Shahr-i Sokhta

• Speed of the vehicles passing along the buffer zone
• High-voltage power transmission lines and Zahedan-Zabol main road within the buffer zone
• No archaeological map of the landscape zone of Shahr-i Sokhta published yet

On 18 March 2016, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, which is available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1456/documents/. The report provides information on the progress made in implementing the recommendations adopted by the World Heritage Committee at the time of the property’s inscription on the World Heritage List in 2014. The State Party reported on the following:

• The elaboration of a comprehensive Management Plan for the property began after the inscription of the property, based on its condition and on existing plans;
• Traffic panels and speed control signs have been installed and monitoring is envisaged to assess their effectiveness;
• The State Party sees the relocation of the high-voltage power transmission line as a long-term commitment and provided assurance that preliminary archaeological investigations would be carried out before any plan for relocation is defined;
• The project to elaborate a GIS-based database for the property is considered a major undertaking, due to the extension of the landscape zone; but has nonetheless been defined and initiated;
• Dialogue with the Fire and Police Departments has been initiated in order to develop an integrated Risk Management Plan for the property and to maximise the efficiency and service of the stations to the site and the visitors;
• The preparation of the digital archaeological plans of Shahr-i Sokhta and of adjacent sites is in progress;
• Key objectives for the management strategy have been identified on the basis of existing management instruments;
• Research activities and archaeological investigations have been carried out along with conservation interventions for the newly discovered remains;
• The establishment of a documentation centre, of a bio-archaeological laboratory and of research networks has also been initiated;
• Actions to improve the visibility of the property nationally and internationally have been launched, including a tourism promotion strategy; the revitalisation of traditional activities and exhibitions are also planned.

The strong commitment of the State Party to the conservation and management of the property should be noted: practically all the recommendations made by the Committee at the time of inscription in 2014 have been addressed. The finalisation of the digital maps and of a GIS-based database for the property and its findings represents a critical instrument for the effective conservation and management of the property and could become the technical basis for the comprehensive Management Plan that is currently being elaborated. The completion of this comprehensive Management Plan will greatly assist with the effective protection, conservation, understanding and promotion of the property, particularly when considering the progress in archaeological investigations and research, and the multiple actions for the visibility and diffusion of the property’s values which is reported. The involvement of the Fire and Police departments in the preparation of the Risk Management Plan represents an important step to set the grounds for a realistic and effective plan and related mechanisms.