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Kathmandu Valley

Nepal
Factors affecting the property in 1993*
  • Avalanche/ landslide
  • Effects arising from use of transportation infrastructure
  • Financial resources
  • Housing
  • Human resources
  • Land conversion
  • Management activities
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Other Threats:

    Need for restoration/consolidation works

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

Collapse of the roof of the Patan Temple; Landslide; Revision of the implementation of the Action Plan; Need for restoration/consolidation works

International Assistance: requests for the property until 1993
Requests approved: 4 (from 1979-1989)
Total amount approved : 77,000 USD
Information presented to the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee in 1993

At its sixteenth session, the World Heritage Committee endorsed an ICOMOS report, which was based on the recommendations of the 7th International Wood Committee Symposium and Conference which took place in Kathmandu, in November 1992. The Committee also adopted the recommendations made by ICOMOS and requested the Nepalese authorities to study them with a view to implementing them. In accordance with this Committee recommendation, a technical review of all conservation projects carried out in the valley over the past 20 years is to be organized in 1993. The objectives of the review are: to draw up broad guidelines for the preservation of the whole valley and re-examine the boundaries of the protected zone under the Convention.

It is recalled that the Division of Physical Heritage of UNESCO is executing a Japan Trust Fund Project for Patan Durbar Square (one of the seven sites in the Valley which is included in the ensemble inscribed on the World Heritage List), aimed at establishing scientific documentation of the historical buildings. The total cost of this project is about US$ 375,000, to be spent over a three-year period. Additional assistance is being sought from UNDP to strengthen the institutional capacity of the national and municipal agencies responsible for safeguarding monuments and historical urban quarters in the Valley.

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 1993

The World Heritage Committee, at its sixteenth session, and subsequently the Bureau, at its seventeenth session, were informed of the alarming state of conservation of the historic building and monuments in the Kathmandu Valley. As a result, the WHC and ICOMOS were requested to undertake a global review mission to the World Heritage Site and report to the Committee of its outcome.

The mission, which is composed also of experts who participated in the preparation of the Kathmandu Valley Master Plan in 1977, is now scheduled to be fielded during the third and fourth weeks of November 1993 as confirmed by the Nepalese Authorities.

The mission, accompanied by the Nepalese counterparts, will carry out the survey and the study of the seven properties within the World Heritage Site inscribed in 1979. The following three main aspects of the mission will be considered.

  1. Changes which have taken place to the World Heritage Site and on the influences which have led to those Changes. Special attention to be given to their boundaries, and their possible extension might be considered.
  2. The environmental conditions affecting the World Heritage Site and its monuments. Factors such as encroachment, rebuilding, traffic pressures, introduction of modern services, as well as assessing the present mechanism of control, their effectiveness and whether any recommendations for change should be noted.
  3. The current practices in the conservation of buildings and other structures within the World Heritage Site; suggest guidelines on conservation techniques appropriate to traditional Nepalese buildings and make recommendations for any training considered to be necessary.

 

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 1993
17 BUR VIII.2
Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)

The World Heritage Committee, it its sixteenth session, was informed of the alarming state of conservation of historic buildings and monuments in the Kathmandu Valley. UNESCO and ICOMOS were requested to undertake a global review of the Kathmandu Valley and of the activities undertaken over the past 20 years from the standpoint of safeguarding the cultural heritage of Kathmandu. The objectives of the review were: to draw up broad guidelines for the preservation of the whole valley and to re-examine the boundaries of the protected zone under the Convention.

The UNESCO Division of Physical Heritage is presently executing a Japanese Trust Fund project for Patan Durbar Square, one of the seven sites in the Valley which is included in the ensemble inscribed on the World Heritage List, aimed at establishing scientific documentation of the historical building. For a three-year period, the funds allocated for this project amount to approximately US$ 375,000. Additional assistance is being sought from UNDP to strengthen the institutional capacity of the national and municipal agencies responsible for safeguarding monuments and historical urban quarters in the Valley.

As a result of a UNESCO mission, fielded at the beginning of June, it was reported that the Government of Nepal expressed its concern about the rapid deterioration of the World Heritage site in the Valley. As a remedial measure, the Government intends to reinforce the existing Monuments Protection Act No. 2013, in order to strengthen the protection of cultural heritage. As of 9 June, the Mayors of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhakutapur decided that the construction work, as a result of the demolition of historical buildings, be banned for six months. Furthermore, the World Heritage Centre was informed that the local news agency recently reported that fast-growing construction is being carried out, not only by locals but also by foreigners.

At present, the unauthorized demolition of ancient wooden buildings and the reconstruction of new concrete fabrics is becoming the norm. The World Heritage Centre recently received a report stating that on 12 April 1993, two 14th century wooden buildings in Patan (Tyagah Chapa and its adjoining Pati) were torn down by their owner, the "Guthi", and replaced with a concrete structure housing shops, assuring them of a steady income. The World Heritage Centre promptly requested the Nepalese authorities to urgently look into this matter and to provide further information. In addition, it was also stressed that urgent action to prevent such practices be sought immediately.

At the present session, ICOMOS envisaged the need to contact the Nepalese authorities to express concern and deplore the ongoing destruction of significant cultural heritage within the inscribed Kathmandu Valley sites, and to undertake, along with the Centre and the Physical Heritage Division, the planned 20-year review. Furthermore, it was proposed that efforts be made to change and improve existing legislation.

The Delegate of the United States of America, expressed deep concern for the ongoing degradation and demolition of monuments and historic buildings in the Kathmandu Valley due to weak legislation and lack of adequate protective measures, as required in the Convention, and suggested the inclusion of this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The delegate of Germany supported the suggestion of the United States Delegate and also stressed the need for substantive improvement in legislation for the protection of all historic monuments.

The Rapporteur also stressed the need for the Nepalese authorities to act in accordance with the Convention and its guidelines. Furthermore, he requested that the UNESCO Division of Physical Heritage play an active role in the protection and safeguard of the Kathmandu Valley.

Following the request of the Chairperson, the Delegations of Germany, the United States of America and representatives of ICOMOS met during the Bureau meeting and agreed on the following recommendations concerning the Valley of Kathmandu:

  1. It is recommended that the Secretariat, on behalf of the Bureau, write a letter to the Government of Nepal, expressing its deep concern on the destruction of monuments in Patan, as well as in the other sectors of the Kathmandu Valley, which are inscribed on the World Heritage List.
  2. Furthermore, an expert mission, organized by WHC/ICOMOS, should be announced to the Government of Nepal. This mission is expected to take place during the second half of 1993. The expert mission will investigate the technical problems of restoration, according to the order of the Committee given in Santa Fe. Beyond this, the mission will tackle new problems which turned out to be urgent in monitoring reports presented during the current Bureau meeting. These are:

a) The revision of the Ancient Monument Preservation Act of 1956. At present, this Act cannot prevent the destruction of monuments and it is therefore inadequate to avert the extensive threats that the monuments are increasingly exposed to.

b) The expert mission of WHC/ICOMOS intends to inspect and evaluate the boundaries of the seven sectors of the valley belonging to the World Heritage site and will, when necessary, propose an extension of the boundaries to enclose further important monuments within the site.

c) The expert mission intends to make an on-the-spot check the inventory of monuments which were listed together with the inscription of the site in 1979, and which seem to contain a large number of monuments which have been destroyed in the meantime.

d) The expert group would review the staffing of the Nepal Department of Archaeology and of the administration of the three important towns which are responsible for the protection of monuments, to assess the number of additional expert staff necessary to prevent further destruction of monuments. WHC/ICOMOS will report on the results of their actions during the seventeenth session of the Committee in Carthagena to enable the Committee to make substantive proposals to the Government of Nepal.

17 COM X
SOC: Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)

Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)

A joint UNESCO/ICOMOS mission was undertaken in November 1993 to evaluate current and past conservation activities to examine boundaries and to study the possibility of setting-up buffer zones, to verify the state of the listed the monuments, to assess the support capacities of the national and municipal authorities and to evaluate proposed amendments to the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act. The mission's conclusions stressed the continuing urgency of the situation and defined sixteen areas in which significant improvements should be made in order to maintain the integrity of the original inscription. The mission also suggested increased international support and a permanent UNESCO presence at the site. ICOMOS suggested that the Government of Nepal consider recommending to the Committee to place the Kathmandu Valley on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in order to increase international support, and that a follow-up mission be undertaken in a year's time in order to assess, in cooperation of the Nepalese authorities, the progress made in the sixteen areas of concern.

The Observer from Nepal stated that his Government would seriously consider the recommendations made by the mission. In his opinion, threats to the site were not so severe that listing on the World Heritage in Danger List would be appropriate. Nepal was actively taking measures, notably for improved conservation, management and legal protection of the site, among others, and the state of conservation would improve in the near future. Nepal would appreciate receiving technical assistance from the Fund and ICOMOS to support its conservation efforts.

The Committee concluded that the mission report should be studied in-depth and that the recommendations should be reviewed with the Nepalese authorities. The Committee requested the Centre to report on this matter to the Bureau at its next session.

No draft Decision

Report year: 1993
Nepal
Date of Inscription: 1979
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iii)(iv)(vi)
Danger List (dates): 2003-2007
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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