Historic Town of Grand-Bassam

• Management system to be strengthened (need to specify the limits of the property for the land parts by following the cadastral limits, to extend the limits of the unified buffer zone at the level of the Petit Paris district and the lighthouse, to strengthen the practical and operational dimension of the Conservation and Management Plan for the property, to define operational monitoring indicators corresponding to precise, periodic and quantified actions)
• Legal framework to be strengthened (need to clarify the situation of land ownership)
• Insufficient human resources (need to strengthen and specify the human resources available to the Local Committee and/or the House of Cultural Heritage)
• Management activities to be strengthened (need to inscribe all the "buildings of heritage interest" of the property on the National Cultural Heritage List, to confirm the suspensive role of the opinions of the House of Cultural Heritage in the functioning of the Building Permits Commission of Grand-Bassam, for the conservation of the property, to confirm incentives for the restoration and conservation of private buildings)
• Insufficient financial resources

Total amount granted: USD 57,734 from the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement; USD 106,400 from the government of Norway in 2020

On 25 November 2022, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1322/documents/, informing on the measures taken following the floods of October 2019:

• A building inventory carried out in 2020/2021 identified the property’s heritage buildings, described their state of conservation, identified missing information, and noted owners’ ignorance of the property’s World Heritage status and its implications;
• The inventory will be used, among other things, to classify buildings of heritage interest, including the material attributes of the Nzima culture, to develop indicators for the conservation of the property, to communicate architectural and urban prescriptions, and to promote partnerships between private owners and economic operators;
• Regular inspections of the site are organized by the management body and agents of the Grand-Bassam Town Hall to monitor actions in the field and prevent illegal interventions;
• The revised Conservation and Management Plan for the property was finalized in April 2023 and submitted to UNESCO for technical evaluation;
• In 2021-2022, the Commission in charge of examining building permit applications processed nearly a dozen files (references provided) and monitored construction sites;
• The project to restore the former Post and Customs House, supported by the Société Générale de Côte d'Ivoire (SGCI) to turn it into a museum of contemporary Ivorian art, received a technical evaluation by ICOMOS. This support will also cover the restoration of the Officers' Mess which will house the offices of the property’s management body currently housed temporarily in the National Costume Museum;
• A Public/Private Partnership (PPP) programme for the restoration of public buildings has been set up with the Société Générale Foundation;
• Several buildings have been rehabilitated (the colonial lighthouse, the former BORREMANS Foundation, the former Woodin building) or are in the process of being rehabilitated (the former Maison Métayer and the former SCOA building);
• In 2019, a road improvement programme was launched in Grand-Bassam to reinforce the existing road network and pave dirt roads for a total length of 5.7 km;
• Promotion of the property was stepped up with the resumption of the Abissa festivities, heritage awareness-raising in schools, and the Bassam International Crafts Week, among others;
• A training course for 20 young tourist guides was organized in November 2021;
• Work to open the mouth of the Comoé River, launched in November 2019, is 67% complete. Parallel 'eco-citizen' actions such as tree planting are being carried out;
• Some shortcomings have been indicated, such as the proliferation of aquatic vegetation on the lagoon water body, coastal erosion, and the harmful effects of sea spray on buildings;
• Various needs are indicated, such as the strengthening of the resources and management of the Executive Secretariat; the provision of a specialized architect; the urgent restoration of public buildings, the establishment of an incentive legal framework and economic studies of the site.

The report submitted by the State Party provides information on several encouraging measures in favor of the property, including the inventory and conservation of public buildings, governance and management, the monitoring of interventions on private heritage, and the mobilization of private partners in the safeguarding and promotion of the property.

The inventory of the immovable heritage of the historic town of Grand-Bassam was finalized and shared with the Secretariat and the Advisory Bodies in June 2022, as was the revision of the Conservation and Management Plan for the property in April 2023. It is recommended that the State Party incorporate the observations of the technical evaluation by ICOMOS (in progress) into the final version.

The regular inspections of the site by a mixed team composed of members of the management body and agents of the Grand-Bassam Town Hall council, which encourage the pooling of institutional capacities are to be welcomed. With this in mind, the updating and publication of a guide to interventions on the site, a first edition of which was prepared by the CRAterre-ENSAG organization and is still unfinished to this day, would be particularly useful for communicating architectural and urban prescriptions, particularly for private buildings. The training of 20 young guides in November 2021 is also noted with appreciation. Similarly, the resumption of the Abissa Festival following the interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the raising of heritage awareness in schools with the help of the teaching kit, and the holding of events such as the Bassam International Crafts Week are commendable.

The various rehabilitation and restoration initiatives undertaken are welcomed, in particular the project to restore the former Post and Customs House. In this respect, the integration of the 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape seems particularly appropriate, and a contribution from the Norwegian Government in this regard is planned.

Efforts to restore public and private buildings are positively noted. In particular, the promotion of PPP programmes could also guide similar initiatives in other World Heritage sites. Similarly, the rehabilitation, completed or underway, of several public heritage buildings and the upgrading of the road system at Grand-Bassam may have a promotional and multiplier effect, and it is recommended that further measures be developed to raise community awareness in favor of conservation and enhancement of the property based on these activities.

Efforts to improve the functioning of the Executive Secretariat, notably by relocating it to the Officers' Mess building, are also appreciated. Nevertheless, the lack of financial and technical resources may be an impediment to the full execution of its mission in all aspects of conservation of the built and environmental heritage. It is recommended that the financial resources of the Executive Secretariat be strengthened, as well as its technical capacities, by developing its own technical skills in architecture and construction. It is also recommended that the administrative and financial management autonomy be made effective.

The progress of work to open up the mouth of the Comoé River as part of the project to safeguard and enhance the Cocody Bay and Ebrié lagoon (PABC) is noted, and tree-planting activities are appreciated. However, it is regrettable that the State Party has not, to date, responded to the World Heritage Centre’s letter dated 10 November 2020 requesting that the technical document for this project be made available and that a meeting be held between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and the project managers to discuss the project’s conformity with the prerogatives of the Convention. It is recommended that the State Party be reminded to respond to this request.

Finally, with regard to the reported proliferation of aquatic plants on the lagoon water body, coastal erosion and the harmful effects of sea spray on buildings, it is recommended that a plan be developed to control invasive species and clean up the water body, depending on the severity of the proliferation in terms of maintaining water quality.