National History Park – Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers

• Lack of a Management Plan;
• Lack of a Conservation Plan;
• Water damage;
• Vandalism;
• Seismic activities;
• Infrastructure projects;
• Lack of a Risk Preparedness Plan;
• Potential non controlled touristic development

Total amount granted: USD 14,780 for the July 2010 Technical Mission partially funded by the Spanish Funds-in-Trust for World Heritage

A very brief report on the state of conservation of the property was submitted by the State Party on 13 February 2013, accompanied by a provisional Retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value, prepared by the Institute for the Preservation of the National Heritage (ISPAN).

a)  National Road RN003

The State Party confirmed the decision to respect the recommendations and warnings of ISPAN and the World Heritage Committee. The Ministry of Public Works invited a World Heritage Centre/Advisory Bodies technical mission in respect of the third section of the National Road RN003, funded by the European Union, to identify the final route and evaluate the project for improvement of the section between Milot and Dondon.

b)  Roads in the National History Park

ISPAN began repair work and improvement to the roads in June 2012, between Sans-Souci and Choiseuil, from there to the Citadel and from there to Ramiers. These works responds to recommendations and drafted specifications taking into account the two missions in 2012, in order to enable the interventions.  However, the secondary road project concerning the hills below the Citadel has not yet been implemented, although the road located between Ramiers and the Citadel has been improved.  Some of the sections have been widened to improve drainage and for security reasons.  Furthermore, between June and September 2012, ISPAN implemented a signage project, and road signs and information panels on the monuments were prepared and installed. The information panels of a historical and cultural nature concerning the Park and its monuments are graphic and multilingual.

c)  Constructions in the National History Park

Two tourist constructions were built in the Park with the authorization of ISPAN. They concern a small pavilion at the main gate, where the church and the Sans-Souci Palace are located, and are destined to welcome and inform visitors. With regard to the welcome buildings at Choiseuil, they comprise stands for artists, information buildings, services and ramps for the horses. Two temporary structures were built and dismantled immediately after two brief events organized for the promotion of the Sans-Souci Palace. Thanks to private sector initiatives, the Sans-Souci church and its surrounds have undergone some repair work. Events such as the National Carnival in Cape Haitian were carried out to promote increased awareness of national heritage and cultural potential of the territory.

d)  Conservation actions

Work has been carried out on the different floor levels of the Palace, such as cleaning up following rain damage and the installation of a mobile passage between the main stairs and the King’s terrace. The access to the Coidavid Fort was closed on 23 March following the expertise of the technical and multidisciplinary mission. An important awareness-raising message to the public was addressed by ISPAN. On 16 July 2012 a violent storm heavily impacted Haiti and a part of the roof of the Coidavid Fort was damaged. The essential repair work has been completed. The Ministry of Tourism granted additional emergency funds to ISPAN in October 2012. The equivalent of USD 200,000 was used to consolidate the emergency work at Coidavid Fort in response to the recommendations of the multidisciplinary mission report of 2012.  Another multidisciplinary mission is foreseen between April and May 2013, to develop, among others, recordings of typical damage at the Citadel, sampling and analysis of stonework, the establishment of a microclimate surveillance station and mechanical samplings at the Batteries; as well as planning a campaign to measure water distribution in the masonry by IR thermographic methods, biocidal treatment tests, photographic documentation of the reference zones and archaeological excavations in the courtyard of the Citadel. Individuation of security measures for the Batteries and verification of the efficiency of security measures for the Sans-Souci building will also be developed.

e)  Cadastral study

A cadastral survey was initiated in June 2012.  Between June and September, the agreement protocol between ISPAN and the Inter-ministerial Council for Territorial Development (CIAT) was updated. The difficulties encountered in 2011 were broached. Work at the site will be terminated at end-2013.

f)  Cooperation between ISPAN, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism

Currently, since 16 August 2012, the State Party deals with an Inter-ministerial Commission comprising the Ministries of Culture, Tourism, Interior and Territorial Communities, and of Planning and External Cooperation, the mandate of which is to participate in the preparation and the implementation of national strategies for the management and development of the Park; to enforce the legal instruments and regulations for the management of the Park; to create and execute promotional programmes for culture, tourism, agriculture and the environment; to enhance ecotourism in liaison with territorial and local communities. The Ministries of Culture, Tourism and the Environment appointed the Director of the Park on 20 September 2012, and the Minister of Culture, Mario Dupuy, declared a National Heritage Day.  Access to the Park was restricted and work coordinated by ISPAN, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism.

g)  The World Bank

Following different meetings and discussions between the World Bank, the Ministry of Culture and the World Heritage Centre, it was decided to finance a World Heritage programme for the Citadel. This project will develop the capacities of ISPAN and result in a process of more rapid and secure decision-making for the conservation and management of the monuments of the Park. The Conservation Plan and management protocol are fully coherent with the emergency conservation operation. The immediate actions are to fund a Technical Unit at ISPAN, comprising a project coordinator, a junior architect-conservator, a junior engineer-conservator and an administrative assistant.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies observe that, although the State Party has begun, as far as it is possible to implement little by little the Committee decisions, it is extremely urgent to carry out an intervention to ensure the stabilisation of the structures that risk collapse. The conclusions of studies carried out and the diagnostics of components and structures have revealed the extreme vulnerability of the site, and the urgent measures to be undertaken are clearly identified in the recommendations.

The Order declaring the state of emergency throughout the territory and flagging up the particular status of the Park constitute a very positive measure. The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies recommend the finalization and approval of the Conservation Plan and consider essential to complete the implementation of the Conservation Plan as of December 2013.

Furthermore, the new government, in place since 24 January 2013, has promised to continue conservation and protection efforts for the National History Park, and to strengthen ISPAN’s capacities.  Thus, the Management Plan must be coherent with the Conservation Plan that has already been established. Finally, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies insist upon the importance of establishing participatory mechanisms in the management for the site to improve the quality of life of the local population.