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Archaeological Site of Carthage

Tunisia
Factors affecting the property in 2012*
  • Governance
  • Housing
  • Legal framework
  • Management systems/ management plan
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2012

Total amount provided to the property: International Safeguarding Campaign, 1973-1989

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2012
Requests approved: 7 (from 1980-2001)
Total amount approved : 213,315 USD
Missions to the property until 2012**

January 2012: Joint World Heritage Centre-ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2012

As a follow up to Decision 35 COM 7B.59, the State Party submitted to the World Heritage Centre a report on the state of conservation of the property dated January 2012. It contains the decree cancelling inappropriate declassifications made from 1992 to 2008 (Decree No. 2011-11 of 10 March 2011 related to the National Archaeological Park of Carthage-Sidi Bou Saïd). This land management policy is continuing with the acquisition of land with funding from the 2012 budget of the National Heritage Institute (INP).

The State Party has embarked upon a major programme of restoration and enhancement at several sites including three important sectors: the amphitheater, the Antonin baths and the Maalga cisterns. This policy includes an increase in staff of the two teams working jointly for the conservation and enhancement of the property. Thus the number of heritage conservators has increased from two to ten, and the head architects from two to four, while the property and the museum each have their own responsible curator.

The report of the joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission that went to Carthage from 24 to 28 January 2012 emphasizes two types of damage affecting the property: aggression for financial profit and the development of infrastructures on the one hand, and negligence of the responsible authorities, on the other. The mission issued four recommendations, in addition to the revision of the property’s boundaries. It stressed, as an absolute priority, the revision and implementation of the Management Plan (PPMV: Protection and Enhancement Plan); the development of a presentation plan and of a tourism Management Plan; the adoption of an archaeological and conservation strategy; the coordination of the tools and stakeholders involved in the management and preservation of the property. The mission report is available online at the following Internet address:  https://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/36COM

a) Protection and Enhancement Plan (PPMV)

Produced between 1996 and 2003, the Protection and Enhancement Plan (PPMV) was never approved or submitted to the World Heritage Centre, nor applied. Following the 14 declassifications of land belonging to the Archaeological Park between 1992 and 2008, including two large-scale ones in 2006 and 2007, the Decree of 10 March 2011 allowed the return of the parcels within the protected area and the fixing of boundaries of the property to the perimeter of the site classified at the national level in 1985. To help resolve disputes arising from these previous situations, the joint reactive monitoring mission recommended a regrouping of the components of the PPMV of 1998 and 2003 and a synchronization of their procedures with that of the Urban Development Plan of Carthage. It stressed the urgency of accomplishing this rapidly and efficiently.

b) Presentation Plan and Tourism Management Plan

In order to give coherence to a scattered ensemble difficult to comprehend for non-specialists, the mission recommends the elaboration of a general presentation plan for the property, and of a tourism Management Plan. An efficient guidance of visitors would enable greater economic benefits and an interesting cultural appeal.

c) Archaeological and Conservation Strategy

In view of the lack of a comprehensive global strategy document on conservation and archaeological excavations, the mission members recommend its preparation be undertaken. Despite numerous restoration and enhancement interventions conducted in recent years and highlighted in both reports of the INP of 2011 and 2012, the mission recommends that priority improvements be made in areas of the circus, the Borj Boukhris, the park of Roman villas and the Maalga cisterns.

d) Coordination of tools and stakeholders involved in the management and preservation of the property

Currently, two separate bodies are responsible for the management and preservation of the property. As this situation causes misunderstandings and overlapping, the mission recommends the establishment of a coordination mechanism between the INP and the Heritage Enhancement and Cultural Promotion Agency (AMVPPC), to achieve a clear designation of functions and powers to be integrated into the Protection and Enhancement Plan (PPMV).

e) Retrospective Inventory and property boundaries

In response to previous requests and to the World Heritage Committee’s Decision 35 COM 7B.59, the State Party submitted on 31 January 2012 a map of "clarification of boundaries at the time of inscription", indicating a return to the boundaries classified at national level in 1985, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at this session (see document WHC-12/36 COM/8D). Previously, on 30 March 2011, the State Party had submitted a request for "minor boundary modifications" with regard to the creation of a buffer zone which will also be examined by the World Heritage Committee under Item 8 of the Agenda (Document WHC-12/36.COM/8B.Add).

The joint mission recommends a revision of this perimeter and the components of the property to better correspond to the reality of the archaeological site today. Similarly, the creation of a buffer zone is expected to provide additional protection to the property.

Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2012

Given the present circumstances, the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies recognize the efforts of the State Party to respond to the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee. The cancellation of the decrees of declassification within the archaeological site of Carthage should be followed up with a land management policy emphasizing heritage as opposed to private interests. The State Party should continue in this way to preserve the integrity of the property.

The World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies consider that the revision and adoption of the PPMV must be fulfilled through effective implementation. The four main recommendations of the joint reactive monitoring mission and the creation of the buffer zone, should enable the State Party to pursue the action it has undertaken.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2012
36 COM 7B.59
Archaeological Site of Carthage (Tunisia) (C 37)

The World Heritage Committee,

1.   Having examined Document WHC-12/36.COM/7B,

2.   Recalling Decision 35 COM 7B.59, adopted at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011),

3.   Notes the report presented by the State Party and the information provided on the property’s boundaries;

4.   Encourages the State Party to continue its policy of land management of the areas in the archaeological zone to avoid alteration to the integrity of the property;

5.   Requests the State Party to implement the recommendations of the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission of January 2012, including:

a)  the revision, adoption and implementation of the Protection and Enhancement Plan for the property,

b)  the elaboration of a Presentation Plan and a Tourism Management Plan,

c)  the development of an archaeological and conservation strategy,

d)  the coordination of preservation and management tools of the property, and coordination of the roles of the different stakeholders concerned;

6.   Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2014 a report on progress made in implementing the above recommendations for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session in 2014. 

36 COM 8B.47
Cultural Properties - Examination of minor boundary modifications - Archaeological Site of Carthage (Tunisia)

The World Heritage Committee,

1.   Having examined Documents WHC-12/36.COM/8B.Add and WHC-12/36.COM/INF.8B1.Add,

2.   Refers the examination of the proposed buffer zone for the Archaeological Site of Carthage, Tunisia, back to the State Party in order to allow it to provide more information about the criteria used to define the buffer zone, about the existing regulations and measures which govern it and which will enable the protection of the property, and about the measures taken for buffer zone management.

36 COM 8D
Clarifications of property boundaries and areas by States Parties in response to the Retrospective Inventory

The World Heritage Committee,

1.   Having examined Document WHC-12/36.COM/8D,

2.   Recalling Decision 35 COM 8D adopted at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011),

3.   Acknowledges the excellent work accomplished by States Parties in the clarification of the delimitation of their World Heritage properties and thanks them for their efforts to improve the credibility of the World Heritage List;

4.   Recalls that the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies will not be able to examine proposals for minor or significant modifications to boundaries of World Heritage properties whenever the delimitation of such properties as inscribed is unclear;

5.   Takes note of the clarifications of property boundaries and areas provided by the following States Parties in response to the Retrospective Inventory, as presented in the Annex of Document WHC-12/36.COM/8D:

    • Algeria: M’Zab Valley;
    • Argentina: Los Glaciares National Park;
    • Australia: Lord Howe Island Group; Wet Tropics of Queensland; Shark Bay, Western Australia; Heard and McDonald Islands;
    • Cambodia: Angkor;
    • China: The Great Wall; Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian; Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area; Ancient City of Ping Yao; Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing; Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing;
    • Colombia: Historic Centre of Santa Cruz de Mompox;
    • Croatia: Plitvice Lakes National Park;
    • Czech Republic: Historic Centre of Prague;
    • Finland: Fortress of Suomenlinna;
    • Georgia: Historic Monuments of Mtskheta;
    • Germany: Aachen Cathedral; Collegiate Church, Castle and Old Town of Quedlinburg;
    • Germany and the United Kingdom: Frontiers of the Roman Empire: Hadrian’s Wall;
    • Honduras: Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve;
    • India: Ajanta Caves; Kaziranga National Park;
    • Indonesia: Borobudur Temple Compounds;
    • Japan: Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area; Himeji-jo; Yakushima; Shirakami-Sanchi; Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama; Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome); Itsukushima Shinto Shrine; Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara;
    • Nepal: Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha;
    • Sri Lanka: Sinharaja Forest Reserve;
    • Seychelles: Aldabra Atoll;
    • Spain: Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid; Works of Antoni Gaudí; Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct; Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias; Santiago de Compostela (Old Town); Old Town of Cáceres; Old City of Salamanca; Poblet Monastery; Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida; Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe;
    • Syrian Arab Republic: Ancient City of Aleppo;
    • Thailand: Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns; Historic City of Ayutthaya; Ban Chiang Archaeological Site;
    • Tunisia: Archaeological Site of Carthage;
    • Turkey: Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia;
    • Uzbekistan: Itchan Kala; Historic Centre of Bukhara; Samarkand – Crossroad of Cultures;

6.   Requests the States Parties which have not yet answered the questions raised in the framework of the Retrospective Inventory to provide all clarifications and documentation as soon as possible and by 1 December 2012 at the latest.

Draft Decision: 36 COM 7B.59

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-12/36.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 35COM7B.59, adopted at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011),

3. Notes the report presented by the State Party and the information provided on the property’s boundaries;

4. Encourages the State Party to continue its policy of land management of the areas in the archaeological zone to avoid alteration to the integrity of the property;

5. Requests the State Party to implement the recommendations of the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission of January 2012, including:

a) the revision, adoption and implementation of the Protection and Enhancement Plan for the property,

b) the elaboration of a Presentation Plan and a Tourism Management Plan,

c) the development of an archaeological and conservation strategy,

d) the coordination of preservation and management tools of the property, and coordination of the roles of the different stakeholders concerned;

6. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1February 2014 a report on progress made in implementing the above recommendations for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session in 2014. 

Report year: 2012
Tunisia
Date of Inscription: 1979
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (ii)(iii)(vi)
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 36COM (2012)
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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