Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons)

• Insufficient site management means
• Illicit trafficking of cultural property
• Instable security situation
• Intercommunity conflict between the Dogons and the Fulani

Total amount granted: in 2020, US$ 984,818 by the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) for the "Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the Built Heritage of Bandiagara"

On 31 January 2022, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/516/, providing the following information:

• Intra- and inter-community tensions and armed conflicts drive people to abandon villages and seek refuge in more secure urban centres;
• There is a slight improvement in the security situation and a gradual but very precarious return to peace;
• The socio-sanitary and economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis have impacted the conservation and management of the property;
• Activities aimed at reconciliation and social cohesion of communities were carried out with the support of various partners, including MINUSMA;
• A multidisciplinary working group is being set up to develop an emergency action plan as recommended by the 2019 mission. It will function once the project for the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) becomes operational;

• The State Party plans to submit requests to fund projects for the safeguarding of heritage under the other UNESCO Cultural Conventions;

• Funding from the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP/USA) was granted for the safeguarding of textiles in central Mali;
• The Association Dogon Initiative (ADI) and other organizations have taken action for:
  • Rehabilitation and reconstruction of heritage in the communes of Sangha and Wadouba, in particular on the ancient sites of the Koundou-Guina village,
  • Information and awareness-raising on heritage among young schoolchildren and the general public,
  • Capacity building for women,
  • The development of income-generating activities (IGA),
  • Support for victims and displaced persons following armed attacks on villages;
• The government programme for the reconstruction of the built heritage, accompanied by the construction of infrastructures in support of the populations, has begun in the communes of Bankass and Sangha;
• Preparations for the “Sigui”, the most important ritual ceremony taking place every sixty years and lasting for seven years, are initiated. Significant infrastructure needs have been identified, such as boreholes with a water supply system and the rehabilitation of degraded village camps following the cessation of tourism;
• The State Party acknowledges that the integrity and authenticity of the property have been affected while emphasizing that the cultural and natural values are still preserved;
• The lack of human and financial resources continues to weigh negatively on the effective management of the property, limiting the intervention capacities of the Cultural Mission, and the appeal to the international community for support in the safeguarding of the heritage of the property is reiterated.

The State Party report on the property reconfirms a still very unstable security situation due to intra- and inter-community tensions and armed conflicts, driving the local populations to abandon the villages, to which is added the COVID-19 health crisis and its socio-sanitary and economic consequences affecting the conservation and management of the property. Noting the assertion by the State Party that the cultural and natural values are still preserved, the finding that the integrity and authenticity of the property have been affected is of great concern. This could affect the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, as integrity and authenticity are integral parts of the OUV, if no remedial action is undertaken. It seems that a return to peace and security is a condition to avoid a continued deterioration of the OUV. In this respect, the confirmation by the State Party of a slight improvement in the security situation and the gradual return to peace is encouraging.

However, a joint UNESCO/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission could not take place due to the security situation.

The activities carried out to promote reconciliation and social cohesion of communities with the support of MINUSMA and other partners are commendable but must be strengthened and better coordinated. The intention to establish a multidisciplinary working group to coordinate and orient all the conservation and promotion actions of the community and the government, proposed by the Emergency Action Plan as recommended by the 2019 mission is appreciated. The decision for the creation of this group should have been taken as soon as the ALIPH project for the “Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the Built Heritage of Bandiagara” became operational, but it was finally launched in August 2022. However, it should be noted that by June 2023 this group had still not been set up. The request should therefore be repeated to the State Party to create this group.

It should also be noted with appreciation that between August 2022 and May 2023, the ALIPH project made it possible to carry out (i) three awareness-raising missions on culture and peace in relation to heritage conservation; (ii) the inventory and evaluation of 370 houses, 83 of which are to be rebuilt, 230 male granaries, 144 of which are to be rebuilt, and 139 female granaries, 54 of which are to be rebuilt, in three villages; (iii) the inventory of 28 movable cultural objects; (iv) the final reconstruction of 16 houses, 25 male granaries and 24 female granaries in three of the four beneficiary villages. Work is currently being completed on 76 houses, 70 male granaries and 44 female granaries, as well as a Toguna.

It is furthermore reassuring to note the various community actions making it possible to support and mobilize local communities, in particular those of the ADI aimed at heritage restoration, awareness-raising, capacity building for women, IGAs and also support for victims and displaced persons. It is crucial that these initiatives continue to be supported and encouraged. In respect of the launch of the government programme for the reconstruction of the built heritage with the construction of infrastructures, and the various projects which have mobilized funds, the report of the State Party unfortunately does not provide concrete details allowing them to be assessed and analysed. The State Party should be requested to provide more information on these projects as soon as possible and to provide an update on the achievements in its future reports on the state of conservation of the property.

Recalling that this is a mixed property, it is recommended that the State Party provide information on the natural values in the next report to allow a better analysis of the impact of the current situation on the natural values of the property.

It is appreciated that the State Party addresses the ritual ceremony of “Sigui” and the initiation of preparations for its celebration in 2027. This is the most important ceremony for the Dogons which takes place every 60 years, to last seven years, in order to allow the involvement of all the villages along the cliff. These preparations themselves include a set of traditional practices, and infrastructure needs (boreholes with water supply system, rehabilitation of village camps, etc.) have been identified. The current security situation therefore addresses a central element of the heritage of the Dogon communities, alerting to the urgency of its safeguarding but also to the opportunity that the “Sigui” represents to strengthen the identity of the communities within the property.

In addition, the State Party recognizes the importance of safeguarding the cultural and natural values that constitute the OUV of the property, which makes the limits of the intervention capacities of the Cultural Mission and the inadequacy of the human and financial resources of all the more worrying. There is an urgent need to coordinate activities through a multidisciplinary action plan which should also serve as the basis for justifying an increase in financial and personnel support for the cultural mission so that it can strengthen social practices, traditional techniques and economics that underpin the existence of this extensive and extremely fragile cultural landscape, all of which are now significantly under threat.

Finally, noting that the management and conservation plan for the property expires in 2022 and will need to be updated, the State Party should be requested to submit the updated draft management plan to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies.