Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape

• Legal framework (Need to put all 38 rock art sites under the highest protection level)
• Management activities (Lack of a conservation/consolidation programme for all the rock art sites; lack of monitoring systems, including a risk preparedness strategy addressing the risk of forest fire)
• Forestry / Wood production (Firewood collection)
• Surface water pollution (Use of fossil fuel for the operation of boats and other facilities in the surrounding villages)
• Land conversion (Risk of the areas for farming growing beyond the present level)

On 6 December 2019, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1508/documents/ and presents progress with a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions, as follows:

• Ningming Huashan Rock Art Site has been declared a ‘National Priority Protected Site’. A submission to have the 37 additional rock art sites located within the property similarly declared was submitted to the National Cultural Heritage Administration in December 2018;
• Sixteen conservation and research projects considering fabric deterioration and the condition of underlying rock have been implemented, with related monitoring programmes. It was planned to complete the investigations for the 37 additional rock art sites by 2020. A system for stronger heritage monitoring and the enforcement of environmental protection law has been implemented, with an annual monitoring report;
• The strengthening of forest fire prevention has been addressed by means of the “Scheme for Strengthening Afforestation and Forest Fire Prevention in Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape Heritage Zone” and the “Contingency Plan for Forest Fire”, along with improved work measures and educational activities, such as prohibiting open-air fires, and the use of television and radio broadcasts, banners and leaflets to raise fire awareness;
• Efforts have been made to improve the enforcement of forest resource management, part of which is to restrict firewood collection from the forest. Forest areas within the property have been classified as commercial or non-commercial forests, and mechanisms to compensate local people for ecological protection are being explored to help reduce firewood collection and restore a diverse forest ecosystem;
• Chongzuo City has implemented a number of green energy projects, including village-level solar power plants and sewage treatment plants, methane pools, biomass power plants generated from agroforestry, and project agreements for wind-power generation plants. However, except in two cases of tenders for sewage plants, it is not clear how many of these initiatives are actually within the property or buffer zones;
• The areas allocated to farming within the property and its buffer zones are stable, and no obvious increase or decrease in extent has occurred. National agricultural laws are being applied, with action being taken to delimit farmland protection areas, adjust planting structure and enhance crop yields, advocate proper use of fertilizers, and implement measures to prevent agricultural land being turned into development land.

The State Party has made progress in addressing most of the recommendations made by the Committee at the time of inscription in 2016, which were reiterated in 2018. The inclusion of 37 additional rock art sites as ‘National Priority Protected Sites’ has been under consideration by the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China since December 2018. The programme of conservation and research projects looking at fabric deterioration and the condition of underlying rock, along with related monitoring, has addressed 16 sites. While the program to include all 38 sites in the property was initially scheduled to be finished by 2020, it does not appear to have started yet.

It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its encouragement to the State Party to complete the ongoing process of listing all 38 rock art sites within the property as ‘National Priority Protected Sites’ as soon as possible, so that formal mechanisms for the protection of the OUV can be consistently applied across the property.

The risk of forest fires has been addressed, and efforts to limit firewood collection, restore forest ecological diversity, and compensate the community for its role in ecological protection have been initiated.

Chongzuo City has initiated an ongoing programme of green energy projects within its region to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and at least some of these projects have been within the property. There is no mention of limiting the use of fossil fuels in boats within the property. The areas allocated to farming are reported to be stable, and national agricultural control laws are being applied. The careful monitoring of all of these initiatives is essential to assess their effectiveness and adjust them where necessary to achieve the intended protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property. The State Party has not reported on the Committee’s recommendation that the risk preparedness strategy and the various monitoring systems be consolidated into a single Management Plan.

It is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to complete the formal conservation/consolidation programme already commenced for all the rock art sites, together with consequent monitoring systems; that it complete a formal risk preparedness strategy for inclusion within the Management Plan; and that it keep the World Heritage Centre informed of the progress made with a) the reduction of the risk of fire and the restriction of firewood collection through management programmes, including incentives for the community to engage in ecological protection; b) the implementation of green energy projects within the property and its buffer zones; c) the implementation of environmentally sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel for the operation of boats; and d) the effectiveness of mechanisms to restrict areas allocated to farming to the present level.

Finally, it is recommended that the Committee recall that the State Party should inform it, through the World Heritage Centre, of any future plans for major restoration or new construction projects that may affect the OUV of the property, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, before making any decision that would be difficult to reverse.