Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta

a) Significant decay of the property caused by the local climatic conditions;

b) Included in the List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites of the World Monuments Watch in 2005.

The report provided by the State Party describes the factors affecting the property, ranging from local climatic conditions such as rain and high temperatures and high wind velocities, as well as erosion caused by harmful salts and wear and tear caused by visitors. The state of conservation of the site ranges from general states of disrepair to decay and disintegration due to these environmental factors. In addition, the property is located in an active seismic zone.

The report provides suggestions for remedial actions to be taken for the overall site protection and states that a Master Plan has been prepared which proposes short- and long-term actions and is estimated to cost approximately USD 14.25 million. However, the report does not provide any information concerning the protective zones nor is specific reference made to the state of conservation of particular monuments.

The joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS mission carried out in November/December 2006 found that while the overall presentation of the property was reasonable and conservation works were in progress, particular attention should be given to the identification of the boundaries. In addition, the mission has recommended that as a first step, a register of all monuments within the site should be established, recording the state of conservation and a treatment plan for each individual monument and tomb is to be prepared. Attention should also be given to the investigation of the stability of the Nizam al-Din tomb which may need major stabilisation and conservation interventions.

The main general recommendations of the mission are the need to:

(i) Urgently identify the boundaries of the core and buffer zone of the necropolis;

(ii) Adjust the strategy from a one-monument concept to a serial-site strategy (cluster of many individual tombs) with individual registration and evaluation of each tomb including their historic value, state of conservation, and an individual treatment plan;

(iii) Work out a monitoring programme in association with the treatment plan;

(iv) Further develop the site management plan;

(v) Further develop the didactic concept and documentation;

(vi) Further develop capacity building.

Specific recommendations address the need to:

(i) As a matter of urgency, carry out soil investigations to determine the stability of the foundations (earth mechanics) of the Jam Nizam al-Din tomb. Following the results of this investigation, a proposal for measures to stabilize the endangered monument should be made. The authorities are encouraged to request emergency assistance under the World Heritage Fund for the soil investigation.

(ii) Verify the subsoil stability and foundations of Nizam al-Din´s tomb;

(iii) Prepare a condition report for all other monuments and tombs and establish a prioritized emergency intervention plan;

(iv) Set up a weather station for data collection for monitoring the property;

(v) Request a name change of the World Heritage property to adequately reflect its Outstanding Universal Value.