19 BUR VI.22
Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat and Ruins of the Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur (Bangladesh)
The Secretariat informed the Bureau that UNESCO's Division for Physical Heritage organized a project monitoring mission in December 1994 to these two cultural sites in Bangladesh inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1985. The mission reported on the progress of the two projects financed under the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust for Cultural Heritage within the International Safeguarding Campaign for Paharpur and Bagerhat. The mission, while noting with satisfaction, the progress made in the archaeological and architectural documentation, recommended inter alia that: (i) national norms and ...
After having noted the content of the mission report of the UNESCO experts invited by the Government of Egypt, from 1 to 6 April 1995, to assist in identifying measures to ensure the conservation of the World Heritage site of the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur, the Bureau congratulated and warmly thanked the Egyptian authorities for the decisions taken to date and the actions already undertaken:
1) the choice of a new route passing north of the World Heritage site for the highway link to the ring-road, which will follow, once the necessary ...
The Secretariat informed the Bureau that, as requested by the World Heritage Committee at its eighteenth session, the Greek authorities had presented information on the legal protection and the management arrangements for the City. The Bureau requested the Secretariat jointly with ICOMOS to examine the information provided and to report on it to its next session in December 1995.
Sites: Medieval City of Rhodes
The Secretariat informed the Bureau that the Third International Experts Meeting on Borobudur was held on site in January 1995 and that the Expert Group expressed satisfaction on the state of conservation of Borobudur, which has been the object of a UNESCO International Safeguarding Campaign launched in 1972, although the site was only inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991. The Centre reported that the meeting made, inter alia, the following recommendations:
(i) avoid any future actions or activities that would unnecessarily disturb the traditional appearance of the site, e.g. ...
Sites: Borobudur Temple Compounds
The Centre reported that the UNESCO Physical Heritage Division undertook a mission to Iran in December 1994 which included a preliminary survey on the state of conservation of the World Heritage cultural property of Meidan Emam in Isfahan. Observations focused on the following:
(i) concern over the heavy traffic in the old town, particularly on the Meidan Emam place, which along with the surrounding monuments are in the protected zone. The proposed construction of an underground passage to alleviate the traffic congestion had been shelved due to the high water table preventing its ...
Sites: Meidan Emam, Esfahan
The Centre informed the Bureau that a joint Japan/UNESCO project identification mission to this World Heritage Site inscribed in 1979, took place in February 1995. It was observed that in spite of the application of a good traditional method of conservation, consisting of covering the exposed structures each year with "kargel" (mud and straw mixture) , the site has continued to deteriorate in the absence of a viable method for sustainable conservation of the mud-brick structures which are annually exposed to heavy rainfall.
The mission also noted some movement of the supporting brick ...
Sites: Tchogha Zanbil
The Bureau, having been informed of looting of archaeological sites in Iraq, particularly at Hatra, recommended the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to do their utmost to prevent the illicit traffic of archaeological objects and sculptures from this site.
Sites: Hatra
After having taken note of the Secretariat’s report, and additional information from ICOMOS, the Bureau thanked the Jordanian authorities for having undertaken the measures outlined by the Committee without delay and congratulated them on their desire to ensure long-term conservation of the site. In order to have available all the necessary elements for the evaluation of the proposed extension of the site, it requested the authorities to confirm by 1 October that no new hotel construction projects will be authorized at Wadi Musa and along the Taybeh road, that the Petra National ...
Sites: Petra
After having taken note of the Secretariat’s report, the Bureau expressed its regrets that the Maltese authorities had not responded to the requests of the Committee, and stressed the importance that the requested information be submitted to the Centre by 1 October 1995, so that the World Heritage Committee may evaluate the situation at its nineteenth session and take the measures it deems necessary.
Sites: Megalithic Temples of Malta
After having taken note of the Secretariat's report, the Bureau expressed its regrets that the Maltese authorities had not responded to the requests of the Committee, and stressed the importance that the requested information be submitted to the Centre by 1 October 1995, so that the World Heritage Committee may evaluate the situation at its nineteenth session and take the measures it deems necessary.
Following the presentation of the reports concerning these two sites, the Observer of Malta wished to thank the Centre for the work accomplished in close collaboration with the national ...
Sites: Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum
The Bureau recalled that World Heritage technical assistance was approved in 1994 in order to advise the national and local authorities on the conservation and rehabilitation policies for this city, particularly for the Rio San Francisco area. The Secretariat informed the Bureau that a high-level expert had undertaken a series of missions and that the final report will be available by the end of July. The Bureau requested the Secretariat to report on the results of this assistance to the its next session.
Sites: Historic Centre of Puebla
The Centre recalled that the World Heritage Committee at its eighteenth session expressed its appreciation for the monitoring report prepared by the Department of Archaeology on the progress made in implementing the recommendations of the Committee at its seventeenth session. The Committee approved in December 1994, a technical cooperation request under the World Heritage Fund to finance a six-month mission of an international technical adviser to Kathmandu to assist the authorities in the preparation of a package of projects for international funding and to establish a development ...
Sites: Kathmandu Valley
The World Heritage Centre informed the Bureau that it undertook a mission in March 1995 to assist the national authorities in preparing the state of conservation reports on the World Heritaqe cultural-properties in Pakistan.
The mission benefitted from the 15th meeting of the International Consultative Committee (ICC) for the Safeguarding Campaign for Moenjodaro, launched in 1974, to gather information for a monitoring report on this site currently under preparation in collaboration with and at the request of the national authorities. Amongst the observations made were: (i) the need to ...
With regard to Taxila, the Centre reported that during its joint mission with the Sub-regional Office of the Department of Archaeology and Museum in March 1995, it was observed that the nomination file, on the basis of which the property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, did not clearly indicate the number of sites it contained. The site of Taxila, under the national registry of historic monuments is composed of some 55 sites spread over an area of about 18 kms x 8 kms of the Taxila Valley.
The Centre reported that the state of conservation of the sites visited varied but, on the ...
Sites: Taxila
The Bureau recalled that the potential impact of the extension of the Taos Airport on the World Heritage site of Taos Pueblo was discussed at various Bureau and Committee meetings and that the Committee’s concerns were transmitted to the United States authorities. The Secretariat informed the Bureau that it had received preliminary monitoring reports from the Taos Pueblo War Chief and the US National Park Service. Both reports indicated that the major issue was the size of the area determined to be affected by the proposed airport extension. It was reported that this area was ...
Sites: Taos Pueblo
ICOMOS reported on its cooperation with the Sri Lankan authorities and international experts in the monitoring of three World Heritage cultural sites - Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya. The ICOMOS Representative indicated that, as the preliminary report made available to the Bureau emphasized, this experience in Sri Lanka should serve as an example for the methodology applied in the monitoring exercise, especially in its interdisciplinary and systematic data collection methods. He also reported on ICOMOS’ involvement in the monitoring of World Heritage sites in the United ...
The Centre informed the Bureau of a recent meeting between the Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Nations and the Director-General of UNESCO during which the critical situation of the cultural properties of Afghanistan caused by years of neglect and war damage, as well as the illicit excavation and traffic of movable property were discussed. It was recalled that four of the sites on the tentative list of Afghanistan, namely, Herat, Bamiyan, Ai Khanoum and the Minaret of Jam - were officially nominated by the State Party for inscription and that on the basis of ICOMOS’ ...
The Bureau recalled that the site was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1992 as it was affected by civil disturbances and its staff held hostage. The World Heritage Committee at its eighteenth session took note that a peace accord was signed on 9 October 1994 and encouraged the authorities to implement it and to undertake all efforts to safeguard the site. The Centre in cooperation with the authorities of Niger sent a mission to Niger to review the protected area system of Niger and to prepare a nomination of a natural site. As one of the outcomes of this mission, a ...
IX.1 The Bureau examined documents WHC-95/CONF.201/7 and WHC-95/CONF.201/7Add and noted that, in accordance with the decisions at the eighteenth session of the World Heritage Committee, one third of the funds should be for natural heritage.Therefore, only requests for technical cooperation for natural heritage were brought forward to the Bureau. The Bureau, taking note of the amount of the remaining funds for international assistance, took the following decisions:
Requests approved:
Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Guinea/Côte d'Ivoire)
Technical assistance for ...
II.1 The Committee adopted the provisional agenda as amended by the Delegate of Niger, and endorsed by Malta, proposing that item 6 of the provisional agenda (Constitution of working groups to examine specific items on the Committee's agenda) be replaced by a new item: Report on the decisions taken by the General Assembly of the States Parties (Tenth session) and by the General Conference of UNESCO at its 28th session.