Case Law - Involvement of the youth

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7B.48, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Commends the State Party for the initiatives undertaken for the restoration and reconstruction of some of the traditional buildings in the property that were damaged by 2014 insurgents' attacks, in particular within and around the Hidi Palace;
4. Notes with satisfaction the resilience of the Sukur community in the context of persisting threats in the larger area surrounding the property, and encourages the State Party and the local community to maintain their efforts for heritage conservation, in particular with regard to the mobilisation of the youth;
5. Notes nevertheless that considerable further conservation work remains to be undertaken on paved paths and walls as well as on the wider property beyond the Hidi Palace, in particular on the clusters of traditional house and agricultural terraces, which were devastated by insurgents and are crucial attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property as a living cultural landscape;
6. Welcomes the efforts deployed by the State Party to secure the area, ensuring increased protection to the population of Sukur, especially on the hilltop, but expresses its concern over persisting threats to security in the larger area through sporadic attacks from Boko Haram insurgents along the access route to Sukur;
7. Recognising again that due to the sense of relative safety the hilltop holds, the population has resettled and increased at Sukur, but also notes with concern that the increase of demographic pressure is a factor that contributes to environmental degradation, resulting in scarcity of local building materials, and favours the inappropriate re-adaptative use of new building materials and technologies;
8. Requests the State Party to take action to enhance awareness of heritage conservation by reaching out to the Sukur community to encourage them through promotion and incentives to actively conserve traditional architecture and agricultural terraced landscapes, and to safeguard associated intangible cultural heritage through coordination between the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) and the relevant departments responsible for agriculture and living heritage;
9. Also notes that discussions have taken place with the State Party of Cameroon on the possibility of a transboundary extension of the property to include the Diy-Gid-Biy archaeological sites, and also encourages the State Party to consider requesting Upstream advice on the potential for this extension to reflect the OUV of the property as a living cultural landscape;
10. Further notes that the 2018 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission was unable to visit the property itself due to security concerns, and also requests the State Party to again invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, once the necessary security clearance can be obtained, to assess the state of conservation of the property and the efficacy of measures for both traditional buildings and traditional agricultural terraced landscapes that have been put in place to safeguard the property's OUV;
11. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2022, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 46th session.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/8B and WHC/19/43.COM/INF.8B1,
2. Inscribes Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, Australia, on the World Heritage List as a cultural landscape on the basis of criteria (iii) and (v);
3. Adopts the following Statement of Outstanding Universal Value:
   
   

   Brief synthesis

   The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is located in the traditional Country of the Gunditjmara Aboriginal people in south-eastern Australia. The three serial components of the property contain one of the world’s most extensive and oldest aquaculture systems. The Budj Bim lava flows, which connect the three components, provides the basis for this complex aquaculture system developed by the Gunditjmara, based on deliberate redirection, modification and management of waterways and wetlands.

   Over a period of at least 6,600 years the Gunditjmara created, manipulated and modified these local hydrological regimes and ecological systems. They utilised the abundant local volcanic rock to construct channels, weirs and dams and manage water flows in order to systematically trap, store and harvest kooyang (short-finned eel – Anguilla australis) and support enhancement of other food resources.

   The highly productive aquaculture system provided a six millennia-long economic and social base for Gunditjmara society. This deep time interrelationship of Gunditjmara cultural and environmental systems is documented through present-day Gunditjmara cultural knowledge, practices, material culture, scientific research and historical documents. It is evidenced in the aquaculture system itself and in the interrelated geological, hydrological and ecological systems.

   The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is the result of a creational process narrated by the Gunditjmara as a deep time story. For the Gunditjmara, deep time refers to the idea that they have always been there. From an archaeological perspective, deep time refers to a period of at least 32,000 years that Aboriginal people have lived in the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. The ongoing dynamic relationship of Gunditjmara and their land is nowadays carried by knowledge systems retained through oral transmission and continuity of cultural practice.

   Criterion (iii): The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape bears an exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions, knowledge, practices and ingenuity of the Gunditjmara. The extensive networks and antiquity of the constructed and modified aquaculture system of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape bears testimony to the Gunditjmara as engineers and kooyang fishers. Gunditjmara knowledge and practices have endured and continue to be passed down through their Elders and are recognisable across the wetlands of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in the form of ancient and elaborate systems of stone-walled kooyang husbandry (or aquaculture) facilities. Gunditjmara cultural traditions, including associated storytelling, dance and basket weaving, continue to be maintained by their collective multigenerational knowledge.

   Criterion (v): The continuing cultural landscape of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is an outstanding representative example of human interaction with the environment and testimony to the lives of the Gunditjmara. The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape was created by the Gunditjmara who purposefully harnessed the productive potential of the patchwork of wetlands on the Budj Bim lava flow. They achieved this by creating, modifying and maintaining an extensive hydrological engineering system that manipulated water flow in order to trap, store and harvest kooyang that migrate seasonally through the system. The key elements of this system are the interconnected clusters of constructed and modified water channels, weirs, dams, ponds and sinkholes in combination with the lava flow, water flow and ecology and life-cycle of kooyang. The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape exemplifies the dynamic ecological-cultural relationships evidenced in the Gunditjmara’s deliberate manipulation and management of the environment.

   Integrity

   The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape incorporates intact and outstanding examples of the largest Gunditjmara aquaculture complexes and a representative selection of the most significant and best preserved smaller structures. These include complexes at Tae Rak (Lake Condah), Tyrendarra and Kurtonitj. Each complex includes all the physical elements of the system (that is, channels, weirs, dams and ponds) that demonstrate the operation of Gunditjmara aquaculture. The property also includes Budj Bim, a Gunditjmara Ancestral Being and volcano that is the source of the lava flow on which the aquaculture system is constructed.

   The reinstatement of traditional water flows into Tae Rak through the construction of a cultural weir in 2010, following extensive draining of the lake in the 1950s, has returned and enhanced the water flow across the aquaculture system. This restoration, the rugged environment, the use of stone, the relatively intact vegetation and the lack of major development within the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape mean that the extensive aquaculture system has survived, is in good condition and can be readily identified in the landscape.

   The property is free of major threats and is sufficient in size to illustrate the ways multiple systems – social, spiritual, geological, hydrological and ecological – interact and function. While the property contains a dense and representative collection of attributes, which are sufficient to demonstrate Outstanding Universal Value, the property might have potential for future expansion.

   The three serial components of the property are connected as a single landscape through the physical extent of the aquaculture system (adapted from the lava flow) and through the Gunditjmara Traditional Owner’s cultural practices and connection with the physical landscape. If future surveys and studies determine additional attributes located within the lava flow but outside the property boundaries these should become included by means of a boundary modification request.

   Authenticity

   The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape has a high degree of authenticity. Gunditjmara traditional knowledge is demonstrated by millennia of oral transmission, through continuity of practice and is supported by documented Gunditjmara cultural traditions and exceptionally well-preserved archaeological, environmental and historical evidence.

   The authenticity of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is evident in the continuing connection of the Gunditjmara to their landscape and their traditional and historical knowledge of the life cycle of kooyang. Authenticity is also evident in the practices associated with the trapping, storage and harvesting of kooyang; including the construction of stone weirs and weaving of fibre baskets.

   The Gunditjmara aquaculture system retains the form and functionality it had during the last six millennia in relation to the underlying lava flow, the continued functioning of the water flows and the presence of kooyang. Despite historic interruption for much of the 20th century, the property has retained its authenticity. Recent restitution of property rights to the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners, the reinstating of traditional water flows of Tae Rak and reestablishment of continued use of aquaculture complexes have enhanced the condition of the property.

   In 2007, the Australian Federal Court recognised the native title rights of the Gunditjmara for their “strong and unrelenting connection to this area where their ancestors farmed eels for food and trade, at the time of European settlement and back through millennia.

   Management and protection requirements

   All of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is Aboriginal-owned and/or managed and is managed to respect the customary and legal rights and obligations of the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners.

   The property enjoys legal protection at the highest national level according to the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999 and a large part of the property (about 90% of the Budj Bim component and about half of the Tyrendarra component) are listed as cultural heritage sites on the National Heritage List of Australia in 2004. For consistency, it would be desirable if the National Heritage and World Heritage property boundaries were aligned. As such, the entire World Heritage property could be considered for inscription on the National Heritage List.

   Once included on the World Heritage List, the entire property will be recognised as a ‘Matter of National Environmental Significance’ and protected by the Act.

   The property is protected and managed through an adaptive and participatory management framework of overlapping and integrated customary, governance, legislative and policy approaches. The Gunditjmara Traditional Owners apply customary knowledge and scientific approaches through two management regimes; a co-operative arrangement with the Victorian Government for Budj Bim National Park; and Indigenous ownership of the Budj Bim and Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Areas. This is supported by local planning schemes. Glenelg and Moyne Shires established a ‘special use zone’ over parts of the Budj Bim component, including Tae Rak. The purpose of the special use zone is to provide for the development of land consistent with the protection and management of the natural and Aboriginal cultural values.

   The management system is to be coordinated by the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape World Heritage Steering Committee, which acts as a communication and shared decision-making body between the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners (represented through the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation Registered Aboriginal Party, Budj Bim Council and Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation) and the state heritage and environmental authorities, which include the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council and the Victorian Heritage Council, as well as the national level.

   The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape management system is established through the 2015 Ngootyoong Gunditj, Ngootyoong Mara South West Management Plan.

   Notable among the institutional management arrangements is the Budj Bim Ranger Programme, which is managed through the Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation and employs full-time rangers, who are mentored by Gunditjmara Elders to provide them with traditional and cultural knowledge and support. This management arrangement of Budj Bim Cultural Landscape allows on the ground management approaches to be guided by the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners in line with cultural traditions and practices.

   All Gunditjmara cultural heritage on Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is protected by Victoria’s Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006. The 2014 Budj Bim (Tourism) Master Plan establishes requirements for sustainable tourism and visitation, as well as educational opportunities, for the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape.

4. Recommends that the State Party give consideration to the following:
   1. Continuing to undertake surveys and studies on cultural heritage features along the entire lava flow and, in cases where additional features contributing to the Outstanding Universal Value are identified outside the property boundaries, considering submitting a boundary modification to include these,
   2. Listing all property components as cultural heritage in the Australian National Heritage Register and extend the ‘special use zone’ established in local planning schemes to cover the property components and areas,
   3. Finalizing the property-specific strategic management framework,
   4. Augmenting the monitoring system to include indicators on the continuity or change in land management practices, youth involvement, and property valuation by the Gunditjmara guardian community.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7A.12, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Commends the State Party on its continued efforts to assure the property’s adequate conservation and management through a participatory approach, including the broad involvement of local communities, youth, and diverse institutional alliances;
4. Takes note with regret of the conclusion of the 2018 ICOMOS Advisory mission that several corrective measures adopted by Decision 38 COM 7A.23 have not been fully implemented, and requests the State Party to implement the mission’s detailed recommendations in this regard;
5. Also requests the State Party to provide complete information on the status of each corrective measure in its next state of conservation report, including a detailed timeline for the implementation of all pending corrective measures;
6. Also takes note of the different maps submitted regarding the proposed redefinition of the buffer zones in Coro and La Vela, and further requests the State Party to:
   1. Formalize the proposal in accordance with the boundaries and guidelines agreed upon during the 2018 mission,
   2. Update the applicable regulatory measures and incorporate the new buffer zones into the Management Plan,
   3. Submit a Minor Boundary Modification, in accordance with Paragraphs 163-164 of the Operational Guidelines;
7. Reiterates its request that the draft Management Plan be finalized and submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies as soon as possible;
8. Noting that regular heavy rains continue to have a serious impact on the property’s ensemble of traditional buildings, urges once again the State Party to begin the implementation of a prioritized and costed plan for property’s drainage system and secure adequate financial resources in this regard;
9. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020;
10. Decides to retain Coro and its Port (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7A.13, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Congratulates the State Party for all the efforts undertaken to strengthen the conservation and management of the property placing emphasis on the full involvement of stakeholders and the local population, through visits to inspect the state of the property with the Management Committee, the media (local radio) and district Councellors, and awareness-raising measures with the local population, particularly the youth;
4. Expresses its keen acknowledgement, notably of the population of Djenné for its willingness and mobilization in the conservation of its built heritage, demonstrated in the plastering, maintenance and drainage initiatives, and calls upon the State Party to continue awareness-raising activities, information and liability of house owners in order to clarify the roles of all concerned parties, including the State institutions and UNESCO, to avoid any misunderstanding and issues that might occur at the time of restoration interventions;
5. Commends the restoration of several monumental houses thanks to the International Assistance, as well as the architectural diagnostic of the Great Mosque and the installation of new electrification with financial support from the Spanish Developing Cooperation Agency, but recommends the State Party to take adequate measures to absorb the increased number of worshippers during prayer times and avert any possible impact on the mosque;
6. Also expresses its satisfaction on the census and inventory measures of the plaster- rendered houses, but remains concerned as regards the continuing threats to the built heritage, in particular the collapse of houses during the rainy season, their abandonment due to inheritance issues or the use of inappropriate material such as cement for the plugging of the houses of banco, and requests the State Party to continue the inventory work, notably for the abandoned houses;
7. Also requests the State Party to prepare a maintenance handbook for the houses with a view to initiating a programme which will attract international support and enable the granting of subsidies for the restoration and reconstruction work of the houses in ruins on a fair basis;
8. While appreciating the publication of the notice requesting the registration of the four archaeological sites of Djenné in the official journal Essor to provide ownership titles, expresses its concern with regard to the continued illegal excavations at these sites and also recommends that the State Party erects fencing to control access and avoid degradation caused by animals and people, and to resume the work of updating the maps to identify all their components;
9. Notes that the capacities and the means of the Cultural Mission remain insufficient, and recalls to the State Party the importance of further strengthening these capacities, and to also develop, with support from the World Heritage Centre, the UNESCO Office at Bamako and the Advisory Bodies, including the actors and concerned parties regularly collaborating with the Cultural Mission, the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR);
10. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020;
11. Decides to retain Old Towns of Djenné (Mali) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 42 COM 7A.15, adopted at its 42nd session (Manama, 2018),
3. Warmly welcomes the efforts undertaken by the State Party to ensure the conservation and the management of the property and the implementation of the corrective measures, notably through the application of the 2018-2022 Management and Conservation Plan, with the participation and involvement of the different actors in the management of the property, in particular the administrative and political authorities;
4. Commends, in particular, the mobilization of the youth who organize guided tours, training sessions, and exchange meetings on heritage protection, as well as the security and peace-keeping forces through their regular visits to the property;
5. Also commends the rehabilitation and installation of the Sahel Museum at Gao into new premises and its endowment of a new exhibition and enhancement of its collection, including a section highlighting the revival of cultural activities following the 2012 crisis, including the post-crisis plastering of the Tomb of Askia which valorises and promotes cultural heritage;
6. Takes note of the implementation of the ongoing International Assistance for the restoration and stabilization of the property and the hasu tree plantation, but exhorts the State Party to avoid all tree plantations of eucalyptus inside the property likely to weaken it, and to accelerate implementation of the restoration, rehabilitation and maintenance work of the building serving as a men’s prayer space, notably the roof damaged by torrential rains in August 2017;
7. Congratulates the State Party for the mobilization of funds from the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) to initiate a full rehabilitation project carried out by the National Directorate of Cultural Heritage of Mali in collaboration with the CRAterre Association, and requests it to submit to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies all available information on this programme, to ensure that the actions are carried out in coherence, synergy and complementarity with, in particular, those actions of the UNESCO Bureau in Bamako, in the framework of the Action Plan for the rehabilitation of cultural heritage and the safeguarding of the ancient manuscripts of Mali;
8. Recognizes the efforts deployed to strengthen conservation capacities of the property, reiterates its appeal to the State Party and the international community to support capacity-building of the Cultural Mission and provide it, as well as the actors and concerned parties regularly collaborating with the Mission, with financial and logistical means, notably to develop the Desired state of conservation for removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR);
9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020;
10. Decides to continue the application of the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism for the property;
11. Also decides to retain the Tomb of Askia (Mali) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 8B.22, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Commends the State Party for the actions it has undertaken in response to the World Heritage Committee’s recommendations at the time of inscription to continue the inventory of built and intangible heritage, to promote the use of restoration standards, to monitor the results of the recently introduced policy to ban the use of non-traditional materials, and to pay particular attention to the situation of inappropriate advertisements inside the property and buffer zone;
4. Also commends the State Party for initiating procedures to engage and raise the population’s awareness about the conservation of the property, to transmit knowhow concerning traditional construction practices, to address the issue of rare traditional wood species, and to pay more attention to the question of sanitation;
5. Congratulates the State Party for its efforts to include local communities - and especially youth and women - in the conservation of the property; and encourages the State Party to develop a sustainable tourism management plan;
6. Requests the State Party, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, to more fully respond to the World Heritage Committee’s request to describe in a unified and practical form the indicators for monitoring the property and the results of their application;
7. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2015, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.