Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information.

i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
viii
ix
x

Archaeological Site of Carthage

Tunisia
Factors affecting the property in 2014*
  • Housing
  • Legal framework
  • Management systems/ management plan
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

Land development and infrastructures within the property

UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2014

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

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2014
Requests approved: 7 (from 1980-2001)
Total amount approved : 213,315 USD
Missions to the property until 2014**

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

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2014

Following the recommendations of the 2012 World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission, the State Party submitted a report dated 25 December 2013 outlining the history of procedures for protection of the property, decrees applicable to it and its urban development and, on 6 February 2014, a Protection and Enhancement Plan (PPMV).  The implementation status of the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee is as follows:

  • Revision and implementation of the PPMV:  Its implementation has begun and should ensure better management of the land development and infrastructures within the property.
  • Elaboration of a Presentation Plan and a Tourism Management Plan:  No relevant information has been transmitted to the World Heritage Centre.
  • Establishment of an archaeological and conservation strategy: The archaeological and conservation strategy remains to be established. The mission recommended that priority developments should be undertaken on the areas of the circus, the Borj Boukhris, the park of Roman villas and the Maalga cisterns. However, houses occupying the eastern part of the circus are declared "unauthorized but tolerated" by the PPMV, and no priority development has been envisaged in the areas of Borj Boukhris, the park of Roman villas and the Maalga cisterns.
  • Coordination of tools and stakeholders involved in the management and preservation of the property: No information on the coordination of the property’s preservation and management tools and stakeholders has been provided by the State Party.
  • Modification of the boundaries of the inscribed property and establishment of a buffer zone: The recommendation of the mission to revise the boundaries of the inscribed property and to establish a buffer zone is still relevant, as no revised boundary change proposal has been sent to the World Heritage Centre since the Committee’s 2012 Decision which had requested the State Party to provide more information on the criteria used to define this buffer zone, the existing measures and regulations which govern it and which will ensure the protection of the property, and the measures taken to manage it .
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2014

The State Party has implemented numerous actions to meet the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee, and should continue its land management policy prioritizing heritage over private interests in order to preserve the integrity of the property.

The adoption of the PPMV must result in its effective implementation, based on the involvement of all stakeholders and local communities, and on the application of the zoning plan and proposed regulations to maintain the integrity the property. Given the complexity of the institutional framework of the property, the numerous management tools and the variety of stakeholders involved in its conservation and management, the establishment of coordination mechanisms and a clear definition of roles and responsibilities are of the utmost importance.

An archaeological and conservation strategy must be developed and implemented in order to preserve the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) for which the property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and the elaboration of a presentation plan and a Tourism Management Plan is required for the development of the property and its sustainable management.

The modification of the boundaries of the inscribed property and the establishment of a buffer zone would contribute significantly to reinforcing the OUV of the property and to the preservation of its integrity. In addition, the alignment of the boundaries of the World Heritage property with those fixed at national level will facilitate the understanding of the protected area by the inhabitants of the city and the private sector operators, and may help to improve the protection and management of the property.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2014
38 COM 7B.6
Archaeological Site of Carthage (Tunisia) (C 37)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decisions 36 COM 7B.59 and 36 COM 8B.47 adopted at its 36th session (Saint Petersburg, 2012),
  3. Commends the State Party for the adoption of the Protection and Enhancement Plan (PPMV) presented for the property;
  4. Encourages the State Party to continue its land management policy in the archaeological area in order to prevent damage to the integrity of the property;
  5. Reiterates its invitation to the State Party to provide further information on the criteria used to define the buffer zone submitted for examination to the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012), the regulations and existing measures governing it and which will ensure the protection and integrity of the property, and on the measures taken for its management;
  6. Invites the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre a proposal to modify the boundaries according to the procedure set out in paragraphs 163-165 of the Operational Guidelines, and recommends that this proposal concerns the establishment of a buffer zone, as well as a modification of the boundaries of the inscribed property aiming to align them with the national boundaries as requested by the joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission of 2012;
  7. Reiterates its request to the State Party to implement the recommendations of the 2012 mission, in particular:
    1. implementation of the PPMV of the property,
    2. development of a Presentation Plan and a Tourism Management Plan,
    3. design and implementation of an archaeological and conservation strategy ,
    4. coordination of the tools for the management and preservation of the property and the coordination of the roles of the different stakeholders;
  8. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, a progress report on the application of the above recommendations and, by 1 December 2015, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property (both reports including a one-page executive summary) for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.
Draft Decision:   38 COM 7B.6

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,

2.  Recalling Decisions 36 COM 7B.59 and 36 COM 8B.47 adopted at its 36th session (Saint Petersburg, 2012),

3.  Commends the State Party for the adoption of the Protection and Enhancement Plan (PPMV) presented for the property;

4.  Encourages the State Party to continue its land management policy in the archaeological area in order to prevent damage to the integrity of the property;

5.  Reiterates its invitation to the State Party to provide further information on the criteria used to define the buffer zone submitted for examination to the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012), the regulations and existing measures governing it and which will ensure the protection and integrity of the property, and on the measures taken for its management; 

6.  Invites the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre a proposal to modify the boundaries according to the procedure set out in paragraphs 163-165 of the Operational Guidelines, and recommends that this proposal concerns the establishment of a buffer zone, as well as a modification of the boundaries of the inscribed property aiming to align them with the national boundaries as requested by the joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission of 2012;

7.  Reiterates its request to the State Party to implement the recommendations of the 2012 mission, in particular:

a)  implementation of the PPMV of the property,

b)  development of a Presentation Plan and a Tourism Management Plan,

c)  design and implementation of an archaeological and conservation strategy ,

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

8.  Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, a progress report on the application of the above recommendations and, by 1 February 2016, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property (both reports including a one-page executive summary) for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.

Report year: 2014
Tunisia
Date of Inscription: 1979
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (ii)(iii)(vi)
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 38COM (2014)
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.


top