Island of Saint-Louis

• Lack of monitoring and control mechanism;
• Lack of a conservation and management plan;
• New construction and architectural modification and urban projects affecting authenticity and integrity;
• Inappropriate housing restoration;
• Environmental disorder due to the modification of the mouth of the Senegal River;
• Extremely poor state of conservation of numerous derelict buildings endangering occupants;
• Lack of a site manager (Issue resolved)

Total amount granted: USD 192,697.13 from the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement

A joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission visited the property in March 2014 (mission report available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/956/documents).The State Party submitted a state of conservation report on 28 January 2014, which is also available athttps://whc.unesco.org/en/list/956/documents.

The State Party report indicates that management arrangements for the property have been enhanced with the legal establishment of the Committee for Safeguarding of Saint Louis, with the participation of different public and private organizations. It is expected that this entity, along with other management structures, will ensure larger coordination among different stakeholders and stronger processes for the conservation and management of the property. The Committee for Safeguarding, which will be responsible for the implementation of the management plan and the Technical Committee for the Programme for Tourism Development funded by the Agence Française de Développement (French Agency for Development - AFD), has met and assessed current progress in the implementation of activities and identified future actions to implement for the property, as well as specific responsibilities for their undertaking.

The March 2014 mission considered that the overall state of conservation of the property is adequate and that main attributes that convey the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) are preserved as decay has been controlled through interventions at these areas. Notwithstanding, the mission underscored that not all sectors of the property are in adequate conditions and that many important issues remain unaddressed regarding the management of the property, changes in architectural unity, lack of maintenance and monitoring, and the potential impact from foreseen development projects, among others. It particularly highlighted a new housing development that was taking place south of the island and not far from the Comptoir du Fleuve area, and recommended that this development be immediately halted and that corrective measures to mitigate impacts be identified. The mission also noted that these existing issues of concern could be further exacerbated if community engagement in sustained conservation action is not achieved or if adequate resources are not secured for the full operation of existing management structures.

The information provided by the State Party does not provide sufficient details to be able to gauge progress made in the implementation of the Committee’s requests or on the existing situation at the property. The findings of the mission regarding the state of heritage buildings show the urgent need to implement sustained and comprehensive conservation actions, as well as to secure resources, to ensure that the conditions of authenticity and integrity, as well as the attributes that convey OUV, do not erode further to a degree that would compromise the OUV.

The State Party has made some efforts in putting in place adequate management structures but stronger coordination between heritage authorities, the Direction du patrimoine culturel (the Direction of Cultural Heritage-DPC) and the municipality is needed. This situation might be resolved with the effective operation of the Committee for Safeguarding Saint-Louis, which would also need to ensure that a single coherent mechanism is in place to guide decision-making. In this respect, the development of the management and conservation plan is crucial and needs to set out provisions for collaboration among stakeholders, integration of existing regulatory measures and a clear action plan that integrates all on-going initiatives, including the Tourism Development Plan. The management plan should also set out mechanisms regarding review of proposed projects at the property for modification or new construction and adequate monitoring processes during implementation to ensure that no impacts occur. Also, for effective and full implementation of the management plan, strengthening of capacities at different levels will be required as well as adequate financial resources.

In terms of conservation, the mission identified the urgent need to define a clear conservation policy, to carry out interventions at buildings in vulnerable conditions and to ensure that regular maintenance is undertaken. A comprehensive condition assessment and survey is needed to define an action plan for conservation and maintenance interventions, as well as a regular monitoring programme at the property. These should not only assess historic buildings but also address improvement and needs of current housing conditions.