Sceilg Mhichíl
Factors affecting the property in 2008*
- Management activities
- Management systems/ management plan
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2008
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 2008**
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2008
An ICOMOS advisory mission visited the property from 25 to 29 November 2007, following the receipt by the World Heritage Centre of complaints regarding the need for a revised management plan, the scale of new interventions on the South Peak, the unrecorded destruction or movement of original features, the speculative nature of the reconstruction, the failure to publish the results of archaeological and architectural surveys, and a failure to consult local ferry operators on changes in access rules.
The mission concluded that, whilst the works have transformed the appearance of these remains, they are justifiable and that the outstanding universal value of the property remains intact. The mission also examined other aspects of the island’s management in the context of the draft management plan and, in particular, a disagreement between the Irish authorities and local ferry operators over landing permits.
The mission made the following key recommendations:
a) a fully resourced programme of publication should begin;
b) an academic advisory committee should be appointed to advise on publication and future research;
c) annual minuted meetings should be held with the ferry operators;
d) the criteria for the granting of new landing permits should be identified;
e) a site manager should be appointed for the property;
f) no changes should be made to the property boundary;
g) a detailed visitor survey should be conducted to inform visitor management;
h) toilet facilities should be provided on the island.
The full report of the mission is available at https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2008 and was transmitted to the authorities for comments. In a letter to the World Heritage Centre dated 26 February 2008 the State Party indicated that the recommendations of the mission would be incorporated into the management plan, which was to be finalized very shortly.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2008
32 COM 7B.96
Skellig Michael (Ireland) (C 757)
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/7B,
2. Notes the conclusions and recommendations of the report of the ICOMOS advisory mission to the property in November 2007;
3. Noting the need for improved visitor facilities;
4. Also notes the comments from the State Party on the mission report and its decision to incorporate the recommendations in the management plan for the property;
5. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2009, three printed and electronic copies of the final management plan;
6. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2010 a progress report on the implementation of the advisory mission recommendations and the management plan for examination by the Committee at its 34th session in 2010.
32 COM 8D
Clarifications of property boundaries and sizes by States Parties in response to the restrospective inventory
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/8D,
2. Recalling Decisions 30 COM 11A.2 and 31 COM 11A.2, adopted at its 30th (Vilnius, 2006) and 31st (Christchurch, 2007) sessions respectively,
3. Recalls that, as decided at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007) by Decision 31 COM 11A.2, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies will not be able to examine proposals for minor or significant modifications to boundaries of World Heritage properties whenever the delimitation of such properties as inscribed is unclear;
4. Congratulates States Parties in the European Region and the States Parties of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia on the excellent work accomplished in the clarification of the delimitation of their World Heritage properties and thanks them for their efforts to improve the credibility of the World Heritage List,
5. Takes note of the clarifications of property boundaries and sizes provided by the following States Parties in the European and Arab Regions in response to the Retrospective Inventory, as presented in the Annex of Document WHC-08/32.COM/8D:
- Armenia: Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin;
- Austria: Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg; Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn; Hallstatt-Dachstein-Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape;
- Belgium: Flemish Béguinages;
- Bulgaria: Boyana Church; Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak; Rila Monastery; Ancient City of Nessebar;
- Croatia: Old City of Dubrovnik; Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian; Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the Historic Centre of Poreč;
- Czech Republic: Historic Centre of Telč; Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora; Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape; Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž;
- Denmark: Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church; Roskilde Cathedral;
- Egypt: Memphis and its Necropolis - the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur; Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis; Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae; Historic Cairo; Abu Mena; Saint Catherine Area;
- Estonia: Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn;
- Germany: Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square; Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at Brühl; Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin; Town of Bamberg;
- Greece: Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae; Mount Athos; Medieval City of Rhodes; Archaeological Site of Mystras; Delos;
- Hungary: Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue; Old Village of Hollókö and its Surroundings; Millenary Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma and its Natural Environment; Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst (presented jointly with Slovakia);
- Ireland: Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne; Skellig Michael;
- Italy: Historic Centre of San Gimignano; City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto; Historic Centre of Siena; Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta; The trulli of Alberobello; Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna; Historic Centre of the City of Pienza; Residences of the Royal House of Savoy; Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua; Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto); Costiera Amalfitana; Archaeological area of Agrigento; Su Nuraxi di Barumini; Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia;
- Latvia: Historic Centre of Riga;
- Luxembourg: City of Luxembourg: its Old Quarters and Fortifications;
- Morocco: Medina of Marrakesh; Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou; Archaeological Site of Volubilis;
- Poland: Cracow's Historic Centre; Historic Centre of Warsaw; Old City of Zamość; Medieval Town of Torún; Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork;
- Portugal: Monastery of Batalha; Cultural Landscape of Sintra; Prehistoric Rock-Art Sites in the Côa Valley;
- Romania: Danube Delta;
- Slovakia: Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity; Spišský Hrad and its Associated Cultural Monuments; Vlkolínec; Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst (presented jointly with Hungary);
- Spain: Garajonay National Park;
- Tunisia: Ichkeul National Park;
- Ukraine: Kiev: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra;
- United Kingdom: Durham Castle and Cathedral; Ironbridge Gorge; Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites; Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd; Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church; Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church; Maritime Greenwich;
6. Requests the European and Arab States Parties which have not yet answered the questions raised in 2005, 2006 and 2007 within the framework of the Retrospective Inventory to provide all requested clarifications and documentation as soon as possible and by 1 December 2008 at the latest.
Draft Decision: 32 COM 7B.96
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/7B,
2. Notes the conclusions and recommendations of the report of the ICOMOS advisory mission to the property in November 2007;
3. Also notes the comments from the State Party on the mission report and its decision to incorporate the recommendations in the management plan for the property;
4. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2009, three printed and electronic copies of the final management plan, for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies.
Ireland
* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).
** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.
