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State of Conservation The Ahwar of Southern ... 2023

The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities

Iraq
Factors affecting the property in 2023*
  • Legal framework
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Other Threats:

    Highly unstable conservation conditions of the archaeological sites

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Legal Framework
  • Need to conduct further studies regarding minimum water flows, to confirm the biodiversity within the property and its surrounding landscapes
  • Incomplete designation of all the components of the property as legally protected areas
  • Need to regulate oil and gas concessions, and other potentially impacting activities in the buffer zones of the property
  • Highly unstable conservation conditions of the archaeological sites 
  • Need for a detailed master plan/road map that ensures the conservation of the property on a sustainable basis
  • Need for an effective implementation of the consolidated management plan 
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2023

2017: Heritage Emergency Fund – support to Iraqi World Heritage properties: USD 100,000

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2023
Requests approved: 0
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 2023**

N/A

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2023

On 31 January 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1481/documents/ and reports the following progress:

  • Surveying and maintenance work has resumed at Ur and Uruk, along with training for national staff; similar plans are being developed for Eridu;
  • In 2020 and 2021, minimum water requirements of the natural components were met by allocating water stored in reservoir dams and lakes in 2019. An update of the Strategy for Water and Land Resources in Iraq, which determines water resource management including water allocated to the natural components to ensure the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), will include a comprehensive hydrological environmental study of the marshes that addresses minimum water flow requirements, drought and climate change;
  • In 2022, capacity-building, training and surveys were undertaken with the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH) to update data to establish a threshold limit and basic indicators for the minimum water limit needed to ensure natural ecological flows to sustain OUV in the natural components, as part of long-term monitoring by the Center for Restoration of Iraqi Marshes and Wetlands (CRIMW);
  • Cooperation and bilateral discussions on joint technical transboundary water management continued between the States Parties of Iraq, Türkiye, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding ratification of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) (Iraq/Türkiye), establishing the joint Iraqi-Turkish research centre for water, and water management concerns related to the Cizre and Ilisu dams in Turkey; water cooperation and activation of joint technical committees (Iraq/Syria); and water management including preparation of a technical meeting (Iraq/Iran);
  • The State Party expresses concerns that dam and irrigation developments in upstream countries impact water and food security in Iraq, including the marshes. A detailed report regarding Iraq will be provided separately;
  • The State Party will seek to implement a basin-wide Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) through international cooperation mechanisms. International cooperation included the first Baghdad International Water Conference, engagement with the World Bank, and new agreement between CRIMW and ARC-WH;
  • The State Party confirms World Heritage designation provides legal protection to the natural components as protected areas within the national framework. Amendments to the Wildlife Protection Law to ensure broader protection of the property are underway;
  • Monitoring and enforcement activities to control illegal activities include monitoring and regulation of fishing and hunting activities, legal enforcement and public awareness;
  • The preparation of an updated Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for the property and Management Plans for individual components was accelerated through the establishment of a sub-committee and with ARC-WH technical support;
  • Tourism management measures include small vehicles for transporting visitors, lighting, walkways and low scale rest stations, signage, audio-guides and surveillance cameras at the cultural component ‘Ur’, and establishing signage and roadmaps for natural components. Progress towards developing a comprehensive tourism plan includes preparation of guidance for regulating ecotourism in the property;
  • The State Party confirms its commitment to ensure that no oil activities are carried out adjacent to the natural components without government approval and reconfirms the obligation for oil companies to ensure that such activities would not cause damage to the property, nor “prejudice” its boundaries. Monitoring of existing oil projects near the property is underway and measures are being implemented to address issues such as pollution.

On 24 February 2022, the State Party submitted information on a Tourist Village development proposal at Chebayesh in the Central Marshes, including an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (in English) and letters indicating the approval of the project based on the EIA recommendation (in Arabic).

The joint UNESCO/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission has been on hold due to logistical, security and COVID-19 related conditions and will be undertaken as soon as possible.

Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2023

It is positive to see the State Party resume survey and maintenance work at Ur and Uruk. It is a concern that no activities have resumed at Eridu and yet new excavations are planned there despite the 2021 Committee’s request not to do so until conservation conditions are stable. Archaeological missions should ensure that they do not create new archaeological areas requiring conservation, given the current challenges to maintain the existing archaeological features. It is recommended that the State Party be requested to provide information on the conservation plans for the cultural components.

The proactive steps taken to improve water management and ensure minimum water levels to the natural components during drought conditions in 2020 and 2021 are welcome, as are strengthening transboundary cooperation with bordering States Parties that influence water flow to the property; strengthening scientific capacity; and establishing a joint Iraqi-Turkish research centre. However, noting the reported concern that drought conditions may continue due to climate change, and that minimum water levels were able to be met in the past two years because sufficient water was stored in 2019, the planned comprehensive scientific hydrological study and basin-wide SEA will be important to establish a comprehensive scientific basis for long term water management. The State Party’s reported concern regarding potential impacts of upstream dams and irrigation projects in neighbouring countries on ensuring adequate water quantity and quality to the marshes is worrying. It is essential that all States Parties concerned ensure that activities upstream of the property have no negative impact on its OUV. Given the significant influence of upstream water management on the property, continued constructive technical cooperation with neighbouring States Parties is essential to ensure water management that maintains the OUV in the long term.

The State Party’s commitment to ensuring the legal protection of the natural components, and confirmation these are designated as protected areas at the national level, is positive. It is recommended that details of this protection status and the strengthening of the Wildlife Protection Law currently underway are provided when available. The various monitoring and enforcement activities to control illegal activities should be continued. The accelerated finalisation of the updated IMP and individual Management Plans for each component is positive, and the establishment of a new sub-committee and technical support through ARC-WH should facilitate their prompt finalisation, which should be completed as a matter of priority.

The preparation of directions to regulate ecotourism in the property, signage and public awareness are noted, although individual components would benefit from a more structured approach to interpretation planning and the installation of even minor visitor infrastructure. Further actions are required to develop and implement an overall tourism plan for the whole property to regulate visitation, and to ensure visitor safety and sustainable tourism practices, infrastructure and facilities. The EIA for the proposed Tourist Village development in the natural components lists various infrastructure developments including a 4-storey hotel, chalets, restaurants, cafés, and staff accommodation. The EIA however lacks important information including a clear assessment of the potential impacts on the OUV and, taking note of its conclusion to approve the project, the State Party should revise the EIA, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, to ensure it is in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, prior to proceeding further.

Recalling the significant concerns raised about the continued vulnerability of the property to oil and gas developments, the State Party’s commitment to ensuring that oil activities outside the property must be undertaken in coordination with the authorities and must not cause damage to the property, or encroach on its boundaries, is positive. In this regard, it is recommended that the State Party ensure that all proposed extractive projects are fully assessed for their potential impacts on the OUV, in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, prior to any decisions to proceed, and to guarantee that negative impacts are avoided. The reported monitoring of existing oil activities adjacent to the property should be continued and any negative impacts immediately addressed. Notwithstanding that actions are being implemented to address pollution resulting from oil activities, it remains difficult to verify whether the existing projects are impacting the OUV; it is therefore recommended that the pending Reactive Monitoring mission also considers this issue. The request to extend the State Party’s commitment to a permanent ban on all extractive industries within the property, including gas, should be reiterated.

The engagement of local communities in management processes, educational and awareness raising activities related to the protection of natural and cultural heritage is welcomed.

Finally, it is recommended that the pending joint Reactive Monitoring mission be undertaken as soon as possible.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2023
45 COM 7B.31
The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities (Iraq) (C/N 1481)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
  2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.73 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
  3. Welcomes the resumption of survey and maintenance work at Ur and Uruk, and requests the completion and subsequent implementation of conservation plans for all three of the cultural components before further excavations are undertaken and before tourism is encouraged;
  4. Recalling that significant fluctuations in water flows may pose a major threat to the property and non-fulfilment of minimum water requirements could represent a potential danger to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines, also welcomes the various water management measures taken to ensure the minimum water requirements of the natural components were met in 2020 and 2021, and also requests the State Party to urgently continue implementing management measures that demonstrate adequate flows to the property are ensured in the short and long-term as a matter of utmost priority;
  5. Encourages the continued implementation of technical and scientific studies that inform the effective management of the property including the planned comprehensive hydrological environmental study of the marshes, ongoing monitoring and research collaborations, and the preparation of a basin-wide Strategic Environmental Assessment in line with the newGuidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
  6. Further welcomes the ongoing joint technical transboundary cooperation between the States Parties of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and Türkiye for long-term sustainable transboundary water management measures, and also requests that transboundary cooperation remains a matter of utmost priority to ensure effective water management that is informed by science and that can guarantee minimum water supplies to sustain the OUV of the property in the long term;
  7. Noting the concerns raised by the State Party regarding impacts, or potential impacts, of dam and irrigation projects upstream of the property that could further exacerbate water scarcity and negatively impact the OUV of the property, further requests States Parties located upstream of the property to inform the World Heritage Centre, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, of any existing and planned water-related developments that could impact on the OUV, in order to:
    1. Ensure that such projects are assessed in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, before any decision is taken to proceed,
    2. Undertake mitigation measures where negative impacts are identified, including through transboundary cooperation as required,
    3. Not to proceed with any development that would negatively impact the OUV of the property;
  8. Requests furthermore the State Party to provide specific details of the protection status of the natural components designated as protected areas within the national framework, and of the amendments to the Wildlife Protection Law, to confirm that these ensure effective protection in line with the Operational Guidelines;
  9. Further welcomes the actions taken to address illegal activities within the property, and requests moreover the State Party, as part of an integrated management approach, to continue strengthening its monitoring, legal protection, enforcement and management capacity to control illegal activities such as bird hunting and overfishing;
  10. Reiterates its request to the State Party to finalise, as a matter of priority, the preparation of an updated Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for the entire property and updated Management Plans for each component, and to submit drafts of the Management Plans to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
  11. Recognising initial steps to regulate ecotourism in the property, also reiterates its request to the State Party to develop and implement an overall tourism plan for the whole property to regulate visitation, and to ensure visitor safety and sustainable tourism practices, infrastructure and facilities, and requests moreover the State Party to revise the Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed tourist village project in the natural components in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, prior to proceeding with the proposed project;
  12. Further recalling its significant concern over the continued vulnerability of the natural components of the property to oil and gas developments, acknowledges the State Party’s continued commitment to ensure that oil activities outside the property do not cause harm to the property and do not encroach on its boundaries, as well as the reported monitoring of existing activities and remediation actions, and requests moreover the State Party to:
    1. Ensure that any proposed extractive activities that may impact on the OUV are assessed for their potential impacts in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, prior to taking any decisions to approve such projects, and not to approve any project that would have an adverse impact on the OUV,
    2. Continue monitoring existing extractive activities in the vicinity of the property, report on any potential or actual impacts on OUV as previously requested, and immediately address any negative impacts and undertake remediation activities as required,
    3. Provide an overview of oil and gas developments within or in the vicinity of the property, including the assessment of potential impacts on the OUV of the property in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context,
    4. Extend its commitment to a permanent ban on all extractive industries, including oil and gas, within the property and ensuring no negative impacts on the OUV;
  13. Further encourages the State Party to continue to meaningfully engage with local communities on a range of management issues, including matters concerning hunting and fishing, water usage, rights-based approaches to management and for the application of traditional ecological knowledge to any planned new constructions;
  14. Also reiterates its request for the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to be undertaken as soon as possible;
  15. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2024, 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 46th session.
Read more
Draft Decision: 45 COM 7B.31

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
  2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.73, adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
  3. Welcomes the resumption of survey and maintenance work at Ur and Uruk, and requests the completion and subsequent implementation of conservation plans for all three of the cultural components before further excavations are undertaken and before tourism is encouraged;
  4. Recalling that significant fluctuations in water flows may pose a major threat to the property and non-fulfilment of minimum water requirements could represent a potential danger to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines, also welcomes the various water management measures taken to ensure the minimum water requirements of the natural components were met in 2020 and 2021, and also requests the State Party to urgently continue implementing management measures that demonstrate adequate flows to the property are ensured in the short and long-term as a matter of utmost priority;
  5. Encourages the continued implementation of technical and scientific studies that inform the effective management of the property including the planned comprehensive hydrological environmental study of the marshes, ongoing monitoring and research collaborations, and the preparation of a basin-wide Strategic Environmental Assessment in line with the newGuidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
  6. Further welcomes the ongoing joint technical transboundary cooperation between the States Parties of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and Türkiye for long-term sustainable transboundary water management measures, and also requests that transboundary cooperation remains a matter of utmost priority to ensure effective water management that is informed by science and that can guarantee minimum water supplies to sustain the OUV of the property in the long term;
  7. Noting the concerns raised by the State Party regarding impacts, or potential impacts, of dam and irrigation projects upstream of the property that could further exacerbate water scarcity and negatively impact the OUV of the property, further requests States Parties located upstream of the property to inform the World Heritage Centre, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, of any existing and planned water-related developments that could impact on the OUV, in order to:
    1. Ensure that such projects are assessed in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, before any decision is taken to proceed,
    2. Undertake mitigation measures where negative impacts are identified, including through transboundary cooperation as required,
    3. Not to proceed with any development that would negatively impact the OUV of the property;
  8. Requests furthermore the State Party to provide specific details of the protection status of the natural components designated as protected areas within the national framework, and of the amendments to the Wildlife Protection Law, to confirm that these ensure effective protection in line with the Operational Guidelines;
  9. Further welcomes the actions taken to address illegal activities within the property, and requests moreover the State Party, as part of an integrated management approach, to continue strengthening its monitoring, legal protection, enforcement and management capacity to control illegal activities such as bird hunting and overfishing;
  10. Reiterates its request to the State Party to finalise, as a matter of priority, the preparation of an updated Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for the entire property and updated Management Plans for each component, and to submit drafts of the Management Plans to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
  11. Recognising initial steps to regulate ecotourism in the property, also reiterates its request to the State Party to develop and implement an overall tourism plan for the whole property to regulate visitation, and to ensure visitor safety and sustainable tourism practices, infrastructure and facilities, and requests moreover the State Party to revise the Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed tourist village project in the natural components in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, prior to proceeding with the proposed project;
  12. Further recalling its significant concern over the continued vulnerability of the natural components of the property to oil and gas developments, acknowledges the State Party’s continued commitment to ensure that oil activities outside the property do not cause harm to the property and do not encroach on its boundaries, as well as the reported monitoring of existing activities and remediation actions, and requests moreover the State Party to:
    1. Ensure that any proposed extractive activities that may impact on the OUV are assessed for their potential impacts in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, prior to taking any decisions to approve such projects, and not to approve any project that would have an adverse impact on the OUV,
    2. Continue monitoring existing extractive activities in the vicinity of the property, report on any potential or actual impacts on OUV as previously requested, and immediately address any negative impacts and undertake remediation activities as required,
    3. Provide an overview of oil and gas developments within or in the vicinity of the property, including the assessment of potential impacts on the OUV of the property in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context,
    4. Extend its commitment to a permanent ban on all extractive industries, including oil and gas, within the property and ensuring no negative impacts on the OUV;
  13. Further encourages the State Party to continue to meaningfully engage with local communities on a range of management issues, including matters concerning hunting and fishing, water usage, rights-based approaches to management and for the application of traditional ecological knowledge to any planned new constructions;
  14. Also reiterates its request for the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to be undertaken as soon as possible;
  15. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2024, 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 47th session.
Previous 2021
Report year: 2023
Iraq
Date of Inscription: 2016
Category: Mixed
Criteria: (iii)(v)(ix)(x)
Documents examined by the Committee
WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2022) .pdf
Initialy proposed for examination in 2022
arrow_circle_right 45COM (2023)
Exports
Previous 2021

* : 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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