Island of Mozambique

• Management and Conservation Plan not yet finalized
• Growing number of collapsed or seriously dilapidated buildings
• Threats to authenticity through inappropriate repairs
• Lack of development control
• Lack of adequate sewage and water systems
• Lack of adequate financial and human resources
• Accelerated building deterioration due to rising risks (e.g. 2019 Cyclones)
• Climate Change

Total amount provided to the property: For the rehabilitation of the Saint Sebastian Fortress: USD 1,108,078 by Japan Funds in Trust; USD 526,015 by UCCLA; USD 397,122 by Portugal/IPAD; USD 270,000 by Flanders Funds in Trust; USD 779,729 by the Netherlands Funds in Trust. For other conservation and management projects: USD 50,000 by World Heritage Cities Programme (Netherlands); USD 89,000 by IPAD; USD 23,175 by Africa 2009; USD 13,450 by the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF); USD 42,000 by One UN Fund in 2017-2018; USD 65,225 by UNESCO's Heritage Emergency Fund.

On 17 March 2022, the State Party submitted a report on the damages caused by cyclone Gombe, which hit the Island of Mozambique on 11 March 2022, based on an assessment conducted by the Conservation Office of the Island of Mozambique (GACIM) in March 2022 of the cyclone's impacts on the property's Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). On 1 December 2022, the State Party submitted an updated state of the conservation report, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/599/documents/, providing information on the progress achieved with the implementation of the recommendations adopted by the Committee at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/Online, 2021). The documents inform on the following:

● In the Stone and Lime Town, seven of the main protected monuments were totally or partially destroyed by cyclone Gombe. In Macuti Town, 241 Swahili traditional buildings were totally or partially destroyed, together with numerous houses of other types of architecture. The historical and urban landscape of the site was also affected;

● The Conservation and Management Plan of the Island of Mozambique was recently updated and extended to 2022-2027;

● Support through the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust allowed to develop a local management and development plan of and an illustrative brochure on the rules and guidelines for the conservation of the built heritage of the property, and to provide youth training on good conservation practices for the conservation of the Island, as well as on the promotion of sustainable tourism and entrepreneurship targeting local communities and relevant associations;

● A new buffer zone delimitation proposal was developed and will be submitted to the procedure for a Minor Boundary Modification;

● A new Director of GACIM was appointed and its staff increased from seven to 16, which helped improve inspections and speed up technical project evaluations. A proposal to update GACIM has been submitted to the national authorities for approval;

● Conservation measures undertaken by the State Party to preserve the OUV of the property include:

- Works on the hospital complex, severely affected by the Cyclone Gombe, are in progress,

- Services of some long-term vacant public buildings were relocated to the mainland for safety reasons, and some state institutions aim to establish public-private partnerships to guarantee the recovery of degraded buildings, which can imply their change of use,

- The island's Court building was also impacted by the cyclone. Its restoration is being prepared and funding looked after, for urgent interventions on the roof,

- The appliance of the conservation guidelines by public institutions, private entities and civil society, to steer renovation and restoration projects, improved submitted projects. However, coordination between GACIM and the Municipality, especially regarding the standardization of action procedures, needs improvement,

- The need to update the 2016 inventory of structures of the Stone and Lime town, and include their current use in the inventory,

- Heritage education and awareness-raising actions were developed targeting sensitize building owners to adopting measures for the preventive conservation of the houses,

- The 2021 project “Heritage Education and participatory construction in the city of Macuti” funded by the German Commission for UNESCO under the #SOSAfricanHeritage Programme allowed to train 20 local artisans in climate change resilience techniques and to restore seven Macuti houses which did not suffer the effects of the cyclone, indicating the effectiveness of the applied techniques,

- Training was provided through the 2022 project “Heritage and environmental education: Strengthening citizenship and social participation on the Island of Mozambique”, financed by the European Union, and the Camões Portuguese Institute, to raise heritage and environment conservation awareness among local communities;

● Funding is sought for a specialized consultancy study in view of incorporating a strategy for sea defense infrastructure, including Visual and Heritage Impact Assessments, into the Disaster Risk Management Plan, to reinforce measures provided in the Local Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change prepared in 2017;

● The rehabilitation of the Nossa Senhora do Baluarte Chapel in the São Sebastião Fortress, that suffered impacts due to weather events, started in 2022 with funding by the Portuguese Cooperation and consists of reinforcing the coastal protection barrier and restoring the chapel's collapsed roof;

● The Urban Structure Plan of the property was finalized and approved by the Municipal Assembly and submitted to the State authorities for ratification. However, a more detailed plan is considered necessary for an effective application of the Urban Structure Plan within the property;

● The "Specific Rules for the Conservation of the Built Heritage of the Macuti Town" were accepted with the recommendations provided by ICOMOS, but must still undergo a community consultation and subsequently be approved by the Municipal Assembly;

● GACIM recognises that the demographic pressure in the property, especially in Macuti town, could undermine the authenticity and integrity of the property. Actions to decongest the Island and the development of an urban mobility plan are needed;

● In 2022, GACIM acquired a house, the "Casa dos Contos" (House of Tales), in Macuti town, in the framework of the “Islands and Enchantments” project, funded by the European Union, and co-funded by Camões Portuguese Institute, to contribute to the appreciation of the neighbourhood, and good heritage conservation practices for local communities;

● The proposal for the construction of a tourist complex on the Island of Goa is under analysis by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. However, it is acknowledged that this project could be limited considering that the Islands of Goa and Sena are within the proposed new delimitation of the buffer zone. If considered favourably, it will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, and its Advisory Bodies, for evaluation;

● No progress has been made on the Sports Complex, and the “Fortim de São Lourenço”, in terms of concrete proposals for the use of space

The State Party’s response to the impacts of Cyclone Gombe in March 2022 is to be commended, in particular by organising a prompt assessment of the damages caused by the cyclone and by mobilizing UNESCO’s support through both Emergency International Assistance and Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) mechanisms. While the International Assistance was approved to conduct pilot rehabilitation of 14 traditional Swahili houses accompanied by on-site trainings of local communities for further rehabilitation of partially and slightly destroyed houses and the development of medium and long-term safeguarding measures, the HEF support aims to provide training on Disaster Risk Management (DRM) for cultural heritage for local stakeholders, to develop emergency preparedness and risk mitigation protocols for the property at the local level, including also training and awareness-raising. Both projects are favourably noted, but at the time of drafting this report, only one DRM training has been delivered. All concerned stakeholders should therefore be encouraged to expedite implementation of these projects to avoid further delay.

The interventions for the rehabilitation of the hospital complex and on the island's courthouse are noted and progress should be reported upon to the World Heritage Centre in due course, and the technical assistance can be given by the Advisory bodies in view of the possible adaptive reuse of degraded buildings by state institutions and under possible public-private partnerships, in particular if this implies interventions on the edifices.

The updating of the Conservation and Management Plan 2022-2027 also comes at a timely moment and should be finalized once the recommendations provided by ICOMOS in its technical review are incorporated. The targeted increase of GACIM’s staff members will be much beneficial for its implementation, as well as the availability of conservation guidelines, the developed heritage education and awareness-raising actions that are important to ensure increased community involvement. The attention given here to Macuti town is essential, as illustrated also by the acquisition by GACIM of the "Casa dos Contos" as a community-based project, and it is hoped that the "Specific Rules for the Conservation of the Built Heritage of the Macuti Town", already commented on by ICOMOS, as well as the Urban Structure Plan of the property will soon complete the approval and ratification processes. It is also important to ensure full community consultation for the development of an urban mobility plan with a view to decongesting the island and reduce the demographic pressure.

It is noted that in response to the previous request to submit the inventory of structures of the Stone and Lime town area of the property, including their current use, the State Party refers to Decree no. 54/2016 of 28 November 2016 (Regulation on the Classification and Management of the Built and Landscape Heritage of the Island of Mozambique) that provides a general survey of all the stone and lime buildings in the city, including an assessment of each building's state of conservation. While it is indicated that the current uses of these buildings are residential, commercial, religious and tourist in nature, more detailed information should be provided. This consistent approach regarding the Stone and Lime town inventory, should be also considered on the Macuti town, as both are equally part of the property.

It is furthermore appreciated that the delimitation of the new buffer zone is ongoing and that this is already being taken into consideration in the evaluation of the proposal to construct a tourist complex on the Island of Goa, about 5 km east of the property, which would, if approved, be submitted to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory bodies for evaluation.

The plan to address impacts of climate change through the development of a strategy for sea defence infrastructure in view of incorporating it into the Disaster Risk Management Plan, reinforcing measures provided in the 2017 Local Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change is favourably noted. Regarding the Visual and Heritage Impact Assessments, the State Party should be reminded to use the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and should submit the Disaster Risk Management Plan with the incorporated strategy to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory bodies.

The State Party should also be reminded and encouraged to continue undertaking measures to preserve the site and its Outstanding Universal Value and to improve the community’s living conditions as stated in Decision 44 COM 7B.8 of the World Heritage Committee (Fuzhou/Online, 2021),