Decision 43 COM 8B.40

The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá (Panama)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/8B and WHC/19/43.COM/INF.8B1,
2. Defers the examination of the nomination of The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá, Panama, in order to allow the State Party, with the advice of ICOMOS and the World Heritage Centre, if requested, to:
   1. Enable the presentation of a revised first stage of the proposal which can meet the requirements of Outstanding Universal Value, and, in particular, to:
      1. Fully implement and operationalise the management system, including the allocation of funds for the planned conservation, documentation and management actions,
      2. Integrate the separate management plans into a single, comprehensive and legible overarching Management Plan, ensuring that the protection and presentation of the proposed Outstanding Universal Value of the heritage route is a primary objective,
      3. Establish the management authority for the entire nominated serial property;
   2. Continue to implement management and conservation measures at the Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá (according to Decision 40 COM 8B.34), including, among others:
      1. Incorporating a Heritage Impact Assessment approach into the management system, so as to ensure that any programme, project or legislation regarding the nominated property be assessed in terms of its consequences on the Outstanding Universal Value and its supporting attributes,
      2. Conducting three-dimensional view-shed and view corridor analyses to identify specific sensitive areas that need to be protected, in addition to the existing buffer zones,
      3. Reducing or mitigating the visual impacts of existing developments through reduction of the sources of the impacts, and
      4. Ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of conservation and management efforts through adequate funding;
   3. Develop and fully implement a Heritage Impact Assessment approach into the management system so as to ensure that any programme, project or legislation regarding the nominated property is adequately assessed in terms of its consequences on the proposed Outstanding Universal Value of the heritage route;
3. Recommends that the fully revised proposal responding to these recommendations should be submitted for evaluation by 1 February 2022. The timeframe for the submission of Stages 2 and 3 should be revised accordingly, to either follow or accompany the re-nomination of Stage 1. With this longer timeframe, the State Party could reconsider the staging of the overall proposal in consultation with ICOMOS and the World Heritage Centre, if requested;
4. Considers that, due to the anticipated changes to the documentation, management and state of conservation, it will be essential for any revised nomination to be considered by an expert mission to the site;
5. Also recommends that the State Party give consideration to the following:
   1. Prioritising and satisfactorily implementing the corrective measures identified by the World Heritage Committee for Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo and San Lorenzo,
   2. Continuing to deepen the historical, archaeological and topographical research, including:
      1. Archaeological research at the site of Nombre de Dios, incorporating knowledge of this place and its history in the interpretation of the heritage route, and considering its future inclusion in the serial property in order to represent the important terminal points of the route over time,
      2. Survey and documentation of the terrestrial route sections of the Camino de Cruces and Camino Real in order to determine the presence and condition of alternative trails within the overall route,
      3. Complete the documentation of the important archaeological site of La Venta (Venta de Cruces), and prepare an archaeological management plan for this and other significant archaeological sites in the sections of the Camino de Cruces;
   3. Reviewing the conservation approaches to the built attributes of the existing and proposed components to ensure their continued authenticity,
   4. Improving the monitoring of visitation and associated impacts in light of expected future growth in tourism activities,
   5. Developing risk preparedness strategies for the heritage route, acknowledging the different risks to the proposed components,
   6. Conducting studies on the carrying capacity of Sections 2 and 3 of the Camino de Cruces and incorporating them into the visitor management strategies.