Decision 41 COM 7B.74

Tipasa (Algeria) (C 193)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7B.47, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Takes note of the progress made by the State Party in the regular monitoring of the state of conservation of the property and its promotion to the general public, and the transmission to the World Heritage Centre of the first version of the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) of the project for the enhancement of the port of Tipasa;
4. Encourages the State Party to pursue the implementation of the Plan for the Protection and Development of Tipasa Archaeological Sites (PPVMSA) and the guidelines for monitoring the urban development around the property, including the impact on the visual integrity of the property;
5. Reiterates its request to the State Party to submit the updated Management Plan, when finalized, to the World Heritage Centre for examination by ICOMOS;
6. Expresses its concern about the possible negative effect of rainwater runoff and its stagnation on the archaeological structures, and urges the State Party to consider the solution proposed by the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission of April 2017 concerning the conduct of archaeological surveys to identify and operationalize the old rainwater drainage systems;
7. Requests the State Party to take into account the recommendations of the 2017 advisory mission and in particular:
   1. Continue the HIA of the port enhancement project on the basis of the Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage Properties drawn up by ICOMOS in 2011, and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies,
   2. Suspend the placing at the foot of the cliff of an embankment wall composed of geo-synthetic inclusions pending further reflection in order to find a more suitable solution from a technical and landscape point of view, and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies,
   3. Integrate the landscaping of the jetty built between 2006 and 2009 with the port enhancement project in order to mitigate the jetty’s visual impact and integrate it into the landscape,
   4. Consider extending the buffer zone to maritime space to prevent future interventions likely to have an impact on the visual integrity of the property and its Outstanding Universal Value,
   5. Organize an expert meeting to examine experiences at other World Heritage sites where issues similar to those of Tipasa have been addressed and satisfactory solutions envisaged;
8. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, 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 43rd session in 2019.