State of Conservation (SOC)

a) Presidential signature of the PLINCODE (Plan Integral de Conservación y Desarrollo para Coro y La Vela), submitted to the authorities in August 2006;

b) Effective functioning of the management structure and institutional arrangements foreseen in the PLINCODE, with sufficient allocated resources;

c) Completion of comprehensive drainage systems as well as the rehabilitation of underground networks, public spaces, sidewalks and streets in the historical area;

d) Prioritized implementation of a comprehensive conservation plan. 

Total amount provided to the property: USD 20,000 (Spanish Funds-in-Trust) for the planning, implementation and subsequent publications of participatory workshops and meetings with artisans and civil society in Coro and La Vela. 

Requests Approved: 0
Total Amount Ap proved: 0USD

2002, 2005 and 2008: Joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS reactive monitoring missions 

a) Serious deterioration of materials and structures;

b) Deterioration of the architectural and urban coherence and integrity of the property;

c) Lack of adequate management, planning and conservation mechanisms. 

a) Obtain official approval of the PLINCODE at the presidential level;

b) Reinforce the Framework Agreement for Emergency Intervention in the area of Coro and La Vela that the IPC signed with the mayors of the municipalities of Miranda and the regional government on 14 February 2006;

c) Create a Council to assist the Technical Office (OTAE) to plan the investment of resources, and to formulate and revise intervention projects on the infrastructure, buildings and public spaces of the property;

d) Formulate and prioritize a comprehensive conservation plan to complement the existing PLINCODE by defining a precise course of action with intervention criteria and monitoring mechanisms to assess its effectiveness and implementation;

e) Strengthen capacity building for conservation and restoration through existing opportunities of workshops with the schools of conservation in La Vela and in Coro;

f) Create awareness in the local community through exhibitions and community involvement.

Timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures

a) The Presidential Commission was established in 2005 and the Framework Agreement with the local government was signed in February 2006.

b) A conservation plan was developed in 2007, and priority actions are currently being implemented (2008). Since PLINCODE has not been officially signed, the definitive timeframe has not been established. Following the Presidential signature to ensure its ratification, the necessary corrective mechanisms of PLINCODE can be fully implemented.  

The State Party did not submit a state of conservation report as requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008) nor was additional information received throughout the year regarding the state of the property. Consequently, progress made on the implementation of the corrective measures identified and on the recommendations from the 2008 reactive monitoring mission is difficult to assess.

In 2008, the mission report noted efforts made by the State Party to improve the state of conservation of the property and to implement the decisions of the World Heritage Committee, including the implementation of emergency measures, the formulation of an Integral plan for the conservation and development of Coro y La Vela, the creation of an office to address urgent problems, implementation of financing systems for built heritage and the structural consolidation and interventions at buildings in the core and buffer zones of the property and the completion of an integrated drainage system. Other progress was also noted in the 2008 state of conservation report. However, it was also noted that important benchmarks had yet to be accomplished, most importantly the setting up of a management structure to effectively and adequately address the conservation and management of the property and the securing of funding to sustainably implement the formulated Integral Plan. It was also noted that standardised and prioritised conservation plans were lacking, including definitions for intervention criteria and monitoring mechanisms.

The World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS remain concerned about the state of conservation of the property, in light of the vulnerability of the earthen architecture constructions and the deficiencies in the institutional arrangements to guarantee the conservation of the property that can only be overcome with the official approval of the Integral Plan. Comprehensive conservation plans are also critical to delineate a precise course of action for interventions at the property to conserve its Outstanding Universal Value, authenticity and integrity. In addition, capacity building needs to be strengthened to address decay factors and public awareness and involvement needs to be enhanced.