Decision 45 COM 7B.111

Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso (Chile) (C 959rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.165 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Takes note of the continued support of the Inter-American Development Bank and of the timely implementation of the scheduled meetings and studies and requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre complete information on the activities carried out in this framework;
4. Welcomes the establishment of the agreement between the municipality of Valparaíso and the Ministry of Cultures, the Arts and Heritage, encourages the State Party to concretely implement the agreement and also requests it to report to the World Heritage Centre on the results obtained in its framework;
5. Commends the State Party for the creation of the "Municipal Corporation for Heritage Site Administration", with the mandate of promoting and strengthening public-private partnerships, and further requests the State Party to report to the World Heritage Centre on the decisions and measures that will be taken by this “Municipal Corporation for Heritage Site Administration”;
6. Also takes note of the third stage of the development of a technical platform for the risk management of the site, and that the start of the elaboration of the Risk Management Plan is foreseen in 2023, and requests that, once completed, the plan be submitted for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
7. Also welcomes the further progress in the creation and provision of Regional Heritage Directorates under the National Cultural Heritage Service and urges the State Party to reinforce the technical office of the National Monuments Council;
8. Further welcomes the new Paseo Barón project focusing on the creation of a public park that will enhance the social relation between the coast and the city, and further requests the State Party to report to the World Heritage Centre on the excavation works expected to be launched in 2023 for review by the Advisory Bodies;
9. Notes the ongoing implementation of a programme of restoration and conservation of nine elevators and a number of historic buildings and also urges the State Party to accelerate, as a matter of urgent priority, the implementation of restoration and conservation activities, and to extend them to all the buildings of the property in need of urgent rehabilitation, also as a means to reverse the recognized depopulation trends in the site, in line with the recommendations of the World Heritage Centre Advisory mission of November 2022;
10. Also notes the abandonment of the previous Terminal 2 extension project and furthermore requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for review, as soon as available, the complete information on the alternative project to be defined in 2023;
11. Also commends the State Party for the establishment of the agreement between the Municipality of Valparaíso and Valparaíso Port Company to ensure participation and synergy among the main stakeholders concerned by port accessibility and port-city interaction issues;
12. Further commends the State Party for having invited an Advisory mission of the World Heritage Centre, to facilitate institutions and civil society consultations on all matters linked to the conservation of the site and the implementation of the decisions of the Committee and again requests the State Party to fully implement the mission’s recommendations;
13. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, 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 47th session.