Decision 46 COM 7B.15

Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape (Türkiye) (C 1488)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decisions 39 COM 8B.32, 41 COM 7B.50, 43 COM 7B.90, 44 COM 7B.56 and 45 COM 7B.57 adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015), 41st (Krakow, 2017), 43rd (Baku, 2019), extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) and extended 45th (Riyadh, 2023) sessions respectively,
3. Notes the State Party’s:
   1. Continued restoration of the city walls in recent years, including in response to the 2023 earthquake,
   2. Actions to address several recommendations of the 2022 Reactive Monitoring mission, including the suspension of projects and the development of programmes to reverse recent actions that have had a negative impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, and the commitment of the State Party to submit these to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies,
   3. Commissioning of Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) as requested by the Committee at the time of inscription and as a prerequisite for development projects and activities that are planned for implementation within or around a World Heritage property, as set out in Paragraph 118bis of the Operational Guidelines,
   4. Commitment to submit to the World Heritage Centre various plans and their associated HIAs for the projects to be reviewed by the Advisory Bodies before any irreversible decisions are taken, which would include the progress study as a result of the georadar survey in the re-landscaped lower area of Içkale, further detailed analysis and possible land management strategies for the Hevsel Gardens, proposals to reduce the impact of the Tigris Valley Recreation and Afforestation Project around the Ten-Eyed bridge, proposals to reduce the negative impact of the Tourist Ring Road between Mardin and Dag Gates;
4. Requests that decisions on the adoption or implementation of projects that may affect the OUV of the property, including the Anzele Urban Design Project, not be implemented until they have been found to be appropriate to the maintenance of the property’s OUV through review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
5. Welcomes the process of dialogue initiated between the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies; the agreement signed between the General Directorate of Cultural Properties and Museums and the Diyarbakır Municipality leading to the update of the Management Plan; as well as the first study of the Hevsel Gardens, conducted and submitted to the World Heritage Centre;
6. Also requests that an action plan outlining the further implementation of past Committee decisions and the recommendations of the 2022 mission and the ICOMOS Technical Reviews be included as part of the Management Plan and that the latter be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies prior to its adoption;
7. Further requests that the further studies of the Hevsel Gardens that the State Party intends to undertake focus on the changes that have occurred since the inscription of the property in terms of plot size, crops, use, ownership, as well as the historical and functional links to the city, socio-historical agricultural practices, ecology and the contribution that the traditional irrigation system may make to the OUV of the property;
8. Expresses its concern at the considerable changes to the Ten-Eyed Bridge that have virtually destroyed its historic setting and requests furthermore that the State Party develop an action plan with timeline of feasible actions to reverse the negative impacts of the developments that have taken place in the setting of the Bridge since inscription and submit this action plan to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
9. Recalling its request at the time of inscription of the property that the State Party strengthen the legal protection of the buffer zone to protect the urban fabric, including through reinforcement of the provisions of the Conservation Plan in the Suriçi District and also noting that the Suriçi Conservation Plans are legally binding but can be updated, request moreover the State Party to:
   1. Re-evaluate the current development plans, based on an evaluation of the status quo of the built fabric of the Suriçi District and its contribution to the setting of the OUV of the property,
   2. Develop a draft update of the current development plans through an iterative HIA process to deliver a plan that strengthens the contribution of the district to the OUV as part of its setting,
   3. Submit the assessments, the draft updated plans and the HIAs to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies prior to any irreversible decision taken;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2025, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, including the requested action plans, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.