters in Paris on 28 October 1983 during the 22nd session of the General Conference.
Sixty-four of the seventy-five States which were parties to the Convention as at 28 October 1983 and which thus had the right to vote, were represented at the meeting, namely : Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, ...
7. The General Assembly elected by acclamation Mr. Beschaouch (Tunisia), as Chairman,. the representatives of Brazil, Bulgaria, Malawi and Pakistan as Vice-chairmen and Mlle Mireille Jardin (France) as Rapporteur.
8. The agenda of the session was adopted without amendment.
9. The representative of the Bureau of the Comptroller introduced document CLT-83/CONF.022/2 by which the accounts of the Fund were submitted to the General Assembly in accordance with the Financial Regulations of the World Heritage Fund. He drew attention to the accounts for the financial period which terminated on 31 December 1980 given in annex I of the document as well as to the interim statement for the three-year financial period 1981-1983 drawn up as at 31 July 1983 set out in annex II. The Assembly was informed of contributions which had been received from several States Parties ...
4 GA 12
Determination of the amount of the contributions to the World Heritage Fund in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of the World Heritage Convention
12. On the proposal of the Chairman, the General Assembly decided unanimously to maintain for the financial period 1984-1985 the amount of the contribution to be paid to the World Heritage Fund foreseen in Article 16, paragraph 1, of the Convention at 1% of the contribution of States Parties to the Regular Budget of UNESCO .
17. The Assistant Director-General for Culture offered his congratulations to those States which had been elected to the He formulated the wish that the interest of States for the Convention which had been manifest during the Fourth General Assembly notably by the numerous candidatures submitted for election to the Committee would be pursued by the effective participation of all States Parties in the implementation of the Convention.
18. Before declaring the meeting closed, the Chairman congratulated the Secretariat for its work in the implementation of the He expressed the hope that the Secretariat would continue to receive, on the part of UNESCO as well as under the World Heritage Fund, the necessary assistance for the pursuit of the work accomplished. In concluding he announced that the 7th Session of the World Heritage Committee would be held in Florence from 5 – 9 December 1983 at the generous invitation of the Italian authorities.
The Bureau received an emergency assistance request from the Government of Zaire for a programme to protect populations of several species of wildlife under threat of extinction in Garamba National Park. The Bureau commended the Government, and also IUCN and the Frankfurt Zoological Society for the co-operative manner in which the plan of action had been prepared. The Bureau approved financial support for the project (see paragraph 19 below) and asked that the Secretariat, in co-operation with IUCN and the Government of Zaire, prepare a nomination for the List of World Heritage in Danger ...
Sites: Garamba National Park
19. The Bureau accorded $ 40,000 in emergency assistance to the Republic of Zaire to carry out - in collaboration with IUCN, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Francfort Zoological Garden Society - a project to save the fauna of Garamba National Park (in particular the white rhinoceros population decimated by poaching).
Sites: Garamba National Park
1. The Seventh Ordinary Session of the World Heritage Committee was held at the invitation of the Government of Italy in the Villa Medicea of Poggio a Caiano, Florence, from 5 to 9 December 1983. It was attended by the following States Members of the World Heritage Committee: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cyprus, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Guinea, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Norway, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey.
2. Representatives of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the ...
4. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the session was opened by Mr. J. Gazaneo of Argentina, since the outgoing Chairman, Prof. R. Slatyer, could not attend the meeting. Mr. Gazaneo welcomed the delegates and observers and introduced the opening addresses by the Representative of the Director-General of Unesco, Mr. M. Batisse, and the Italian authorities. Mrs. L. Vlad-Borrelli, Representative of the Minister of Cultural Properties and Cultural Environment conveyed the greetings of the Minister and recalled that the town of Florence is one of the Italian cultural properties ...
7. The Committee adopted the agenda for the meeting with the amendment to discuss the difficulties encountered in evaluating nominations of historic towns after point 6 of the agenda.
8. The Committee elected by acclamation Mrs. Vlad-Borrelli (Italy) as Chairman of the Committee and Mr. da Silva Telles (Brazil) as Rapporteur. The following States were elected also by acclamation as Vice-Chairmen: Algeria, Australia, Guinea, Norway and Sri Lanka.
9. Mr. Batisse, Assistant Director General (Science Sector) presented the report of the Secretariat and drew attention to the report of the seventh session of the Bureau held on 27-30 June 1983. He noted that since that date, the 4th General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention had taken place on 28 October 1983 during the 22nd session of the Unesco General Conference. As stipulated by the Convention, the mandate of 7 countries expired and the following countries were elected: Algeria, Australia (re-election), Lebanon, Malawi, Norway, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. He indicated that 64 ...
The Committee examined the nominations to the World Heritage List, taking note of the comments of the representatives of ICOMOS and/or IUCN which had made an evaluation of each property. The Committee decided to enter in the World Heritage List the twenty-nine cultural and natural properties as follows:
Contracting State having submitted the nomination of the property in accordance with the ConventionIdentificationName of PropertyCriteria
Federal Republic of Germany
271
The Pilgrimage Church of Wies
C(i)(iii)
Brazil
275
The ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes
It was ...
Sites: Abbey Church of Saint-Savin sur Gartempe Abbey of St Gall Agra Fort Ajanta Caves Ancient City of Nessebar Benedictine Convent of St John at Müstair Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroismo in the Azores City of Cuzco Comoé National Park Convent of Christ in Tomar Ellora Caves Great Smoky Mountains National Park Gulf of Porto: Calanche of Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil) La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico Monastery of Batalha Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon Old City of Berne Pilgrimage Church of Wies Pirin National Park Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance in Nancy Rila Monastery Sangay National Park Srebarna Nature Reserve Taj Mahal Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve Wood Buffalo National Park
13. At its seventh session, the Bureau had expressed the wish that the Operational Guidelines (document WHC/2 Revised) be updated to incorporate the decisions taken by the Committee at its fifth and sixth sessions and the recommendations formulated by the Bureau at Its seventh session. The Secretariat presented the updated version of the Operational Guidelines (revised as of November 1983) and indicated to the Committee where changes and revisions had been made. The Committee took note of the updated version of the Guidelines and in addition accepted the ICOMOS recommendations concerning ...
14. The Committee noted that tentative lists for natural properties had been submitted by Brazil and Portugal, presented in document SC/83/CONF.009/INF.3.
15. The Committee was greatly interested in the ideas presented by Mr. Parent, President of ICOMOS, in his report given at the seventh session of the Bureau, notably concerning the difficulties currently encountered in applying the cultural criteria to the nominations of historic towns, cultural properties representative of a series and the criterion of authenticity. After discussion, the Committee stated its full agreement with the ...
The Ancient City of Nessebar
217
Bulgaria
C(iii)(iv)
Sites: Ancient City of Nessebar
Place Stanislas, Place de la Carriere and Place d'Alliance, Nancy
229
France
C(i)(iv)
Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe
230
France
C(i)(iii)
It was noted that this property becomes part of the series of important groups of Romanesque mural paintings.
Cape Girolata, Cape Porto and Scandola Nature Reserve in Corsica
258
France
N(ii)(iii)(iv)
Ajanta Caves
242
India
C(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)
The Committee recommended that the authorities take all possible safeguarding measures, especially as concerns constructions on the summit of the cliff which could be detrimental for the site.
Sites: Ajanta Caves
Ellora Caves
243
India
C(i)(iii)(vi)
The Committee recommended that the authorities establish a protection zone which would safeguard the surrounding landscape and the cliff, and provide a map indicating the delimitation of this zone.
Sites: Ellora Caves
Agra Fort
251
India
C(iii)
The Committee recommended that the authorities create a buffer zone of protection between the Fort and the Taj Mahal so as to safeguard the landscape and the environment between these two quite different monuments.
Sites: Agra Fort
Taj Mahal
252
India
C(i)
Sites: Taj Mahal
7 COM VIII
Inscription: La Fortaleza and San Juan Historic Site in Puerto Rico (United States of America)
La Fortaleza and San Juan Historic Site in Puerto Rico
266
United States of America
C(vi)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
259
United States of America
N(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)
Sangay National Park
260
Ecuador
N(ii)(iii)(iv)
Sites: Sangay National Park
Comoe National Park
227
Ivory Coast
N(ii)(iv)
The Committee recommended that the authorities should consider extending the protected area to include Mts. Gorowi and Kongoli thus enhancing the ecological and touristic value of this property.
Sites: Comoé National Park
Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves
205
Costa Rica
N(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)
The Committee reiterated the Bureau's wish that the Panamanian authorities take the initiative of nominating the part of the Friendship (Amistad) Park located in their territory.
Wood Buffalo National Park
256
Canada
N(ii)(iii)(iv)
The Committee drew attention to the harmful consequences that the eventual construction of a dam on the Slave River could have on those natural characteristics which make the property of outstanding universal value. It therefore recommended that the Canadian authorities take all possible measures to protect the integrity of the site.
Sites: Wood Buffalo National Park
Pirin National Park
225
Bulgaria
N(i)(ii)(iii)
Sites: Pirin National Park
Srebarna Nature Reserve
219
Bulgaria
N(iv)
Sites: Srebarna Nature Reserve
Rila Monastery
216
Bulgaria
C(vi)
This property was not considered as a testimony of mediaeval civilisation but rather as a symbol of the 19th Century Bulgarian Renaissance which imparted slavic cultural values upon Rila in trying to re-establish an uninterrupted historical continuity. The reconstruction of Rila (1834-1962) thus illustrates cultural criterion (vi) of the Operational Guidelines.
Sites: Rila Monastery
Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance, Nancy
229
France
C(i)(iv)
30. Following the recommendations of its Bureau, the Committee decided to defer examination of the nominations which are listed below until it receives the necessary information:
Contracting State having submitted the nomination of the property in accordance with the Convention
Identification n°
Name of Property
Afghanistan
207
The City and Monuments of Herat
Afghanistan
211
The Minaret of Jam
Ghana
226
Bia National Park
Ghana
279
Traditional Mosques of Northern Ghana
India
234
Churches and Convents of Goa
Iraq
276
Ancient ...
Sites: Ancient City of Aleppo Babylon Churches and Convents of Goa Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley Group of Monuments at Hampi Hatra Khajuraho Group of Monuments Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam Samarra Archaeological City Sanganeb Marine National Park and Dungonab Bay – Mukkawar Island Marine National Park
28. The Committee noted that the nominations of the Church of St. Elizabeth of Marburg and the Hanseatic City of Lubeck (Federal Republic of Germany), as well as the nomination of the Palais des Papes, the Old Cathedral of Notre-Dame-desDoms, Pont Saint-Benezet and ramparts of Avignon (France) had been withdrawn.
32. The Committee also decided not to include the Ancient City of Plovdiv nominated by Bulgaria on the World Heritage List. The Committee considered it was difficult at this stage to include urban sites on the List for their vernacular architecture and that the problems concerning the types of towns characteristic of the different regions of the world would first have to be clarified.
36. On the basis of the recommendation of a working group set up during the session, the Committee approved the following requests:
- Costa Rica - Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserve (request n°205.1 rev.2): $25,000
- Ivory Coast - Tai National Park (request n°159.1 rev.1): $30,000
- Haiti - Citadel Henry National History Park (request n°180.1): $20,000
- Honduras - Maya Ruins of Copan (request n°129.1): $20,000
- Honduras - Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve (request n°196.1 rev.2): $20,000
- Nepal - Sagarmatha National Park (request n°120.1 4): ...
37. The following requests for training activities which were submitted as part of technical cooperation requests were also approved:
- Costa Rica - Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserve (request n°205.1 rev.2): $5,000
- Honduras - Maya Ruins of Copan (request n°129.1): $26,000
- Honduras - Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve (request n°196.1 rev.2): $6,000
Total of requests in the field of cultural and natural heritage conservation: $37,000
13. The General Assembly was called on to elect 7 Members of the World Heritage Committee to replace the following 7 Members whose term of office was due to expire at the end of the 22nd Session of the General Conference : Australia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Iraq, Nepal, Tunisia, United States of America.14. The list of States Parties which had submitted their candidature was read out before the Assembly. In conformity with Article 16, paragraph 5,of the Convention, the list of candidates was limited to those States which had in fact paid their contribution to the World Heritage Fund for 1982. ...