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State of Conservation Gelati Monastery 2016

Gelati Monastery

Georgia
Factors affecting the property in 2016*
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Other Threats:

    General need for interior and exterior conservation work on the monuments

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • General need for interior and exterior conservation work on the monuments
  • Major reconstruction of the structure of Bagrati Cathedral (completed)
  • Insufficient coordination between the Georgian Church and the national authorities (issue resolved)
  • Lack of co-ordinated management system (issue resolved)
Threats for which the property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger

Irreversible interventions as part of major reconstruction of the structure of Bagrati Cathedral

Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4196

Corrective Measures for the property

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4196

Timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures
Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4196
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2016
Requests approved: 0
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 2016**

November 2003, June 2008, March 2010, April 2012: Joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring missions; October 2014: ICOMOS technical evaluation mission to Gelaty Monastery; January 2015: ICOMOS Advisory mission

2015 Report on the Joint ICOMOS/World Bank Advisory Mission to the Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery (Georgia), ...
2012 Report on the Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring Mission to Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati ...
2008 Report on the Joint World Heitage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring Mission to Historical Monuments of Mtskheta and ...
1994 Report on the ICOMOS Mission to the Republic of Georgia , 26 May - 1 June 1994
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2016

On 1 February 2016, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/710/documents/ and which addresses the progress made in the implementation of the Committee’s Decision 39 COM 7A.39, including on the progress in a number of measures implemented concerning the Gelati Monastery, one of the components of the property:

  • Completion of the Management Plan for Gelati Monastery, including the Tourism Development Program and Visitor Management Program, as well as preparation of the Gelati Monastery Conservation Master Plan to provide guidelines for implementing and planning rehabilitation and conservation of the property’s component. The Management Plan is the result of the intensive inter-disciplinary work and close collaboration with different stakeholders at local, national and international level. Furthermore, a 5-year Action Plan for the archaeologically sensitive areas in Gelati Monastery complex has also been prepared. In 2015, several conservation/rehabilitation projects in Gelati Monastery were implemented in close consultation with ICOMOS and with the financial support of the World Bank. Works on the reinforcement of the base of the drum of the dome of the Gelati Monastery, elaborated in accordance with the recommendations of the joint 2015 ICOMOS/World Bank Advisory mission started in 2015 and are expected to be completed in 2016 through the Imereti regional Development Project;
  • Development of a draft Code on Cultural Heritage (CCH): Gaps identification in the current Georgian legislation, as well as analysis of the international agreements and Conventions in the field of cultural heritage have been implemented. The CCH will incorporate the special chapter dedicated to the protection and management of the World Heritage in Georgia. This Chapter will also serve as a basis for the official approval of the Management Plan for Gelati Monastery and for its effective implementation with the involvement of all the stakeholders;
  • The launch, in close collaboration with ICCROM, of the long-term project on establishment of the training platform in the field of cultural heritage in Georgia. Based on the Georgia/ICCROM Memorandum of Understanding (dated 21 May 2015), the project aims at establishing a multidisciplinary platform for the development of professional opportunities through improvement of the existing system and policies in the field of conservation and management of cultural heritage in Georgia, with the special focus on World Heritage.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2016

The State Party responded to most of the issues raised by the World Heritage Committee in its previous Decisions, and supplied information about the implementation of the corrective measures adopted by the World Heritage Committee concerning the Gelati Monastery, one of the components of the property.  It has also addressed the issues raised in Decision 39 COM 8B.35 when the significant boundary modification request to remove Bagrati Cathedral was referred back to the State Party to allow them to clarify management procedures and responsibilities, to provide details as to how a higher level of commitment might be put in place by the major stakeholders to ensure adequate protection and management of the property; to submit the revised draft Management Plan for review; to provide a timetable for when physical and visual protection for the buffer zone will be formalized and when clear guidelines and guidance for management and any development within the buffer zone will be put in place.

In particular, it should be noted that the State Party has made progress with regard to the Management Plan for Gelati Monastery, which was finalized and submitted to the World Heritage Centre on 1 July 2015. ICOMOS has undertaken a technical review and considers the plan is pragmatic and is based on a very sensible and meaningful analysis of the current situation in the property. ICOMOS in its review has raised some minor queries regarding the buffer zone and its uses and has also made recommendations on tourism management in relation to developing employment opportunities, as ensuring the socio-economic sustainability, as this is identified as one of the key challenges of the Management Plan.

The competences and responsibilities between public authorities and the Church (on higher and local levels) are well defined regarding the preservation and protection of the site.

It is also noted that progress has been made with regard to the development of a draft Code on Cultural Heritage, as well as the establishment of the training platform in the field of cultural heritage in Georgia.

Although the state of conservation report submitted by the State Party contains responses to the Committee’s Decision 39 COM 8B.35 regarding the boundary modification of the property, it should be noted that the State Party has not re-submitted the significant boundary modification of the property to the World Heritage Centre, in conformity with Paragraph 159 of the Operational Guidelines, for examination by the World Heritage Committee, following its referral by the Committee.

Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2016
40 COM 7A.28
Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery (Georgia) (C 710)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7A,
  2. Recalling Decisions 39 COM 7A.40 and 39 COM 8B.35, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
  3. Welcomes the progress made by the State Party in the implementation of the corrective measures concerning the Gelati Monastery, one of the components of the property;
  4. Notes the information provided by the State Party inter alia in response to Decision 39 COM 8B.95, regarding the significant boundary modification of the property, and in particular:
    1. The clarified Management procedures and responsibilities of the various agencies and organisations involved,
    2. The details on putting measures in place by the major stakeholders, including the development of the draft of the Code on Cultural Heritage, to ensure adequate protection and management of the property,
    3. The Revised Draft Management Plan, submitted, and subsequently reviewed by ICOMOS,
    4. The legally adopted extended buffer zone of Gelati Monastery,
    5. The secured adequate resources for long-term programmes of restoration for the fabric of the monastery and its mural paintings,
    6. The developed system of documentation for conservation and restoration work,
    7. Details on the construction of the visitor centre outside the Gelati Monastery linked to a visitor management strategy, which started in 2015 in conformity with the June 2013 ICOMOS review recommendations;
  5. Urges the State Party to formally resubmit the significant boundary modification of the property to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2017, in conformity with Paragraph 159 of the Operational Guidelines, for examination at its 41st session in 2017;
  6. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 Febuary 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017;
  7. Decides to retain Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery (Georgia) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Read more
40 COM 8C.2
Update of the list of World Heritage in Danger (retained sites)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined the state of conservation reports of properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger (WHC/16/40.COM/7A, WHC/16/40.COM/7A.Add and WHC/16/40.COM/7A.Add.2),
  2. Decides to retain the following properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger:
  • Afghanistan, Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (Decision 40 COM 7A.26)
  • Afghanistan, Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam (Decision 40 COM 7A.27)
  • Belize, Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (Decision 40 COM 7A.32)
  • Bolivia (Plurinational State of), City of Potosí (Decision 40 COM 7A.1)
  • Central African Republic, Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park (Decision 40 COM 7A.34)
  • Chile, Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works (Decision 40 COM 7A.2)
  • Côte d'Ivoire, Comoé National Park (Decision 40 COM 7A.35)
  • Côte d'Ivoire / Guinea, Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Decision 40 COM 7A.36)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo, Garamba National Park (Decision 40 COM 7A.37)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Decision 40 COM 7A.38)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo, Okapi Wildlife Reserve (Decision 40 COM 7A.39)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo, Salonga National Park (Decision 40 COM 7A.40)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo, Virunga National Park (Decision 40 COM 7A.41)
  • Egypt, Abu Mena (Decision 40 COM 7A.9)
  • Ethiopia, Simien National Park (Decision 40 COM 7A.43)
  • Georgia, Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery (Decision 40 COM 7A.28)
  • Honduras, Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Decision 40 COM 7A.33)
  • Indonesia, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Decision 40 COM 7A.48)
  • Iraq, Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat) (Decision 40 COM 7A.10)
  • Iraq, Hatra (Decision 40 COM 7A.11)
  • Iraq, Samarra Archaeological City (Decision 40 COM 7A.12)
  • Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls (site proposed by Jordan) (Decision 40 COM 7A.13)
  • Madagascar, Rainforests of the Atsinanana (Decision 40 COM 7A.44)
  • Mali, Timbuktu (Decision 40 COM 7A.6)
  • Mali, Tomb of Askia (Decision 40 COM 7A.7)
  • Niger, Air and Ténéré Natural Reserves (Decision 40 COM 7A.45)
  • Palestine, Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem (Decision 40 COM 7A.14)
  • Palestine, Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir (Decision 40 COM 7A.15)
  • Panama, Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo (Decision 40 COM 7A.3)
  • Peru, Chan Chan Archaelogical Zone (Decision 40 COM 7A.4)
  • Senegal, Niokolo-Koba National Park (Decision 40 COM 7A.46)
  • Serbia, Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (Decision 40 COM 7A. 30)
  • Solomon Islands, East Rennell (Decision 40 COM 7A.49)
  • Syrian Arab Republic, Ancient City of Aleppo (Decision 40 COM 7A.16)
  • Syrian Arab Republic, Ancient City of Bosra (Decision 40 COM 7A.17)
  • Syrian Arab Republic, Ancient City of Damascus (Decision 40 COM 7A.18)
  • Syrian Arab Republic, Ancient Villages of Northern Syria (Decision 40 COM 7A.19)
  • Syrian Arab Republic, Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (Decision 40 COM 7A.20)
  • Syrian Arab Republic, Site of Palmyra (Decision 40 COM 7A.21)
  • Uganda, Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi (Decision 40 COM 7A.8)
  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City (Decision 40 COM 7A.31)
  • United Republic of Tanzania, Selous Game Reserve (Decision 40 COM 7A.47)
  • United States of America, Everglades National Park (Decision 40 COM 7A.50)
  • Venezuela, Coro and its Port (Decision 40 COM 7A.5)
  • Yemen, Historic Town of Zabid (Decision 40 COM 7A.23)
  • Yemen, Old City of Sana’a (Decision 40 COM 7A.24)
  • Yemen, Old Walled City of Shibam (Decision 40 COM 7A.25).
Read more
Draft Decision: 40 COM 7A.28

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7A,
  2. Recalling Decisions 39 COM 7A.40 and 39 COM 8B.35, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
  3. Welcomes the progress made by the State Party in the implementation of the corrective measures concerning the Gelati Monastery, one of the components of the property;
  4. Notes the information provided by the State Party inter alia in response to Decision 39 COM 8B.95, regarding the significant boundary modification of the property, and in particular:
    1. The clarified Management procedures and responsibilities of the various agencies and organisations involved,
    2. The details on putting measures in place by the major stakeholders, including the development of the draft of the Code on Cultural Heritage, to ensure adequate protection and management of the property,
    3. The Revised draft Management Plan, submitted, and subsequently reviewed by ICOMOS,
    4. The legally adopted extended buffer zone of Gelati Monastery,
    5. The secured adequate resources for long-term programmes of restoration for the fabric of the monastery and its mural paintings,
    6. The developed system of documentation for conservation and restoration work,
    7. Details on the construction of the visitor centre outside the Gelati Monastery linked to a visitor management strategy, which started in 2015 in conformity with the June 2013 ICOMOS review recommendations;
  5. Urges the State Party to formally resubmit the significant boundary modification of the property to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2017, in conformity with Paragraph 159 of the Operational Guidelines, for examination at its 41st session in 2017;
  6. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 Febuary 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017;
  7. Decides to retain Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery (Georgia) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Previous 2015 Next 2017
Report year: 2016
Georgia
Date of Inscription: 1994
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iv)
Danger List (dates): 2010-2017
Documents examined by the Committee
WHC/16/40.COM/7A
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2016) .pdf
arrow_circle_right 40COM (2016)
Exports
Previous 2015 Next 2017

* : 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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