Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove

• Urban development close to the property
• Road construction around the property
• Pollution of the Osun River
• Bush fires within the property
• Adverse impact of the commercialisation of the annual festival
• Fragility of spiritual, symbolic and ritual qualities of the Grove in the face of a growth in visitor numbers and the lack of a tourism management plan
• Road through property not re-aligned

In 2020: USD 50,000 from the UNESCO / Netherlands Funds-in-Trust for the Development of a Conservation Methodology, training, digital documentation and review of the Conservation Management Plan

On 28 November 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1118/documents/. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in this report, as follows:

• Photographic and digital documentation of shrines, sculptures and art works is ongoing through a collaboration between The National Commission for Museums and Monuments, CyArk, the Adunni Olorisa Trust (AOT) and Google Art & Culture;
• Regarding the Committee’s concerns about conservation methodology and the use of cement in the conservation of the sculptures, it is argued that since 1959, cement was used by Susanne Wenger and the artists of her movement, and restoration works carried out to maintain the sculptures take the construction history of the sculptures into consideration;
• Urgent replacement of sculptural components, which were damaged by a fallen tree trunk, have to be carried out;
• The AOT is the main actor which ensures that restoration activities conform to the guidelines advocated by Susanne Wenger;
• National and Regional Governments continue to carry out water analyses on the river. The community has been alerted to avoid dumping waste upstream, and efforts to sensitize the community, the devotees and traditional rulers include radio programmes on how to purify water before drinking;
• Water samples have been taken in response to alleged pollution from legal and illegal gold mining upstream of the property. Analysis of the samples is pending. Competent ministries have been encouraged to regulate the currently illegal opencast gold mining activities in Osun State;
• The Management Plan of the property has been reviewed. Stakeholders have been addressed and the Ataoja-in-Council is willing to share part of the annual Osun festival revenue generated from sponsorship with the property;
• Sponsorship has been affected by recent COVID-19 restrictions and the contested State Governorship elections in 2022;
• Political challenges have hampered efforts to divert the current tarmac road through the grove to beyond the boundaries of the property and to leave the original track for use by communities for domestic activities;
• Efforts are being made to mobilize the Federal Ecological Fund for the construction of an alternative bridge to facilitate the diversion of the road.

The State Party did not provide details of severe damage to the Busanyin Shrine as a result of flooding in 2019 although information is now available on the property’s website.

The project to digitally document the forty shrines and sculptures within the property is welcome. It is unclear what type of inventory has been developed as no example has been provided. Given the complexity of the shrines which are located within specially designed structures and constructed of local materials, the photography needs to be complemented by detailed documentation, including information on the precise materials used, repairs and evidence of change over time.

The revision of the Management Plan is welcome. It should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review in order to provide an understanding of how it has addressed the recommendations of the Committee at the time of inscription.

The commitment of the Ataoja-in-Council to share revenue from the annual Osun festival for the conservation of the property is positively noted as it addresses a long-standing request of the Committee to ensure that the festival sustainably supports the Sacred Grove on which it is based.

River pollution remains a major concern as the sacred waters are a key focus for festival devotees. Continuous use of the polluted water as part of festival rituals might create health challenges to this community and warnings on the radio to not drink the water are insufficient but should be enhanced. Over the years there have been commitments to improve the water quality, but inadequate actions have been taken to control activities upstream. The recent reports of pollution linked to illegal and legal gold mining are alarming. Further details need to be provided on the recent water analysis and how this issue will be addressed.

The conservation of structures remains a cause for concern. Although cement was used to create many of the sculptures, this will crack over time and lead to water ingress with the result that sculptures will need to be recreated. Materials are needed that will provide a much longer-term solution. In terms of authenticity, the form of these cement sculptures is more important than their material. Their form needs to remain as near as possible to how they were created. Multiple recreations over time will not support authenticity and must be avoided. It is unlikely that one approach will be appropriate to all. The degree of intervention in each piece and the most appropriate materials to use should be a matter for debate and discussion with appropriate experts, to ensure they reflect the specificities of each of the sculptures, and the project details should be submitted for review.

A further concern is the absence of information on what repairs have been completed after the almost total destruction of the large Busanyin shrine and its sculptures due to flooding in 2019 which regrettably was not reported upon in the previous report to the World Heritage Centre at the time, nor in the report to the World Heritage Committee in 2021. Since then, according to information online, support from the United States of America (USA) has facilitated digital documentation of the remains, work that was completed in November 2022. A Master Plan is to be drawn up for restoration of the shrine and for the implementation of flood protection measures. This disaster also highlights the need for a Disaster Risk Management Plan.

The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove underpins the Osun festival, which is a major tourist attraction and is also an essential part of local cultural identity. However, its shrines, river and natural forest are all extremely fragile. The collapse of the large Busanyin shrine and the lack of immediate action to protect its remains, or to initiate a restoration programme and put in place measures to mitigate flooding, all reflect the weaknesses of the current protection and management processes and pose threats to Outstanding Universal Value.

In consideration of the above, it is to be noted with appreciation that the joint World Heritage Centre/ICCROM/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd and extended 44th sessions, and initially scheduled to be carried out in March 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was scheduled to take place at the time of writing this report and the mission report will be available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1118/documents/. That report will formulate recommendations for actions to be taken in order to tackle the numerous challenges and urgent conservation needs of the property that require a broad mobilization to preserve its OUV, including the possible inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.