Decision 45 COM 7B.36

Island of Mozambique (Mozambique) (C 599)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.4 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Commends the State Party for its response to the impacts of Cyclone Gombe in March 2022, in particular by organizing a prompt assessment of the damages caused by the cyclone and by mobilizing support through both Emergency International Assistance and the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) to undertake rehabilitation of traditional Swahili houses with on-site trainings of local communities and on Disaster Risk Management (DRM) for cultural heritage for local stakeholders, and to develop emergency preparedness and risk mitigation protocols for the property, but urges all stakeholders concerned to expedite implementation of these projects to avoid further delay;
4. Further commends the State Party to conduct rehabilitation of the hospital complex and the island's courthouse, also affected by the cyclone, and requests the State Party to report to the World Heritage Centre in due course on the progress made;
5. Takes note of the relocation of services of some long-term vacant public buildings to the mainland for safety reasons, as well as of the efforts of some state institutions to establish public-private partnerships to ensure recovery of degraded buildings, and encourages the State Party to seek technical assistance from the Advisory bodies in view of the possible adaptive reuse of these buildings, should major interventions on them be foreseen;
6. Thanks the State Party for having submitted the updating of the Conservation and Management Plan 2022-2027 that should be finalized once the recommendations provided by ICOMOS are incorporated, and takes note with satisfaction of the efforts to increase the staff and capacities of the Island of Mozambique Conservation Office (GACIM) to ensure effective implementation of the Plan;
7. Encourages the State Party to pursue its efforts to strengthen GACIM’s authority and technical capacities, notably by approving the proposed amendment of GACIM’s statutes, and by reinforcing the cooperation between GACIM and the Municipality, on issues and activities related to the management and conservation of the property, and commends the State Party for the engaged efforts to recruit new staff;
8. Welcomes the development of various tools to support the management and conservation of the property, and their availability to the local communities, building owners and stakeholders, notably the Conservation guidelines and the "Specific Rules for the Conservation of the Built Heritage of the Macuti Town", and requests that the Urban Structure Plan of the property be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, to fully completing the approval and ratification process;
9. Notes that a general survey of all the buildings in the Stone and Lime town includes an assessment of each building's state of conservation and establishes the current uses of these buildings which are residential, commercial, religious and tourist in nature, requests the State Party to provide more detailed information on this survey, and to extent the inventory to Macuti town, covering all the property;
10. Further thanks the State Party for the particular attention given to the involvement of the local communities, including through heritage education and awareness-raising actions, and encourages the State Party to ensure increased community involvement and consultation in particular in view of the development of an urban mobility plan aimed to decongest the island and reduce the demographic pressure;
11. Further notes that the State Party undertook the new buffer zone delimitation, and requests that it be submitted as a proposal for a Minor Boundary Modification to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, following the procedure set in Paragraph 164 of the Operational Guidelines;
12. Also notes the proposal to construct a “Tourist complex in Goa Island”, is still under examination, and reminds the State Party to ensure, should the project be approved, that no works be carried out, until information has been submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, pursuant to Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
13. Further commends the State Party on its actions in addressing threats from climate change induced storm surges, also noting the potential spatial and visual impacts of these structures, further requests the State Party to develop a long-term strategy for sea defense infrastructure, and to assess this through Visual and Heritage Impact Assessments, and submit these to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
14. Welcomes further the State Party's plan to address impacts of climate change through the development of a strategy for sea defence infrastructure in view of incorporating it into the Disaster Risk Management Plan, reinforcing measures provided in the 2017 Local Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change is favourable, and reminds it to use the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context in view of ensuring the conduction regarding the Visual and Heritage Impact Assessments, and requests the State Party to submit the Disaster Risk Management Plan with the incorporated strategy to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory bodies.
15. Also encourages the State Party to continue to mobilize funds (e.g., through International Assistance) to address the community living conditions and the sanitation in Macuti town, following the Outstanding Universal Value of the property;
16. 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.