VII.48 Potala Palace in Lhasa (People's Republic of China)
The Secretariat reported that pressures of urban development and growth in tourism-related activities are resulting in many construction acti vi ties in the historic sector of Lhasa with a negative impact on historic structures and their authenticity. Furthermore, in Shol, the former administrative area of Potala Palace, which is part of the World Heritage protected area, the works undertaken on the historic buildings and the widening of the streets risk causing irreversible changes to the historic character of this area.
The ...
VII.49 Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela (Ethiopia)
The Secretariat underlined the complementarity of the projects implemented by the Division of Cultural Heritage and the Centre. It reported that fields requiring particular attention are:
1. the restoration of the site: particularly the protection of the roofs and the drainage systems ;
2. the management of the site and the harmonization of current projects. Presently, the main difficulty encountered by the national authorities seems to be the harmonization of the different projects and coordination between the partners. Several precise ...
Sites: Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela
VII. 50 Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin (Germany)
It was recalled that the Committee during its nineteenth session invited the German authorities to provide a full state of conservation report on the site, including statements concerning legal protection, current planning and development of Potsdam, as well as information on possible extensions of the site and/or buffer zones adjacent to the site.
Furthermore, during its twentieth session in June 1996, the Bureau expressed its serious concern about urban development plans in Potsdam, particularly the "Potsdam Centre" project, ...
VII.51 The Town of Luang Prabang (Laos)
The Committee was informed of the Secretariat's report to the Bureau that a surge of overseas public and private investments, and of tourism is being witnessed in this World Heritage town. Building renovations and new constructions are taking place throughout the town, including the rehabilitation of many temples without sufficient consideration for authenticity. Numerous violations of building regulations are occurring.
To strengthen the national capacity, a Heritage House (Maison du patrimoine) was established within the provincial ...
Sites: Town of Luang Prabang
VII.52 Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)
The World Heritage Committee at its seventeenth session in 1993, expressed deep concern over the state of conservation of the Kathmandu Valley and considered the possibility of placing this site on the List of World Heritage in Danger following discussions on the findings of the November 1993 Joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Review Mission.
Since then, the Government has given priority to responding to the sixteen points of concern raised by the UNESCO/ICOMOS mission.
To emphasize the increased importance being placed on the preservation of the World Heritage site as ...
Sites: Kathmandu Valley
VII. 53 City of Cusco (Peru)
At its twentieth session in June 1996, the Bureau took note of information provided by the Secretariat regarding projects in the historical City of Cusco that could have a negative impact on the World Heritage values of the site. It invited the authorities to establish appropriate planning mechanisms for the historical City of Cusco.
The Secretariat informed the Committee that no substantive reply had been received to the concerns expressed by the Bureau. However, the Peruvian authorities had submitted a request for technical cooperation. The Secretariat ...
Sites: City of Cuzco
VII.54 Auschwitz Concentration Camp (Poland)
At its twentieth session, the Bureau commended the Government of Poland on halting the construction works in the immediate vicinity of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. It urged the authorities to devise a plan for the preservation of the site and its immediate surroundings, and keep the Committee informed on this matter.
The Secretariat informed the Committee that since then, and although additional assurance had been given by the Polish authorities that construction works had stopped, it had received information that a cigarette company had ...
VII.55 Ancient City of Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic)
The Secretariat recalled that a mission of five experts visited the city of Damascus late 1995 and that their reports emphasized the tremendous investment on the part of the Syrian authorities for the conservation of the Mosque of the Omeyyades, but also expressed severe concern and reservations about the conservation and restoration approach and techniques.
In January 1996, UNESCO requested the Syrian authorities to stop the work immediately and to continue it only when in-depth studies would be carried out, and in accordance with ...
Sites: Ancient City of Damascus
VII.56 Taos Pueblo (United states of America)
The Bureau, at its twentieth session, was informed that a preliminary monitoring report from the United States National Park Service indicated that no agreement had been reached as yet between the Federal Aviation Administration, the Taos Pueblo and the National Park Service on the definition of the geographic area of potential impacts and on the contents of the Environmental Impact Statement. As to the recommendations made by the Committee at its nineteenth session regarding the involvement of ICOMOS and IUCN in the definition of the Impact ...
Sites: Taos Pueblo
VII.60 City of Potosi (Bolivia)
The Bureau at its twentieth extraordinary session noted with satisfaction that, in response to a request from the Committee at its nineteenth session and the Bureau at its twentieth session, the Bolivian Mining Corporation had included the preservation of the form, the topography and the natural environment of the Cerro Rico as one of the objectives for future exploitation of the Cerro Rico mountain. The Bureau commended the Bolivian authorities for this action and requested them to keep the Committee informed on further developments in this ...
Sites: City of Potosí
20 COM VII.D.61/62
SOC noted by Committee: The Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde (People's Republic of China)
VII.61 The Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde (People's Republic of China)
The Secretariat informed the Bureau at its twentieth extraordinary session that a UNESCO mission visited the Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, in Chengde and noted remarkable achievements in the restoration of several of its buildings and of the landscape.
Major issues for the future are to bring development plans for the town of Chengde in line with World Heritage conservation needs, the improvement of buffer zone protection and the reduction of air pollution.
The Representative of ICOMOS ...
VII.63 Lower Valley of the Awash (Ethiopia)
The Secretariat reported that in spite of its difficult access, it appeared that the site is subject to the uncontrolled visits of individual tourists seeking souvenir fossils. To provide better protection and in order to further enhance this si te, several measures were recommended, including the:
designation of a guide by the CRCCH;
construction of a museum;
eventual extension of the zone inscribed on the World Heri tage List.
The Bureau took note of the Secretariat's report and encouraged the Centre for Research and Conservation of ...
Sites: Lower Valley of the Awash
VII.64 Lower Valley of the Omo (Ethiopia)
The Secretariat reported that erosion endangers the site by erasing the markers which had been planted during the last scientific missions of 1974 and 1976 on the major sites, especially those that had revealed hominid fossils.
Due to the suspension of the international missions since 1976, it was recommended that a survey should be carried out on the present state of the deposits to record the changes brought about by erosion, to seek out the markers still in place, and position each locality by means of a GPS (Global Positioning System) .
The ...
Sites: Lower Valley of the Omo
VII.65 Fasil Ghebbi (Gondar, Ethiopia)
Gondar was the political capital of Christian Ethiopia from 1632 to the middle of the 19th century. The Secretariat reported that an extensive and high quality three-year restoration programme is being undertaken to transform the main palace into a museum of Gondarian Civilization.
The Committee warmly thanked the Directorate of the Centre for Research and Conservation of the Ethiopian Cultural Heritage (CRCCH) for the financial and human efforts made towards the preservation of this World Heritage site, as well as the si te manager for his ...
Sites: Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region
VII.66 Tiya (Ethiopia)
The city of Tiya is representative of the numerous archaeological sites of the Megalithic period which bear witness to extinct cultures.
The Secretariat reported that the preservation of the site is effective, but that it could be further improved by a series of measures, including:
developing the surrounding area,
installing a signposting system,
numbering the stelae, and
improving the maintenance of the grassy surface of the site and the drainage system to avoid flooding during the rainy season.
However, for it to be truly enhanced, the site should be ...
Sites: Tiya
VII.67 Roman Monuments in Trier (Germany)
It was recalled that the Secretariat presented to the Bureau at its twentieth session a report on a joint UNESCO-ICOMOS mission to Trier in reference to the construction of urban villas and a proposed urban development scheme in the immediate vicinity of the Roman amphitheatre. The Bureau requested that a full report of the mission, as well as on the progress made in undertaking the architectural competition for the area north of the amphitheatre, be presented to its session in November 1996.
ICOMOS reported that the mission had been successful. ...
VII.29 The Bureau at its twentieth extraordinary session examined reports on the state of conservation of thirteen natural, two mixed and twenty-six cultural properties. The Committee examined twenty of them (eight natural, one mixed and eleven cultural properties) and noted the decisions of the twentieth extraordinary session of the Bureau on twenty-one state of conservation reports (five natural, one mixed and fifteen natural properties).
VII.30 Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (Canada)
The Committee recalled discussions held at its nineteenth session on the infrastructural developments in the "Bow Corridor" and their impact on the integrity of the site. The Canadian authorities had set up the Bow Valley Task Force, in order to prepare a study on these issues. The Canadian provided a full report in October 1996.
In addition, IUCN provided information about the resolution at the World Conservation Congress held in Montreal, Canada in October 1996, endorsing the study's findings.
The Committee commended the Canadian ...
VII.31 Galapagos National Park (Ecuador)
The Committee recalled extensive discussions at its eighteenth and nineteenth sessions, on the issues and threats facing the site and that the Bureau at its twentieth session considered the report of the mission led by the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee (1-11 June 1996) to examine the situation of the Galapagos Islands. The Bureau, while recognizing the considerable efforts made, concluded that serious problems existed, such that immediate remedial actions were essential to safeguard the values of the World Heritage site and the ...
Sites: Galápagos Islands
VII.32 Simen National Park (Ethiopia)
The Bureau at its twentieth extraordinary session recalled discussions held at its twentieth session concerning reports received by the University of Berne (Switzerland) on the deterioration of the Walia ibex population and other large mammals (such as bushbuck, Simen fox and bushpig) which have become extremely rare. At the twentieth session of the Bureau additional information on the state of conservation of the site was provided by IUCN (loss of biodiversity, encroachment at the borders of the site, impacts of the road construction) and a report ...
Sites: Simien National Park