Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa

• Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure (Expansion of tourism-related facilities in and adjacent to the boundary of the property)
• Ground transport infrastructure (Negative impact of the rehabilitation projects on the protection of the traditional urban tissue of the historic centre)
• Deliberate destruction of heritage
• Housing (Uncontrolled urban development in and adjacent to the boundary of the property)
• Fire (Fire damage to the Jokhang Temple Monastery in February 2018)
• Localised utilities (Potential impacts of proposed television tower)
• Ritual / spiritual / religious and associative uses (Visitor experience for pilgrims and tourists)

N/A

On 30 November 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report. An executive summary of this report is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/707/documents/. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in this report, as follows:

• Conservation plans for the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple Monastery and Norbulingka for the period of 2017 and 2035 have been completed and approved by the National Cultural Heritage Administration. The People’s Government of Tibet Autonomous Region is organising relevant expert institutions to examine the conservation plans, which will then be published and implemented, although regular conservation and management already follow these plans. Abstracts of these plans are included as annexes to the State Party report;
• Boundary landmarks of the buffer zone of Norbulingka have been clarified during preparation of the conservation plan. Detailed protection and management rules restrict construction activities inside and outside the buffer zone. The buffer zone boundary of Norbulingka will not be modified;
• A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) has assessed the protective facilities for the three historic stelae near the Jokhang Temple Monastery. An abstract of the HIA is annexed to the State Party Report. The HIA justifies installation of the protective facilities, noting that although alternatives have been considered, the traditional Tibetan architectural style keeps harmony with landscape features of the Jokhang Temple Monastery, and allows overall structural reversibility;
• An online booking system has been established to manage visitor carrying capacity. An auto gate and facial recognition system have been installed providing separate access for pilgrims and tourists. Staggered opening hours have been introduced with pilgrim access before 11:30am and tourists after 12:00pm noon daily to minimize tourism disturbance to religious activities;
• Relocation of several support facilities has been proposed including the TV tower at Chakpori Hill. The proposed location for the new tower is beyond the property’s buffer zone and will not negatively impact on the property, its landscape features, or important visual corridors. An explanatory report will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, once the new tower design is completed;
• Other work at the property includes inventorying, protection of attributes which support heritage values, digital documentation and the gathering of archival information, and improving the monitoring and early warning system, with priority given to the Potala Palace.

Concerns remain regarding the design of the protective pavilions which cover the stelae in the immediate vicinity of the Jokhang Temple Monastery. Further to the regret previously expressed that plans and a HIA were not submitted to the World Heritage Centre prior to the construction of these pavilions, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, the State Party has submitted an abstract of the HIA, which does not appear to conform with the ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage Properties, as requested in Decision 44 COM 7B.20. The technical review of the project, conducted by ICOMOS in November 2021, acknowledged that if the stelae were to remain in their current location, it was advised to replace the Chinese-style pavilions with a small and simple type of cover made of transparent material so that the stele protection structures do not stand out and do not negatively affect the temple’s contribution to Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). This advice does not appear to have been followed. The Committee should request submission of the complete HIA, for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The completion of the conservation plans for the three component parts of the property is welcome, but it is regrettable that these have been approved by the National Cultural Heritage Administration, prior to submission for technical review, as requested in Decision 44 COM 7B.20. The three abstracts provided with the State Party report are informative, but the entire conservation plan documents should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies. As part of this review, it would be appropriate for specific consideration to be given to the assessment of the buffer zone of Norbulingka, and the rationale for the decision not to adjust it to conform more closely to identifiable landmarks, as previously requested by the Committee. Consideration should also be given to buffer zone regulations, which do not appear to have been clarified. It should be also noted that up-to-date maps clearly showing the boundaries of the property as inscribed, as requested by the World Heritage Centre in its letters of October 2020 and November 2021 and in Decision 44 COM 7B.20, have not been submitted. The Committee should reiterate its request to the State Party to submit up-to-date maps for the property, including detailed maps of each component part and their buffer zones, to the World Heritage Centre as soon as possible.

The State Party should be commended on its efforts to manage visitation at the property, noting that provision appears to have been made to facilitate respectful pilgrimage in accordance with previous Committee requests. The effectiveness of the new arrangements should be monitored and reported. Confirmation of the proposed demolition of the TV tower at Chakpori Hill is acknowledged. It would be appropriate to undertake a full HIA for the proposed replacement tower, even though it is outside the buffer zone of the property, to ensure there is no negative impact on the property’s OUV. This HIA should follow the methodology of the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context.

The Committee has previously received positive reports on emergency stabilisation, damage assessment, and repair following the fire which occurred at the Jokhang Temple Monastery in 2018. It would be appropriate for the Committee to request an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission and the current programme for improving the monitoring and early warning system at the property.