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Historic Centre of Bukhara

Uzbekistan
Factors affecting the property in 2017*
  • Housing
  • Management activities
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Other Threats:

    degradation of traditional houses

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Recent hotel constructions which would negatively affect the integrity of the property (issue resolved)
  • Heavy traffic, pollution and poor sewege system (issue resolved)
  • Managements systems/management plan (Lack of a proper conservation and management plan)
  • Management activities (Lack of coordination with regard to the conservation and restoration activities carried out as part of the State Programme, Lack of on-going routine maintenance and varying state of conservation of monuments)
  • Managements systems/management plan (Lack of guidelines for rehabilitation of housing)
  • Buildings and Development (Use of new building material and methods)
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2017
Requests approved: 3 (from 1995-2016)
Total amount approved : 100,960 USD
Missions to the property until 2017**

October 2010: joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission; March 2016: joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2017

A joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property on 24-29 March 2016. On 27 December 2016, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report for the property. Both reports are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/602/documents. The State Party’s report presents progress on a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions, as follows:

  • Management Plan and governance systems: Training workshops have been held over the past three years, in connection with the development of the Management Plan, which was due to be completed at the beginning of 2017;
  • Development control and guidance for traditional houses: Illustrated conservation guidelines will be produced on the protection of distinctive architectural features of Bukhara.

A set of recommendations was also formulated during a workshop on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) held in October 2016, in association with the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust. These include the need for stronger legal protection and planning codes for cultural heritage, subsidies for private owners and the restoration and maintenance of traditional irrigation systems and urban vegetation.

It is also reported that between December 2015 and May 2016, more than 100 sites were inventoried by the local specialists and that in 2016, four sites situated in the Historical Centre were restored using national and local funds and 10 sites using sponsorship and charitable donations.

Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2017

While the early 2017 completion date for the Management Plan for the property is a positive move forward, the completed plan was not submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, as suggested by the March 2016 Reactive Monitoring mission.

Until the plan is reviewed, it will not be possible to ascertain how it addresses the concerns expressed by the mission regarding the overall effectiveness of the management system. The mission suggested further input from ICOMOS on the finalization of the Management Plan, but the State Party has not requested any such input to date.

How the Management Plan will be implemented, what type of governance system has been developed to coordinate inputs from various agencies, and what will be their respective roles in the implementation of the Management Plan remain crucial points to be determined. It is recommended that the Management Plan be completed in conjunction with the new Master Plan for the Historic Centre of Bukhara, and close consultation with the local communities should form the basis for the development of this Management Plan. It is therefore recommended that the Committee request the State Party to submit the completed Management Plan as soon as possible for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The 2016 mission also drew attention to other issues, such as the degradation of traditional houses, the absence of guidelines for the rehabilitation of housing and structural restoration projects, and the use of new materials and techniques as well as the inadequate documentation of major historic buildings and the urban fabric. In order to address these issues, the mission recommended considering measures to enhance institutional capacity, protection and planning tools, financial support for the restoration of traditional houses and documentation, and assessment procedures. The mission reiterated that the establishment of the Bukhara World Heritage Unit (BWHU) and/or Steering Committee with legal authority for the implementation of the Management Plan would be essential to ensure better protection and management of the property. It also recommended that the State Party develop and consolidate a coordinated conservation plan as well as guidelines for the conservation, restoration and rehabilitation the Historic Centre of Bukhara, so as to bring together key conservation activities for the improved protection of the property. It also recommended the enhancement of heritage legislation by establishing bylaws/regulations/guidelines for town planning, the rehabilitation of housing and historical urban areas, the design of new constructions, tourist services, heritage presentation, etc. in order to guarantee the legal protection framework.

Regrettably, neither the 2016 mission report nor its recommendations were mentioned in the State Party’s report. As a result, none of these issues have been addressed specifically in the State Party’s report. Although a few were reflected in the outcomes of the 2016 HUL workshop, it is not clear what status these outcomes have, nor whether there are means to address them.

Overall, the high vulnerability of the property remains a concern, particularly the impact of incremental change in relation to the ensemble of traditional buildings, many of which lack formal protection. There also remains a concern that the recommendations of the 2016 mission were neither acknowledged nor implemented.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2017
41 COM 7B.99
Historic Centre of Bukhara (Uzbekistan) (C 602bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7B.72, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
  3. Notes the conclusions and recommendations of the March 2016 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property;
  4. Welcomes progress with the development of the Management Plan and requests the State Party to submit as soon as possible to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, the final text of the Management Plan, completed in conjunction with the new Master Plan for the Historic Centre of Bukhara and in close consultation with the local communities, as suggested by the 2016 mission;
  5. Notes with appreciation that a Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) workshop was held in 2016, with the support of the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust;
  6. Expresses serious concern that neither the report of the 2016 Reactive Monitoring mission nor any follow-up on its recommendations were mentioned in the State Party’s report; and that no details have been provided to address the concerns raised by the mission regarding the degradation of traditional houses, the lack of guidelines for the rehabilitation of housing and structural restoration projects, the use of new materials and techniques, inadequate documentation of major historic buildings and urban fabric, and the need for stronger protection, planning tools, documentation and a Conservation Plan, many of which were already raised in the 2010 mission report;
  7. Urges the State Party to implement the recommendations of the 2016 Reactive Monitoring mission relating to strengthening protection, planning, conservation guidelines, documentation, management systems and capacity building, in order to address the governance weaknesses identified by the mission, with particular attention to the following:
    1. Establish the Bukhara World Heritage Unit (BWHU) and/or Steering Committee with legal authority for the implementation of the Management Plan, to ensure better protection and management of the property,
    2. Develop and consolidate a coordinated conservation plan as well as guidelines for the conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the Historic Centre of Bukhara, so as to bring together key conservation activities for the improved protection of the property,
    3. Enhance national heritage legislation by establishing bylaws/regulations/guidelines for town planning, the rehabilitation of housing and historical urban areas, the design of new constructions, tourist services, heritage presentation amongst others, in order to guarantee the legal protection framework for the property;
  8. Reiterates its concern at the high vulnerability of the property, particularly in relation to the impact of incremental change on the ensemble of traditional buildings, which constitutes a potential threat to key attributes of Outstanding Universal Value;
  9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, 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 43rd session in 2019.
Draft Decision: 41 COM 7B.99

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7B.72, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
  3. Notes the conclusions and recommendations of the March 2016 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property;
  4. Welcomes progress with the development of the Management Plan and requests the State Party to submit as soon as possible to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, the final text of the Management Plan, completed in conjunction with the new Master Plan for the Historic Centre of Bukhara and in close consultation with the local communities, as suggested by the 2016 mission;
  5. Notes with appreciation that a Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) workshop was held in 2016, with the support of the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust;
  6. Expresses serious concern that neither the report of the 2016 Reactive Monitoring mission nor any follow-up on its recommendations were mentioned in the State Party’s report; and that no details have been provided to address the concerns raised by the mission regarding the degradation of traditional houses, the lack of guidelines for the rehabilitation of housing and structural restoration projects, the use of new materials and techniques, inadequate documentation of major historic buildings and urban fabric, and the need for stronger protection, planning tools, documentation and a Conservation Plan, many of which were already raised in the 2010 mission report;
  7. Urges the State Party to implement the recommendations of the 2016 Reactive Monitoring mission relating to strengthening protection, planning, conservation guidelines, documentation, management systems and capacity building, in order to address the governance weaknesses identified by the mission, with particular attention to the following:
    1. Establish the Bukhara World Heritage Unit (BWHU) and/or Steering Committee with legal authority for the implementation of the Management Plan, to ensure better protection and management of the property,
    2. Develop and consolidate a coordinated conservation plan as well as guidelines for the conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the Historic Centre of Bukhara, so as to bring together key conservation activities for the improved protection of the property,
    3. Enhance national heritage legislation by establishing bylaws/regulations/guidelines for town planning, the rehabilitation of housing and historical urban areas, the design of new constructions, tourist services, heritage presentation amongst others, in order to guarantee the legal protection framework for the property;
  8. Reiterates its concern at the high vulnerability of the property, particularly in relation to the impact of incremental change on the ensemble of traditional buildings, which constitutes a potential threat to key attributes of Outstanding Universal Value;
  9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, 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 43rd session in 2019.
Report year: 2017
Uzbekistan
Date of Inscription: 1993
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (ii)(iv)(vi)
Documents examined by the Committee
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2016) .pdf
arrow_circle_right 41COM (2017)
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.


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