Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

• Dam construction (issue resolved); 
• Power line development (issue resolved); 
• Wild fires (issue resolved); 
• Encroachment;
• Urbanization of the valley;
• Helicopters flights
• Damages due to a crane accident (issue resolved) 
• Landslides

On 2 May 2002, the Chairperson of the Committee addressed letters to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Education urging the Government to take the necessary measures for the implementation of the recommendations of the 2002 mission. In the same letters, the Chairperson alerted the Ministers that in the absence of these measures, the Committee would be obliged to consider the inscription of Machu Picchu on the List of World Heritage in Danger. To date, no response has been received to these letters.

On 11 February 2003, the Government of Peru submitted a report in which it informed of the inclusion of the Ministry of Tourism and the Regional Government in the directorate of the Management Unit and on progress made in the adoption of the plan for the village of Aguas Calientes and the undertaking of landslide studies. It also reported a great number of activities that are planned for execution in 2003, such as the revision of the Master Plan, an evaluation of the access to the Sanctuary, the implementation of the Urban Ordinance Plan for the village of Aguas Calientes etc.

IUCN reviewed the report and noted positive development related to documenting the sacred values of the site, the strengthening of the Management Unit and the approval by the Urubamba Provincial Municipality of the urban plan for Aguas Calientes. IUCN noted that the report was not clear on the timeline for revision of the master plan in the planning process of which a number of key issues need to be considered. IUCN noted also that the Peruvian Government has finished the construction of the infrastructure of energy dissipaters in the Aguas Calientes River, the treatment of unstable zones and the cleaning of the riverbed and river banks. It has also developed an emergency programme for evaluation and monitoring of the zone in co-operation with the National Institute of Civilian Defence (INDECI). IUCN noted that the site continues to be threatened by the spread of invasive species and that the problem urgently needs the implementation of control measures. IUCN would like to offer to the State Party the possibility of expert advice from the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group.

 ICOMOS reviewed the report of the Government of Peru and expressed the opinion that, in general terms, the report lacks in supportive detail on a number of points, that certain responses are evasive with regard to the recommendations of the 2002 mission, and that it gives the impression of a lack of urgency in some respects. It is recommended that the State Party be thanked for its report, and that it be invited to prepare a more detailed report for the meeting of the Committee in 2004, with full supporting documentation.

On 24 April 2003, the Director of the National Institute of Culture informed the Centre that it had signed an agreement with the Ministry of Tourism and the Municipality of Machu Picchu for the execution of some activities: the construction of a handicraft square, improvement of vehicular access, system of communication, diffusion, cultural information and security, and a complex for sport and cultural and recreational activities.

The Secretariat notes that the report of the Government of Peru provides very little information on concrete actions and achievements during the year 2002. No information is provided on the implementation of the 2002 Operational Plan of the Management Unit or the status of infrastructure works in Aguas Calientes. The fact that the Programa Machu Picchu, a major debt-swap project with the Government of Finland, was terminated in December 2002 and that remaining funds have been withdrawn from Machu Picchu is not reported upon. Instead, the report makes very general statements and refers very frequently to actions that are being planned or programmed for implementation in 2003. It seems that concrete progress has only been made in the management of the Inca Trail, which includes Aguas Calientes. However, the report of 24 April 2003 does not stipulate if the works are implemented in the context of the plan for the village, and in the study and management of landslide risks. The report does not make a convincing case that the state of conservation and the management of the site have been improved significantly as compared to the situation referred to in the 1999 and 2002 mission reports. In line with the letter of the Chairperson to the Peruvian authorities in May 2002, the Committee would have to seriously consider inscribing Machu Picchu on the List of World Heritage in Danger.