Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works

• Management systems/management plan
• Wind
• Extremely fragile nature of the industrial buildings that were constructed using local materials such as timber for frames, corrugated iron sheets for roofs and some walls, in addition to stucco and lightweight construction
• Lack of maintenance over the past 40 years as well as vandalism at the property
• Corrosion of metal cladding and dismantlement of some of the structural elements
• A few buildings such as the Leaching House are liable to structural collapse if no support is given
• Damage caused by earthquakes and the wind (damages due to the 2014 earthquake addressed)

• Extremely fragile nature of the industrial buildings
• Lack of maintenance for 40 years
• Vandalism due to looting of re-usable materials
• Damage caused by the wind

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/5014

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/5014

Total amount granted: USD 30 000 for the development of Risk Management Plans in Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso and Rapa Nui National Park financed by the German Foreign Office in 2018

On 2 December 2020, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1178/documents/. The State’s Party report provides an assessment of the activities and measures undertaken, regarding the implementation of the pending corrective measures and recommendations stated in the 2018 ICOMOS Advisory mission report, as follows:

• The State Party provided direct support to national World Heritage properties through the ‘Social Program for World Heritage Sites’, implemented consecutively through the years (2018-2021);
• The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage continued its work to strengthen heritage institutions in the country’s regions through Regional Ministerial Secretaries of Culture, Arts and Heritage; the National Service for Cultural Heritage’s Regional Directorates; and the National Monuments Council’s Regional Technical Offices;
• Legal work to amend the Law on National Monuments is ongoing, with the aim of establishing a Law on Cultural Heritage informed by a holistic and updated approach on heritage conservation;
• The updated Management Plan 2021-2025 was completed and submitted, taking into account the recommendations addressed in the 2018 ICOMOS Advisory mission report;
• Formulation of the Disaster Risk Management Plan for the property was completed within the framework of the project “Strengthening Disaster Risk Management at Three World Heritage Properties in Chile,” implemented by the National Service for Cultural Heritage and the Federico Santa María Technical University, with the financial support of the government of Germany;
• The “Priority Interventions Program” (PIP) was fully implemented, including the intervention of the Santa Laura Foundry, which constituted the last pending intervention;
• Conservation activities were undertaken, in line with the Conservation Plan and PÏP, such as works carried out at the Leaching Plant, Iodine House, and Santa Laura Foundry; and the formulation of designs for the Hospital, Quarters for Unmarried Workers, Houses for Professional Staff and Humberstone Coeducational School No. 35;
• Other activities were reported regarding museum exhibitions, including four new permanent exhibitions: the Memorial House of the Pampinos and Pampinas, the General Store, the One-room house of the Oblate Fathers and the San Mauricio School.

The continuous work of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, created in 2018 to strengthen heritage institutions and technical teams in the country’s regions is noted, with the support of Ministerial Secretaries of Culture, Arts and Heritage; the National Service for Cultural Heritage’s Regional Directorates and the National Monuments Council’s Regional Technical Offices. 

In its report, the State Party has addressed advances made in all the recommendations for the property contained in the 2018 Advisory mission report, having completed and submitted the updated Management Plan 2021-2025 , taking into account the recommendations underlined by the Advisory mission. ICOMOS will undertake a Technical Review of the Management Plan that will be transmitted to the State Party.

Conservation activities have been reported in the framework of the Conservation Plan and completion of the PIP, such as the intervention of the Santa Laura Foundry, which constituted the last pending intervention, as well as refacing works at the Santiago Humberstone Hospital, conservation works at the Iodine House; restorations of the Quarters for Unmarried Workers; restorations at the Coeducational School No. 35; structural reinforcement works at the Houses for Professional Staff, Works at the Leaching Plant, among others.

Furthermore, the Disaster Risk Management Plan for the property has been completed and submitted in the framework of the project “Strengthening Disaster Risk Management at Three World Heritage Properties in Chile,” implemented through a collaboration agreement between the National Service for Cultural Heritage and the Federico Santa María Technical University, with the financial support of the government of Germany. ICOMOS will also provide a Technical Review of the Disaster Risk Management Plan for transmission to the State Party.

It is also noted that legal work continues on the project to amend the Law on National Monuments, with the aim of establishing a Law on Cultural Heritage informed by a holistic and up-to-date approach to heritage conservation. The continuous implementation of the ‘Social Program for World Heritage Sites’ (2018-2021), which provides direct grants and technical assistance to site managers of national world heritage properties, should be welcomed, particularly in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the State Party should be encouraged to continue providing this support as much as possible.