Kathmandu Valley

• Earthquake (Severe earthquake of 25 April 2015)
• Housing (Uncontrolled urban development resulting in the loss of traditional urban fabric, in particular privately-owned houses)
• Management systems/management plan (Lack of a coordinated management mechanism)
• Ground transport infrastructure (Construction of a forest road)
• Underground transport infrastructure (Project for tunnel road in Pashupati Monument Zone)
• Air transport infrastructure (Project for the extension of the Kathmandu International Airport)

Total amount granted: USD 10 million (1979-2001) from the International Safeguarding Campaign launched by UNESCO; USD 45,000 (2005) and USD 20,000 (2011) from UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust. Several UNESCO extra-budgetary projects have been approved in 2015-2016 for the emergency safeguarding, conservation and rehabilitation process of the Kathmandu Valley after the 2015 earthquake. They include USD 1 million from the Chinese Hainan Airlines Group (Cihang Foundation), USD 250,000 from the Hong Kong based Fok Foundation, USD 145,000 from the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust, USD 100,000 from the Nepal Investment Bank, USD 26,804 from French Oriental Cultural Heritage Sites Protection Alliance and USD 18,000 from voluntary contributions to the World Heritage Fund.

In July 2021 the State Party submitted an amended version of the Integrated Management Framework (IMF) for the property, one section of the Master Plan for the Pashupati Monument Zone, a plan for the Palace Museum of the Hanumandhoka Monument Zone, and the draft procedures and format for Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) in Nepal. On 31 January 2022, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, and on 1 March 2023, the State Party submitted an update report. Both reports are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/121/documents/. The State Party reports on conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions as follows:

• The State Party acknowledges support from the Committee, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in the period since the 2015 Gorkha earthquake and seeks more proactive support, rather than inclusion of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger;
• The main focus, in all seven monument zones of the property, remains the completion of post-earthquake reconstruction, restoration and recovery activities;
• The International Scientific Committee for Kathmandu Valley (ISC-KV) has been established, the Terms of Reference and a List of Members have been provided, several pre-meetings have been held, and the first ISC-KV meeting organised in Kathmandu in March 2023. The ISC-KV’s role is to facilitate collaboration with the World Heritage Centre and international experts and to assist with the implementation of the Committee’s decisions, workshops and research, the development of a digital database, a better understanding of the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), and the overall socio-economic revitalization of urban communities. The State Party proposes to fund local participation but seeks support from the international community to ensure the contributions of international expert to the ISC-KV. The recommendations from the ISC-KV meeting in March 2023 were submitted to the World Heritage Centre;
• Owing to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, detailed reports were not provided by all site managers, but restoration and reconstruction of monuments has progressed in accordance with the Post-Disaster Recovery Framework. Completion of post-earthquake recovery remains the main focus in all seven monument zones, but there is also a need to transition from post-earthquake rehabilitation to regular long-term management of the property, in accordance with the amended IMF;
• The overall co-ordination and planning for each of the seven monument zones requires improvement. Addressing issues arising from the Recovery Master Plan (RMP), including longer-term concerns beyond earthquake recovery, will be a priority for the ISC-KV.
• The Master Plan for the Pashupati Monument Zone has been revised and now recognises its status as part of the property. Similar plans are required for each monument zone;
• The Lal Baithak wing of the National Art Museum, in Bhaktapur, will not be demolished and rebuilt, and further proposals will be evaluated through an HIA. The Patan Durbar Square Monument Zone sewer project continues; archaeologists are monitoring progress, and a final report will be prepared. Expansion of the Ring Road at Swayambhu is on hold, pending discussions and completion of an HIA. The procedures and format for HIA in Nepal are to be adopted by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and implemented through the Department of Archaeology.

The ongoing efforts of the State Party to pursue recovery, restoration and reconstruction following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake are acknowledged. The World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and successive missions have consistently advised that both the impacts of the earthquake and the inadequacy of the response threaten the property’s integrity, authenticity and other attributes that support its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). It was previously reported to the Committee, including in previous Reactive Monitoring mission reports (2017 and 2019), that the threats to the property meet the conditions set out in Paragraph 179 (a) of the Operational Guidelines. However, neither the State Party nor recent Committee decisions support inclusion of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The establishment of the ISC-KV and the submitted list of members are welcome, and the Terms of Reference are appropriate to its stated roles. The first ISC-KV has recently provided recommendations that respond to previous Committee decisions and the recommendations of the Reactive Monitoring missions, setting out a path for transition from post-disaster recovery to standard management. The Committee may wish to express its support for the State Party’s request that the international community provide the resources needed to enable the active participation of international experts.

Although many previously identified issues and Committee decisions have been addressed, authenticity has been adversely affected by the introduction of new materials (e.g., the addition of lime to mud mortar) and by the reconstruction of some buildings based on conjecture instead of evidence. Continuing threats to the property include the ongoing deterioration of structures that are yet to be repaired, the lack of attention to urban and ancient settlements, the loss of traditional housing, unsympathetic or uncontrolled development within monument buffer zones, the impacts of new urban infrastructure, and the need for cyclical maintenance programmes and disaster risk management planning.

The 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission acknowledged that there has been progress towards the recovery of the property and its OUV and made important recommendations that the Committee subsequently requested the State Party to implement. The State Party has not reported comprehensively on all the recommendations from the 2019 mission, and the Committee may wish to remind the State Party of the full scope of its previous requests. In particular, the establishment of a Recovery Master Plan for each Protective Monument Zone of the property, as previously requested by the Committee on multiple occasions, remains incomplete, and it is regrettable that specific guidance has not informed the ongoing recovery works in the seven Monument Zones. It is also noted that the need for an updated Recovery Plan is the first recommendation of the ISC-KV.

The amended IMF for the property is welcome and should be subject to a technical review by the Advisory Bodies. It is also welcome that the Master Plan for the Pashupati Monument Zone has been revised, and it would be appropriate to request that the entirety of the revised New Master Plan be submitted for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The Committee should remind the State Party of its previous request that details of major projects, including HIAs, should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, in line with Paragraphs 118bis and 172 of the Operational Guidelines, for review by the Advisory Bodies before any decision is made that would be difficult to reverse. It is also recommended that the Committee specifically request that further proposals for the Lal Baithak wing of the National Art Museum, Bhaktapur, including the proposed HIA, be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies. The previously requested documentation of the Patan Durbar Square Monument Zone sewer project, showing amendments made in response to the ICOMOS Technical Review, has not been submitted prior to work proceeding. On the other hand, it is welcome that the proposed expansion of the Ring Road at Swayambhu is on hold pending further consideration.

The Committee should request that the draft procedures and format for HIA in Nepal be reviewed prior to adoption, to ensure consistency with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context.

Finally, it is recommended that the Committee support the process established through the ISC-KV and defer consideration of the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Pending further progress with the implementation of its previous requests and the recommendations of the 2017 and 2019 Reactive Monitoring missions, in accordance with the recent recommendations of the ISC-KV, the Committee may wish to request the State Party to adopt and implement the recommendations of the first ISC-KV from March 2023, particularly the following overarching tasks and programmes:

• Finalize post-disaster recovery phase,
• Review and revise, if necessary, the Integrated Management Plan,
• Review and revise, if necessary, the effectiveness of essential management procedures and tools,
• Establish a comprehensive information management system,
• Provide capacity strengthening and training,
• Establish regular ISC-KV and Coordinative Working Committee (CWC) meetings.