Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower

Urban Pressure; Lack of management mechanism (including legislation)

Since the inscription of the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2003, the World Heritage Centre has been preparing an Action Plan in consultation with UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage Division, ICOMOS, ICCROM and the national authorities. One of the first steps foreseen in the Action Plan is a Round Table/workshop in September/October 2004 for stakeholders in order to share a common vision for the management of the site and to agree on concrete measures to be undertaken within the Action Plan.

As part of the Action Plan, the State Party has started a project in March 2004 with financial assistance from the World Heritage Fund to update plans and maps together with an inventory of buildings within the World Heritage property. Planning for future conservation efforts needs to be based on the updated information on the state of conservation of the buildings and structures within the inscribed area of the World Heritage property. The preparation of detailed maps indicating the current state of conservation of buildings and structures, accompanied by an inventory shall provide a basis on which different activities foreseen in the Action Plan will be developed. Within the framework of the Action Plan, other activities foreseen for implementation include the production of a short film and poster to be distributed in Azerbaijan. The aim of this activity, which will be financed by the German World Heritage Foundation, is to raise awareness about the World Heritage Convention as well as the conservation issues affecting the property. Moreover, the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Division is organising a workshop on community participation in heritage management in May 2004, which will also address the conservation problems of the World Heritage property. A round table in Baku is foreseen in September/October 2004 in order to involve all stakeholders in sharing a common vision and to agree on concrete measures to be taken in the future for the conservation of the property. Relevant stakeholders include the representatives of the National Commission of Azerbaijan for UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Baku, the Academy of Science of Azerbaijan, the Scientific Research Institute for Restoration and Conservation of Architectural Monuments (Azerberpa) as well as ICCROM, ICOMOS and UNESCO. This Round Table will provide an opportunity to develop the existing institutional structure and to ensure its coordination as it provides a platform for dialogues amongst international, national and regional stakeholders. Furthermore, the discussion at the Round Table will be a basis for the elaboration of a Master Plan for safeguarding the World Heritage property that incorporates a management plan, tourism development plan and conservation plan.

The Division of Cultural Heritage provided financial support in 2003 for the small-scale restoration of the mausoleum of the Sufi Saint, Seyid Yahya akuvie, located within the property.

The Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan invited an ICCROM expert mission from 10 to 15 November 2003 to examine the management mechanism of the old town of Baku. The mission recommended improving long-term management to take into account the specific situation in Baku, as well as to identify the needs for training and capacity building in the field of urban heritage management.

Having confirmed the findings and concerns highlighted by the joint UNESCO-ICOMOS mission in October 2002, the ICCROM mission of November 2003 further stressed the urgent need for the national authorities to provide political and financial support for the management of the site. Despite the Presidential Decree of January 2003, which ordered the ceasing of any unauthorized construction within the inscribed area, uncontrolled urban development and demolition of buildings continues to be observed. Planning processes for the management of the site are being delayed because the State Party does not have sufficient information and documentation on the state of conservation of the property, and faces financial constraints. The lack of coordination amongst the decision makers in the country, particularly between the national authorities and the municipality, is of further concern. These factors are preventing the authorities from responding to the urgent management and conservation needs of the World Heritage property.

At the time of the preparation of this document, the State Party has not provided a report on the state of conservation of the property, as requested by the 27th session of the World Heritage Committee.