Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

a) Delays in revising the Master Plan, including detailed yearly operational plans, adequate budget provisions support;

b) No evaluation of transport options, including geological studies and the development of a study on the impact of buses on landslides;

c) Lack of impact studies on the carrying capacity of the Citadel and Camino Inca;

d) Delays in the development of a Public Use Plan;

e) Delays in implementing the urban planning and control measures for Aguas Calientes;

f) Lack of proper management of the site;

g) Lack of risk management plans related to natural disasters;

h) Lack of adequate coordination of activities between institutions involved in site management.

The State Party of Peru has submitted a detailed State of Conservation Report on the site and on the Master Plan for the property completed and officially approved by both INC and INRENA on 1 June 2005. However, in the last few months the World Heritage Centre has received a number of complaints, sent by the Local Government, on the lack of participatory processes in the preparation, approval and implementation of the Master Plan. Nevertheless, this Master Plan addresses some of the key concerns expressed by the World Heritage Committee in its previous sessions including:

- a mechanism to ensure proper planning and control of urban development in villages located within the property;

- a monitoring programme to resolve conflicts on land ownership. Note that the State Party reports that these problems have been already addressed and solved;

- a revised structure for the Integrated Management Unit has been proposed to enhance cooperation between INC, INRENA and MINCETUR;

- options for solving issues associated with access to the property through implementation of a study on transportation system options. INRENA is already seeking expressions of interest from specialized companies to implement this study.

In addition, according to information from INRENA, it is reported that the project to construct a pilot village in the buffer zone of the property within the framework of the Vilcanota Project will not be implemented. INA and INRENA are also reported to be working with the World Bank to refocus the priorities of the Vilcanota project to promote sustainable tourism activities in this area.

However, the reports do not respond to all the questions raised by the Committee at its 29th Session. No progress has been made on the Public Use Plan, despite the disturbing speculations regarding the possible installation of a cable railway. No substantial progress has been made on the Risk Preparedness Plan, on the work schedule of the Management Unit, or on the Urban Development Plans for the Aguas Calientes Site.

IUCN believes that it is essential to prepare a comprehensive sustainable financing strategy for the management of the property to ensure the necessary financial resources for the implementation of the new Master Plan.

The State Party has shown interest in requesting the cooperation of the World Heritage Centre to organize a workshop to put forward a participatory methodology for the discussion of the Master Plan, which should in particular rely on the participation of the representatives of the organized civil society of the Sacred Valley, but has not submitted the official international assistance request for the World Heritage Fund.

The World Heritage Centre has urgently requested information on the building of a low impact approach way between the area of the Hydroelectric Power Station and the end of the Aguas Calientes railway line, which appears to have become a heavy traffic road crossing the area of maximum protection of the Sanctuary. In addition, IUCN has received reports on a number of forest fires affecting the property and, it is noted that there is a lack of capacity to prevent and control these fires, which can potentially increase the risk of landslides.

The World Heritage Centre considers it essential to send a UNESCO/IUCN/ICOMOS mission to the Sanctuary to work with the State Party on a strategy for the cooperation of all the parties involved in the implementation of the Master Plan, in view of the disturbing lack of progress in implementing the activities scheduled in the Master Plan.