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Butrint

Albania
Factors affecting the property in 2006*
  • Illegal activities
  • Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Other Threats:

    a) Lack of adequate protection and conservation of the site b) Poor state of conservation of the property

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

a) Looting of the Museum of Butrint in 1997;

b) Lack of adequate protection, management, and conservation of the site led to its inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1997;

c) Lack of management mechanisms and tourism pressure;

d) Poor state of conservation of the property.

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2006
Requests approved: 2 (from 1996-1997)
Total amount approved : 106,000 USD
1997 Butrint (Approved)   100,000 USD
1996 Technical assistance for the restoration of Butrint (Approved)   6,000 USD
Missions to the property until 2006**

1997 World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/Butrint Foundation mission; 2001 World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS mission; 2003 World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS mission; 2005 World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM mission

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2006

At its 29th session (Durban, 2005), the World Heritage Committee endorsed the recommendations made by the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM mission of March 2005, and called upon the State Party to give appropriate attention to their timely implementation while removing the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

A report from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth, and Sport on activities at the site during 2005 was received by the World Heritage Centre in February 2006. It listed work on the maintenance and preservation of monuments, including treatment of vegetation, consolidation, etc., and archaeological projects by Albanian, Butrint Foundation, and expert teams. This work was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Round Table and the Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Mission in March 2005.

A further communication was received from the Director of Butrint National Park on 3 April 2006. It reported that the Butrint Foundation, in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology, was preparing an online archive of all archaeological excavations and finds from Butrint between the 1930s and 2006. New archaeological stores will be constructed in 2006/2007.

In July 2006 a hydrological survey into the effects of water action on the monuments and the reinstallation of water pumps will be carried out by an Italian expert with Albanian counterparts. The protective barriers around the site will be repaired and improved during 2006, and a new ticket office is to be built. Improvements will be made to the surveillance of the site by the Park rangers.

There is to be a survey and condition assessment of the Baptistery mosaic in 2006 and consideration given to its eventual long-term display. Conservation of the Triconch Palace was completed in 2005 and the training programme is continuing during 2006. The Butrint Museum reopened after refurbishment in October 2005. Twenty-two interpretation panels have been installed around the site and 20km of marked trails have been created. The report also indicates that the Park has been expanded by a decision of the Council of Ministers in December 2005 to cover an area of 86 km2 providing a more than adequate buffer zone for the archaeological monuments.

Concerning tourism, the preparatory phase of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) project (sponsored by the World Bank), which is aimed at fostering the economic development in the region through ecological and archaeological tourism through training and capacity building, international outreach and sustainable tourism, and university cooperation, has been completed.

No explicit mention is made in either reports of the site management under the terms of the 2003 “Law on Control Heritage”. It is implicit from some statements, especially those on “Park monitoring,” that certain aspects of the Law are slowly being applied. This is supported cautiously by comments of the 2005 Joint Mission in its report. The latter includes strong recommendations on the management regime made at the time of the mission. The April 2006 document reports that a new Director has been appointed, along with four specialists in archaeology, monuments, tourism, and environment. In December 2005, staff took part in a three-day management training session; other courses have taken place or are planned on tourism management, vegetation management, conservation of monuments and mosaics, and project proposal writing.

The 2005 Joint Mission report insisted that “the need for a solid and realistic management as a useful tool has become more obvious than ever before.” Nonetheless, the report submitted by the State Party contains no reference to any work on the improvements of the management and conservation plan. It only mentioned that the management plan 2000-2005 has been adopted by the Butrint National Park Board and the initiatives and projects implemented in 2005-2006 are in accordance with the objectives of the management plan. The State Party also noted that in 2006 a project funded by the World Bank to develop an integrated coastal zone management plan will commence, which will include Butrint National Park.

While commending the State Party for the improvements that it has made in a number of sectors, ICOMOS and the World Heritage Centre regret that there has been no progress on updating of the existing management plan to bring it in line with international standards. 

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2006
30 COM 7B.75
State of Conservation (Butrint)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-06/30.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 29 COM 7A.27, adopted at its 29th session (Durban, 2005),

3. Notes the authorities' continuing efforts towards the improvement of the general situation of the site;

4. Notes with satisfaction that the State Party expanded the area of Butrint National Park and thereupon the buffer zone of the World Heritage property and requests the State Party to submit the relevant documents including maps of the revised buffer zone of the World Heritage property in accordance with chapter III.I of the Operational Guidelines;

5. Regrets that there has been no progress on the updating of the existing management plan and requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with a detailed report by 1 February 2007 on the implementation of the 2005 mission's recommendations and the progress made with the updating and implementation of the integrated management plan of the property according to international standards, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 31st session in 2007;

6. Acknowledges that the State Party has invited a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM mission to the property in 2007, as requested in Decision 29 COM 7A.27, to assess the implementation of the decisions of the World Heritage Committee in cooperation with the State Party and submit a report on its findings at the 31st session in 2007.

Draft Decision: 30 COM 7B.75

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-06/30.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 29 COM 7A.27, adopted at its 29th session (Durban, 2005),

3. Notes the authorities’ continuing efforts towards the improvement of the general situation of the site;

4. Notes with satisfaction that the State Party expanded the area of Butrint National Park and thereupon the buffer zone of the World Heritage property and requests the State Party to submit the relevant documents including maps of the revised buffer zone of the World Heritage property in accordance with chapter III.I of the Operational Guidelines;

5. Regrets that there has been no progress on the updating of the existing management plan and requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with a detailed report by 1 February 2007 on the implementation of the 2005 mission’s recommendations and the progress made with the updating and implementation of the integrated management plan of the property according to international standards, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 31st session in 2007;

6. Acknowledges that the State Party has invited a World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM joint mission to the property in 2007, as requested in Decision 29 COM 7A.27, to assess the implementation of the decisions of the World Heritage Committee in cooperation with the State Party and submit a report on its findings at the 31st session in 2007.

Report year: 2006
Albania
Date of Inscription: 1992
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iii)
Danger List (dates): 1997-2005
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 30COM (2006)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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