Florence (Italy)
The Committee recalled that the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee at its seventeenth session in 1993 was informed of the severe damage caused by a car-bomb in the historical centre of Florence in May 1993. The Delegate of Italy informed the Committee of the actions the Government of Italy had taken after the bombing. He confirmed that the restoration works would be entirely concluded by mid-1995. An analysis of the damages to the historical structures and the art objects had provided important information on the effectiveness of certain protection measures and new ...
Sites: Historic Centre of Florence
Petra (Jordan)
The Committee was informed of the findings of the UNESCO mission which took place in April 1994, concerning:
- impact of new hotels under construction in the vicinity of the World Heritage site of Petra- insufficiency or non-existence of sewage disposal facilities- uncontrolled development of villages in the vicinity of the site- proliferation of shops- insufficient conservation of antiquities, and- other encroachments upon the integrity of the site.
It was informed that the report has already been submitted to the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee during its ...
Sites: Petra
Megalithic Temples (Malta)
The Committee was informed by the Secretariat on the state of conservation of the Megalithic Temples of Malta and the very serious problems concerning the insufficient surveillance, particularly in Mnajdra, Hagar Qim, Ta'Hagrat and Skorba; the collapse of one of the walls of the Temple of Mnajdra as a result of the 1994 April storms; the exploitation of vast stone quarries in the immediate vicinity of the monument and the serious dangers which this activity imposes permanently upon the conservation of the Temple and its environment, the very serious risks of ...
Sites: Megalithic Temples of Malta
Hal Saflieni Hypogeum (Malta)
The Committee was informed by the Secretariat that the Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni has now been closed for three years and the air-conditioning works, partly financed by the World Heritage Fund, which should have begun two years ago, have not yet started. This situation is caused by the permanent trickling of water inside the monument as a result of the decayed sewage and water supply pipes layed under the streets adjoining the site. This constant dripping of water encourages the proliferation of microorganisms and of calcium carbonate deposits on the walls ...
Sites: Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum
City of Valetta (Malta)
The Committee was informed that in the framework of UNDP's Action Plan for the Mediterranean, the Programme Coordinator for "100 Historical sites of the Mediterranean" carried out a mission to Malta at the request of the World Heritage Centre. The Committee took note of the report and endorsed the mission's recommendations that, faced with the accelerated degradation affecting the historical buildings of Valetta, the authorities of Malta should take appropriate urgent measures so that:
the team of the Valetta Rehabilitation Project acquires legal recognition ...
Sites: City of Valletta
Puebla (Mexico)
The Committee recalled that a rehabilitation plan for a part of the World Heritage site of Puebla, the Rio de San Francisco area, was briefly discussed at its seventeenth session and that more detailed information was provided at the eighteenth session of the Bureau on the basis of a report from the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the report of a UNESCO expert in urban rehabilitation and conservation who visited Puebla in June 1994.
The Committee was informed that following the eighteenth session of the Bureau and on the request of the ...
Sites: Historic Centre of Puebla
Island of Mozambique (Mozambique)
The Committee took note of a report presented by the UNDP/UNESCO Project on the state of conservation of the Island of Mozambique. It was reported that the stone city on the island was in a precarious state of conservation, a situation that was heavily aggravated by the cyclone Nadia which occurred in March 1994. The predominantly privately owned houses in the macuti city were better maintained.
With the process of pacification and the possibilities of a sound economic development of the region, the monitoring mission recommended that:
the ...
Sites: Island of Mozambique
Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)
The Secretariat recalled the concern raised over the state of conservation of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site and the debate during the seventeenth session of the Committee in December 1993 and the Bureau at its eighteenth session in July 1994 on the possible inscription of the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger and the delisting of certain parts of the site damaged by uncontrolled development. The 16-point recommendation of the UNESCO/ICOMOS Review Mission of November 1993 and the pledge made by' the Representative of His Majesty's Government ...
Sites: Kathmandu Valley
Historical Centre of Lima (Peru)
The Committee took note of a report presented by the UNDP/UNESCO Project in which it was stated that the overall infrastructure presents a notorious state of degradation, although the monuments and landmarks, e.g. the Convent of San Francisco, are well maintained.
The monitoring mission recommended that:
- an integrated programme of rehabilitation and conservation for the historical centre should be set up, in which projects should be included for the re-adaptive use of historical structures, housing and infrastructure;
- the technical assistance that ...
Sites: Historic Centre of Lima
Rio Abiseo (Peru)
The UNDP/UNESCO Project reported that the most serious threats to this mixed site are large-scale deforestation in the western zone of the park and traditional burning of fields for grazing in the higher areas. A limited number of park guards control the park in the south from outside the area. There is no regular vigilance and inspection and valuable archaeological objects are deteriorating and disappearing.
The monitoring mission recommended the following:
a coherent development plan for the Park, aiming at conserving both its natural and cultural resources, ...
Sites: Río Abiseo National Park
Kremlin and Red Square (Russian Federation)
The Committee was informed that the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Russian Federation to UNESCO informed the Director-General of UNESCO of a project concerning the possible erection of a monument in honour of Marshal G. Zoukhov on the Red Square. The Director-General, in a letter to the mayor of Moscow dated 2 December 1994, underlined that the responsibility for protecting a cultural property lies with the state Party concerned, which should conserve it and avoid taking any measures that would damage it. The Director-General ...
Kizhi Pogost (Russian Federation)
It was recalled that since 1991 ICOMOS had presented to the Committee and the Bureau reports on its involvement in the monitoring of this site and on the efforts to conserve and restore its monuments. ICOMOS reported that the legal protection of the monument and the buffer zone had been considerably improved and that a conservation professional had been assigned. The workplan for 1994 had been completed and included:
the installation of a system of lightning protection as part of a major reworking of fire protection and security at the site;
studies ...
Sites: Kizhi Pogost
Burgos Cathedral (Spain)
The Committee recalled that the Bureau at its eighteenth session congratulated the various Spanish organizations involved in the actions taken for the conservation of Burgos Cathedral and that it, at the same time, expressed a desire to see those components of the total project which were still under negotiation put into effect with the minimum delay.
The Committee noted that in August 1994, a statue fell off the fa9ade of the cathedral and requested ICOMOS to continue to monitor the state of conservation of the cathedral and to report its findings to the ...
Sites: Burgos Cathedral
Historic Areas of Istanbul (Turkey)
The Committee was informed that problems with the project's financing had caused some delays in the restoration of the mosaics and that UNESCO's experts present on the site had expressed their regret to the authorities responsible for the work that, in spite of their recommendations, the metallic covering of the Haghia Sophia was executed with a material which was too thin and therefore fragile.
Furthermore, it was informed that, according to the UNESCO experts on site, reconstruction of long portions of the Roman and Byzantine walls was being ...
Sites: Historic Areas of Istanbul
Xanthos-Letoon (Turkey)
In the framework of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan, the Coordinator of the Programme "100 Historical sites of the Mediterranean" carried out a mission to Turkey at the request of the World Heritage Centre.
Having taken note of the extensive and detailed report, which the Committee requested to be made available to the Turkish authorities, the Committee recommended the Turkish authorities:
to transmit to the World Heritage Centre the Protection Plan for the Development of the Patra/Xanthos/Letoon site, which should have been ready in 1992;
to implement the ...
Sites: Xanthos-Letoon
Pueblo de Taos (United States of America)
The Committee was informed by the Delegate of the United States on the actions taken by the Taos Pueblo and the US National Park Service to ensure the conservation and the integrity of the site and that an. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be undertaken by the Federal Aviation Administration. The Committee reiterated its concerns about the airport extension plans and invited the authorities of the United States of America to pay particular attention to the World Heritage values and living traditions of Pueblo de Taos when preparing the ...
Sites: Taos Pueblo
The Complex of Hue Monuments (Vietnam)
The Observer of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam informed the committee of the various measures undertaken in order to conserve and enhance the site since its inscription on the World Heritage List in 1993, and expressed the gratitude of the Government of Vietnam to UNESCO for its constant assistance.
He assured the Committee of the vigilance of the national and local authorities of Vietnam for the preservation of the integrity of the site and gave detailed assurance that no new road would be constructed in the vicinity of the site along the River ...
Sites: Complex of Hué Monuments
IX.23 Following the examination of the state of conservation reports, the Committee adopted the following proposals for the monitoring and reporting on the state of conservation of individual World Heritage properties in 1995 and invited the Secretariat to ensure their implementation:
The highest priority will be given to the monitoring of and reporting on sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The Secretariat will again report to the Bureau at its nineteenth session in 1995 on the state of conservation of all sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger with an assessment of ...
18 COM X.10
Progress Report on the Preparation of a Global Strategy for a Representative World Heritage List
X.1 At its seventeenth session in Cartagena, the Committee requested the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS to continue their efforts in preparing a conceptual framework for "a global study", in order to advance in defining a concept and a methodology which could be widely accepted by the scientific community.
X.2 Consequently, the Centre and ICOMOS organized jointly at UNESCO, from 20 to 22 June 1994, a first meeting of experts representing different regions of the world and different disciplines concerned (specialists in cultural heritage, anthropologists, art and architecture ...
XX.1 The Committee adopted the Report with a number of amendments, most of them submitted in written form by the Delegates and Observers, which have been taken into consideration when preparing the final version of the Report.