VII.43 Tyr (Lebanon)
The committee was informed of a land fill project in part of the bay adjacent to the old port north of Tyr, in the immediate vicinity of the World Heritage site, in order to build a tourist complex. If implemented, such a project would irremediably destroy the underwater archaeological remains located near the old port and would be a major threat to the immediate vicinity of the listed site. UNESCO organized a mission of two experts to the site; however, the results of this mission had not been received at the beginning of December.
The Committee thanked Mr Michel Edde, Minister of Culture and Higher Education for his letter dated 20 November 1995, in which he reiterated the will of the Lebanese Government to preserve the site of Tyr and its cultural and natural environment.
It took note of the information of an earlier UNESCO mission which visited Beirut from 27 November to 2 December 1995 and welcomed the decisions taken by the Lebanese authorities to postpone this land fill project which would have destroyed the underwater archaeological remains of this area, and would have been a major threat to the immediate environment of the World Heritage site.
Furthermore, the Committee requested that the results of the mission of the two experts to Tyr be communicated by UNESCO.
Finally, the Committee requested the Lebanese authorities to provide all information concerning the protection of the archaeological site of Tyr, for which an International Safeguarding campaign has also been launched.