Bam and its Cultural Landscape

• Lack of a comprehensive management plan
• The boundaries of the property inscribed on an emergency basis were not aligned with the written text of the original Nomination File
• Development pressure related to the post-disaster reconstruction process

• Severe damage to the property caused by the earthquake in December 2003
• Development pressures related to the post-disaster reconstruction process

a) Conservation of the Arg-e-Bam and other cultural heritage assets within the World Heritage property;

b) Completion of necessary scientific studies for the recognition, registration, and legal protection of properties with historical, cultural, and natural significance within the cultural landscape zone, as well as marking the protective boundaries around each property within this zone;

c) Implementation of the Management Plan;

d) Precise understanding and definition of the outer boundaries of the heritage areas surrounding the property;

e) Adequate security of the heritage areas within the World Heritage property in addition to the Arg-e Bam.

a) Stabilisation and protection of the Arg-e-Bam and other significant cultural heritage assets within the World Heritage property by:

(i)  Stabilisation of both the lower and upper parts of the citadel;

(ii) Removal and documentation of debris;

b) Completion of necessary scientific studies for the recognition, registration, and legal protection of properties with historical, cultural and natural significance within the cultural landscape zone, as well as marking the protective boundaries around each property within this zone;

c) Management Plan implemented by:

(i)  Approval at final stakeholders meeting;

(ii) Legal Adoption by late 2007;

d) Precise definition of the outer boundaries of the heritage areas surrounding the property by completing the mapping of the archaeology and geomorphology of Bam and its Cultural Landscape;

e) Adequate security of the heritage areas within the World Heritage property in addition to the Arg-e Bam by increased number of guards and vehicles.

Total amount provided to the property: USD 568,000 (2004-2007) from the UNESCO-Japan Funds-in-Trust; USD 300,000 (2005-2008) from the UNESCO Italy Funds-in-Trust; USD 20,000 (2004) from the World Bank Italian Trust Funds. 

In reply to the decisions taken by the World Heritage Committee in 2009 (Decision 33 COM 7A.22) the State Party submitted, on 29 January 2010, a comprehensive report on the activities undertaken at Bam and its Cultural Landscape; an updated Nomination file; and a proposal for the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value. The report was accompanied by a letter containing further information on the state of conservation of the property.

The updated Nomination file had been requested by the World Heritage Committee to ensure completeness, following the inscription of the property in 2004 according to the emergency procedure. The text contained in the original file concerned only a small part of the current property - the Citadel. Following a recommendation by ICOMOS, the World Heritage Committee subsequently decided to inscribe a much larger area, including the wider cultural landscape of Bam. As a result, it was necessary to update and complete the Nomination documents with information regarding this larger extent. This has now been done by the State Party.

With respect to the corrective measures identified by the World Heritage Committee, the State Party notes the following:

a) Further progress has been made during 2009 concerning the emergency conservation, extensive stabilization, and restoration of Arg-e-Bam area. This work concentrated on the remaining areas within the Citadel, and included emergency stabilization to prevent further structural collapse, debris removal, conservation and reconstruction.

b) Archaeological finds, discovered during the removal of debris, have been conserved and documented.

c) In January 2010, the Iranian Higher Council for Architecture and Urban Planning approved the Bam and its Cultural Landscape Comprehensive Management Plan as an Annex to the existing Bam Special Structural Master Plan for BamCity. This was developed, over a period of five years, with support from the UNESCO Japan Funds-in-Trust, and UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office. 

d) Regarding the precise definition of protective boundaries for the property, and following the approval by the World Heritage Committee of an extension to its buffer zone in 2007, archaeological studies and surveys of the cultural landscape have been completed. Currently, final drawings are being prepared.

e) As reported in 2009, the measures taken to safeguard the property include the formation of a security unit with 11 permanent guards, equiped with vehicles, that has been operational since 2007.

In 2009, the State Party anticipated difficulties in completing the corrective measures approved by the World Heritage Committee by 2010, but did not offer an alternative proposal. The 2010 report, submitted by the State Party, does not provide any further clarification on this point. 

Finally, recent information provided by UNESCO Tehran Office following a mission to Bam carried out in February 2010 in the framework of the Funds-in-Trust projects, has drawn attention to some demolition work and encroachments within the property that appear not to be in line with planning controls and might have an impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. 

Although it is clear that the rehabilitation of Bam and its Cultural landscape will require additional time and support, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note that most, if not all, of the identified corrective measures have been implemented, or are under way, thanks to the financial support provided through the Japanese and Italian-Funds-in-Trusts. The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note that this is the first Iranian World Heritage Management Plan that was developed through a participatory approach.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies therefore consider that it would be justified to carry out a reactive monitoring mission to the property in late 2010 aimed at reviewing the current state of conservation, including the demolitions and encroachment within the property, as well as to verify whether the Desired state of conservation has been achieved. In the affirmative, the World Heritage Committee might consider removing the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2011.