Historical Monuments of Mtskheta

• Lack of a management mechanism (issue resolved)
• Lack of definition of the unified buffer zone (issue resolved)
• Lack of Urban Master Plan of the City of Mtskheta
• Insufficient coordination between the Georgian Church and the national authorities
• Privatization of surrounding land
• Natural erosion of stone
• Loss of authenticity during previous works carried out by the Church
• Inappropriate urban development within a sensitive historical environment (issue resolved)

• Lack of a management mechanism
• Privatisation of surrounding land
•  Loss of authenticity of some components due to restoration works conducted using unacceptable methods

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4103

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4103

Total amount provided: Funds-in-Trust. Georgia/UNESCO Agreement: Cultural heritage advisory service to the NACHP (National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia) to be implemented under the Third Regional Development Project (RDP III). Total budget: USD 250,000

On 5 December 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/708/documents/ outlining the following:

• Tangible progress has been made in the elaboration of the Mtskheta Urban Land Use Master Plan (ULUMP), yet its finalisation has been hampered by divergent views between stakeholders;
• The Moratorium (“Enactment of Special Regime of Regulation of Urban Development and Land Privatization in the Cultural Heritage Protection Zones of Mtskheta Municipality”) remains in place until a full set of town planning documentation is approved;
• Urgent conservation issues are being addressed as follows: at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral Church, stone conservation works are underway, greening and dendrological rehabilitation works have been undertaken in the church’s yard; at Jvari Monastery Complex, the stone conservation project is planned to be implemented in 2023; at Samtavro Monastery, research had preceded the plans for a project that includes stone conservation works, management of the water system and tile roofing replacements, to be implemented in 2023;
• In accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, the State Party continues to submit information on proposed development projects within the buffer zone and the wider setting of the property, namely for individual living houses and small commercial buildings in the buffer zone as well as one major development project to install wind turbines in the wider setting of the property, for which project documentation, including a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), was submitted to the World Heritage Centre prior to any decision being taken.

At the time of writing, the State Party has not responded to third-party concerns regarding the planned Tbilisi Wind Power Plant transmitted by the World Heritage Centre on 17 May 2021.

On 28 January 2022, the State Party informed the World Heritage Centre about the progress made in the development of ULUMP and stated that the draft concept had been prepared. Stakeholder meetings and the public hearing procedure in accordance with Georgian legislation were held in spring 2021.

Documentation submitted by the State Party in April 2023 on new projects for the conservation of the plinth stone of the Samtavro Monastery, the rehabilitation of the drainage system of the St. Nino Church, and the interior scaffolding of the Major Jvari Church has undergone technical review by ICOMOS. Between March and April 2023, the State Party notified the World Heritage Centre of the construction and reconstruction of individual living houses in the buffer zone of the property, which has also been subject to technical review by ICOMOS.

The State Party continues to make progress in addressing factors affecting the property, such as ‘Land conversion’, ‘Management activities’ and ‘Management System/Management Plan’, through the further development of the ULUMP, which is underway as part of the ‘Management Documentation for Spatial Territorial Development of Mtskheta’. The dissemination of the ULUMP concept among stakeholders is an important step and it is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to intensify its efforts to develop the management documentation, including the ULUMP, and reiterate its request for the submission of the drafts of the main components of the ULUMP to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The extension of the Moratorium until the adoption of the above-mentioned management documentation is welcome.

In line with the recommendations of the 2018 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission, the State Party continues to address the existing urgent conservation issues at the property through conservation projects at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral Church, Jvari Monastery Complex and Samtavro Monastery. The recommendations of the mission should continue to guide the State Party in improving the state of conservation of the property.

In February 2021, ICOMOS provided a technical review of the conservation and rehabilitation project of Svetitskhoveli Monasterial Complex, which was considered adequate provided that further research and analysis be conducted. Similarly, an ICOMOS technical review in October 2021 on the pre-conservation study of Major Jvari Church endorsed the project and provided further recommendations. The conservation work undertaken at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral Church is to be welcomed, as is the implementation of the conservation interventions planned at this church and at Samtavro Monastery.

Moreover, in December 2021 and February 2023, ICOMOS reviewed project documentation for a number of individual living houses and small commercial buildings in the buffer zone of the property, some of which were assessed generally positively, while upgraded green areas around the houses and natural coloured fire clay tiles roofs were recommended. For other projects in the city centre, which involved the reconstruction of small old buildings in poor conditions on a larger scale or with an extended footprint over empty plots and intended for a new use, the provisions of the Moratorium impose a refusal of these projects pending the adoption of the ULUMP and until control and monitoring are fully in place, in line with the Committee Decision 42 COM 7B.24.

The major development project planned in the wider setting of the property – the Tbilisi Wind Power Plant project – was evaluated by ICOMOS in October 2021 as damaging to the attributes that convey the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property by degrading the visual relationship between the World Heritage monuments and their wider natural environment. The State Party has not since provided an update on this proposed development in its state of conservation report, nor did it respond to the third-party concerns shared by the World Heritage Centre on 17 May 2021. The State Party should be invited to submit an update on the planned development of Tbilisi Wind Power Plant following the ICOMOS technical review of the project. More generally, the recently launched Guidance for Wind Energy Projects in a World Heritage Context (https://whc.unesco.org/en/wind-energy/) could be a useful tool to assist the State Party in the decision-making process regarding wind energy projects to ensure the protection of the property’s OUV.

The State Party should also be encouraged, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, to continue to submit detailed project documentation, including HIA based on the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies prior to any decisions being taken that could be difficult to reverse.