Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region

• Land conversion
• Deterioration as a result of exposure to difficult environmental conditions such as wind with sand and floods
• Urban encroachment
• Absence of a management plan with government commitment
• Flooding
• Ground transport infrastructure
• Housing
• Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure
• Management systems / management plan
• Wind and Desertification

Total amount provided: USD 38,398 by the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust for the development of a sustainable tourism plan; 32,680 EUR by the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust for the implementation of the World Heritage Committee Decisions in relation to Boundaries and Strategic Conservation; USD 19,798 from the Heritage Emergency Fund; 25,000 EUR from the French Government for mitigation measures at both cultural World Heritage properties in Sudan.

On 1 February 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, an executive summary of which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1073/documents/. An updated report was submitted on 12 February 2023, which is also available at the above-mentioned web address. The reports provide updated information on progress and challenges in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee, as follows:

• There have been new challenges in the implementation of the decisions of the Committee and the recommendations of the 2019 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission, arising from political and economic instability and the COVID-19 pandemic. After the resignation of its Director-General in summer 2021, changes in the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) led to the nomination of a new Director-General in December 2022 and an interim site manager for Gebel Barkal in late January 2023;
• The conservation monitoring system established at El-Kurru is being developed for the Barkal temples in close collaboration with archaeological missions;
• Means of preventing vehicles from accessing the property were implemented with the help of grants from the Ambassadors Fund of the United States of America and the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) and through a UNESCO project funded by the French Government;
• Interpretative panels have been installed in Gebel Barkal’s visitor centre and improvements to storage, display and cataloguing at the Museum continue;
• A new management and sustainable tourism plan is in progress and full support sought from all archaeological missions at the conference of the International Society for Nubian Studies in summer 2022. Workshops on tourism management approaches have occurred with the support of UNESCO and funding through the Netherlands Funds-in-Trust;
• As a first step towards addressing the issues concerning the boundaries and buffer zone of the property, new topographical maps were prepared for the five components of the property, in coordination with the Section Française de la Direction des Antiquités du Soudan (SFDAS);
• An assessment of threats from rising groundwater has been carried out with the support of the Emergency Assistance provided through the World Heritage Fund;
• Programmes of community engagement for education and site protection were activated in El-Kurru and Barkal, and a Community Heritage Centre is in preparation within a renovated house adjacent to El-Kurru;
• NCAM relies on international archaeological teams to support management and conservation. The NCAM-University of Michigan Project at Gebel Barkal submitted a workplan to the World Heritage Centre in November 2022, most of which was implemented, including conservation works at B600 and B700 temples, 3D-survey and clearing of spoil heaps, surface clearance, excavations and reburial on the East Mound, geomorphological coring campaign between the site and the Nile. The University Ca’ Foscari, Venice Project have performed extensive conservation works on the royal district of Natakamani (B1500). At Nuri site, an extensive surface mapping (LiDAR) was carried out, along with localized remote sensing investigations for non-excavated areas. The reburial of known features was conducted for protection purposes;
• An initiative for local coordination between institutions and the community has been developed, with a proposal for a joint office of Antiquities and Tourism to monitor and assess the state of conservation and tourism for each component;
• Visits of ambassadors, filming of documentaries and fruitful collaborations with the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and SFDAS/ALIPH are reported.

To date, there has been no reported negative impact on the property as a result of the armed conflict that erupted in April 2023, noting that one of the property’s component sites is located around 5 km from an area that reportedly witnessed clashes in the beginning of the conflict. Nevertheless, the ensuing instability, which has impacted communities and all sectors of society, is of great concern, and may affect the management capabilities at the property. It is recommended that the Committee call on all parties involved in the conflict to refrain from any action that could cause damage to the property.

The efforts and commitment of the State Party, despite new challenges and the unstable security context in the country impeding the full implementation of the decisions of the Committee and recommendations of the 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission, are acknowledged.

However, the deterioration of many components of the property continues to have an adverse impact on its authenticity and integrity and to threaten the attributes, which convey its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). Despite progress by the State Party, including the installation of barriers to prevent vehicle access to the property, extension of a monitoring system, 3D surveys, heaps clearance, investigations, pilot conservation measures, and interpretative actions at the Gebel Barkal Museum, additional efforts are required in the framework of an overall comprehensive approach to conservation and avoiding contradictory approaches between the different projects. It is recommended that the Committee continue to express serious concern at the overall state of conservation of the property, which remains seriously threatened, and urge the State Party to implement fully the recommendations of the 2019 mission as far possible in the current context.

The 2019 mission recommended that the State Party elaborate a 5-year action plan to carry out activities to address the management structure and legal instruments, inventory and documentation, conservation and restoration, development and community involvement and tourism management. A proposal was elaborated in coordination with UNESCO, with the support of the Netherlands Fund-in-Trust (NFiT) project that was approved in 2021. A technical workshop was initially planned at UNESCO’s headquarters on 27 and 28 April 2023, to assist in the finalization of the action plan, defining the property’s boundaries, and addressing gaps identified in the Management Plan. However, as a result of the prevailing conflict, the workshop could not take place.

A draft sustainable tourism strategy for the property has been developed following the workshops implemented by UNESCO in collaboration with NCAM, supported through the NFiT. It is recommended that the Committee remind the State Party to ensure that the actions set within the sustainable tourism strategy are reflected in the update of the management plan.

It is recommended that the State Party give high priority to the conservation of already existing or current excavation sites, and that no new archaeological excavation areas are opened, unless a holistic approach is taken into consideration with conservation as a priority. International archaeological missions are to be encouraged to assist with this process, as part of a programme for more effective coordination, as highlighted in Decision 43 COM 7B.54.

Recent initiatives carried out prior to the recent conflict situation, such as surface scanning and non-invasive investigations at Nuri component site are to be encouraged and their use extended to all other component sites, within a comprehensive approach for the property.

Other mission and Committee recommendations, such as removing a hotel construction that has been halted in the vicinity of the property, and the building of improved tomb covers at Zuma, remain unaddressed. In light of the encroaching urbanisation, and potential development projects at the property and its buffer zone, it is recommended that the Committee again remind the State Party of its obligation to submit prior notifications of major projects, which may affect the OUV of the property, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.

Clarification of the property boundaries and the creation of a buffer zone have been in progress, with topographical surveys, but no information was provided on the revision of regulations and ownership status. Proposals for major changes in the boundaries of the property or the buffer zone should be shared with the World Heritage Centre before initiating any formal approval process. It is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to continue its efforts in this regard as a matter of urgency, in line with Paragraph 164 and Annex 11 of the Operational Guidelines, and in coordination with the World Heritage Centre.

Following the mission that took place in 2020 to assess the impact of floods, with the support of the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund, a project within the framework of Emergency Assistance from the World Heritage Fund was approved in July 2021, in order to study the rising groundwater occurrence at the component of al-Nuri. In this regard, a stakeholder’s engagement and awareness workshop was organized, specifications for geophysical investigations for the study were developed and a monitoring network of the water level was designed.

Urgent measures remain essential to reverse the alarming level of deterioration. It is recommended that the Committee continue to call on the international community to support urgent protection and management measures through financial and technical assistance, to be implemented once conditions permit.

At its extended 44th session in 2021, the Committee allowed one more year before considering the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger (Decision 44 COM 7B.17). In view of the progress reported above, which was prior to the recent conflict situation, and considering the ongoing threats and new challenges, it is recommended that the Committee request an updated state of conservation report for the property by 1 February 2024 for examination at its 46th session.