Royal Palaces of Abomey

• Absence of a national legislative mechanism for the protection of cultural heritage (issue resolved)
• Major deterioration of almost 50% of the earthen structural components (issue resolved)
• Lack and loss of documentation on the site (issue resolved)
• Lack of presentation and interpretation at the site
• Lack of sharing of knowledge between site managers and among authorities
• Need to distinguish between the site museum and the World Heritage site
• Lack of effective firefighting measures
• Need to improve the governance, organization and implementation of mechanisms for monitoring, coordination and involvement of the different parties concerned
• Need to revise the risk management plan as well as the plan for the management, conservation and enhancement of the property
• Need to take priority measures for the prevention of fire risks

Total amount granted: USD 450,000 from the Government of Japan and from the Riksantikvaren (Norwegian Cultural Heritage Directorate); USD 50,365 through funding from the Netherlands

An ICOMOS Advisory mission, requested by the State Party in a letter dated 11 October 2018, visited the property in October 2018. Subsequently, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation on 31 January 2019. Both the mission and the state of conservation reports are available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/323/documents/. The State Party outlines the following:

• The museum zone, covering more than 30% of the property's area, is in a relatively good state of conservation but some buildings are in an advanced state of deterioration (active infestation, lack of maintenance, piles of garbage, clogged pipes);
• The state of conservation of the remainder of the property is of concern, with degradations related to the fragility of traditional building materials, lack of maintenance, malevolent bushfires, vandalism, lack of rigour during interventions, use of new materials, and new construction techniques or architectural models;
• The district of Dosseme is no longer occupied by the Dadassi; two inner courtyards and King Houegbadja's palace are overgrown; the roof of the tombstone of the 41 wives of King Glèlè is in ruins;
• There is significant pressure for new buildings from members of the royal family and from illegal occupation;
• UNESCO experts advised on updating the Conservation, Management and Development Plan (2007-2011) and managers have begun the drafting process;
• A special programme has been set up for the preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage, which will provide additional support to the Museum of Abomey.

The Advisory mission considered proposed major tourism projects; in the property and at three sites of the Tentative List: Ganvié, Ouidah and Porto-Novo. Within the property a proposed museum to display the Kingdom of Dahomey and an arena for unmasked voodoo celebrations were considered, both to be sited on the large open Court of the Amazons between the remains of two palaces. The museum buildings would extend to some 4,000sq m. and cover almost all of the Court, with the remainder used as car parks, directly behind the palace of King Glélé.

The state of conservation of the property continues to be of great concern. The 2018 mission noted very similar conditions to that of the 2016 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission: many of the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities appear in the reports by the State Party (from this and previous years). Additionally, despite recent fires, the museum lacks a fire protection system and working fire extinguishers.

Little progress appears to have been made that might be considered commensurate with the scale of the problems. Although measures have been taken to update the Management Plan, and a special programme that has been set up for the preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage, there are no adequate structures or resources to address the multi-faceted problems which are almost impossible for the staff to address. For things to progress, the whole management of the property must be shifted into a new gear, with more resources and better structures to provide the staff with the necessary authority.

Urgent action is needed as the buildings, many with mudbrick walls and thatched roofs, are in grave danger of disappearing and being replaced by modern structures, due to lack of maintenance, or vandalism or  bushfires.

Reflecting an integrated symbolic and political landscape of the Kingdom of Dahomey from the 17th-19th centuries, the property includes the remains of ten palaces that served as residences for the king and his estimated two to eight thousand dependents. The courtyards, as places for display in these palaces, were as important as the buildings. Today, the full meaning of this integrated cultural landscape is hard to comprehend with overgrown courts, dilapidated buildings and insensitive new additions.

Contrasting with the lack of resources for the palaces are the proposals for a new museum inside the property, part of a large investment programme called Bénin révélé, covering 50 projects in nine sectors, one of which is tourism. To take forward this component, a National Agency for the Promotion of Heritage and Tourism Development (ANPT) was created in 2016. The project's tourism element would be funded in the order of 650 million Euros, with support from the World Bank and other external contributors. 

While a museum focused on the Kingdom of Dahomey would be highly desirable and beneficial, the site that is currently proposed would cover most of the large Court of the Amazons located between the main royal palace and the palace of Behanzin, historically an integral part of this political and symbolic urban landscape. This position would be highly damaging in obscuring the historic meaning of spatial arrangements. As well,its proposed use of traditional forms, extended in size but with modern materials such as artificial straw for roofing, could contribute to a false interpretation of the historic palaces.

From the perspective of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), the site and design proposed for the museum are not acceptable. Further investigations are needed to identify a more appropriate site outside the boundaries of the palace complex or, if inside, the scale and scope of the museum would need to be significantly reduced and set to the extreme edge of the Court. The design of the museum would also need to be reconsidered carefully to differentiate it from the architecture of the palaces.

To ensure its sustainable management in the long term, it seems essential that the new museum project, regardless of its location, be understood not as an independent site, but as part of the overall property and with its funding encompassing the rehabilitation and restoration of the property and its buffer zone. Such a strcutre could also allow the management of the property to be put on a firmer footing.

In conclusion, it is considered that time is running out to stabilise and conserve all that should be saved of the ten palaces of the property, which is now under considerable danger of losing its OUV. Consequently, in view of the ascertained danger to the property's OUV, it is therefore recommended that the Committee request the State Party to take urgent action for the implementation of the recommendations of the 2016 and 2018 missions, and that it considers, in the absence of significant progress in the implementation of these recommendations, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger at its next session in 2020, in accordance with Paragraph 179 of the Operational Guidelines.