State of Conservation (SOC)

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The State Party submitted a report on 1 February 2012 addressing the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee at the time of inscription, specifically that the State Party implement a programme of studies and training on traditional building conservation, crafts and materials, and in collaboration with local tertiary institutions, and implement a programme of measuring and documenting all the listed buildings within the property. The report also addresses the request of the World Heritage Committee for a report on the implementation of the Management Plan.

a) Programme of studies and training in traditional building conservation

The report indicates that in November 2011 a conservator from the PonceMuseum in Puerto Rico was contracted to restore a statue, and also carried out an on-site training session for workers from the Ministry of Transport and Works and the National Conservation Commission responsible for the daily maintenance of statues. This expert has been requested by the Ministry of Family, Culture, Sports and Youth to submit a proposal to provide training on traditional building conservation in 2012. The Ministry is currently awaiting the submission of this proposal. It is also reported that the Ministry has started discussions with the Ministry of Transport and Works to extend this training to incorporate heritage building and restoration.

No details are provided on how this programme might involve collaboration with local tertiary training institutions.

b) Programme for measuring and documenting all listed buildings within the property

The report mentions that other day to day actions have commenced and are carried out to ensure the proper protection of the property. Most of these actions are set out under Section 4 of the property’s Management Plan; however no specific activities are mentioned.

The report indicates that a consultant will be appointed to undertake a programme for measuring and documenting 21 of the 115 listed buildings, and provides some details of the tasks of the consultancy: detailed multi-media information to support the maintenance of the listed buildings; support to the development of a planning process with respect to listed buildings located within the property; and to contribute to the sustainable management of the inscribed property. The consultancy will be divided into two phases. Phase one is expected to last six months. An overall budget of USD 100,000 has been provided, however, it is not stated when this work is expected to start. In the Management Plan submitted with the nomination, it is stated that fifty-three percent of the listed buildings are owned by the Government of Barbados and its various agencies, the remainder of the buildings – twenty-seven percent owned by private commercial entities, seventeen percent by private individuals, and four percent by religious organizations. The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies consider it important that public and private properties are taken into consideration in terms of conditions of authenticity and integrity in order to avoid threats from future development or interventions.

c) Implementation of the Management Plan

At the time of inscription, the Management Plan had not been adopted or implemented. The report does not specifically address whether the Management Plan has now been officially adopted and the status of its implementation. The report provides details of the development control process currently in place and the legal protection – both of which were acknowledged in the evaluation of the nomination. 

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note that arrangements are being planned for a training programme on traditional building conservation. They do, however, consider that such a programme should be led by an expert on traditional craftsmanship and building conservation in view of the concerns regarding the property’s integrity. They also consider that, as requested by the Committee, such a training programme should have links with local tertiary institutions, and that a national programme of studies and training in traditional crafts, material and conservation be developed in collaboration with local or regional universities and technical institutions.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies also note the programme being planned to document listed buildings.

In terms of the Management Plan, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note that it is not clear if the Plan has been adopted and what is the status of its implementation. In the nomination dossier it was stated that the funds to implement the Management Plan will come through the annual budgets of the individual agencies involved, from the 2013-2015 Government budget, subject to approval, from the local private sector and from UNESCO international assistance. It is not stated whether these funds have been made available. The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies consider that the adoption of the Management Plan, which was stated in the nomination as reflecting a paradigm shift in the Caribbean towards a more multi-disciplinary approach to management, is essential to ensuring that an adequate management entity for the property is in place, and that management is directed towards sustaining Outstanding Universal Value.