Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor

Earthquake; no new information 1979-2003

The World Heritage Committee, at its 27th session, decided to remove the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger and endorsed the proposal for a Round Table in order to involve all stakeholders in the preparation of a management plan for the property.

The organisation of the Round Table was made possible with the financial support of the German World Heritage Foundation. The meeting gathered some forty national specialists and was organised by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Kotor and its staff. The participants in the Round Table concluded that, given the natural and cultural components of the World Heritage site of Kotor, a concept of integrated conservation and protection is recommended. Full attention should be paid to the entire geographic extension of the site, its cultural landscape, as well as consideration of its intangible values. Particular attention should be paid to the threats to its environmental and aesthetic values by uncontrolled urbanisation and infrastructure development. In the field of restoration, revitalisation and re-use of cultural monuments, international standards should be observed concerning authenticity and integrated conservation and protection.

On 16 February 2004 the World Heritage Centre received a detailed progress report as requested by the Committee.

ICOMOS expressed its appreciation for the fact that the Institute for the Protection of Monuments in Kotor has been requested to coordinate the working group for the development of the management plan, and remarks that the competent authorities provide the Institute with the necessary human resources for carrying out this task.  It also recalled that the State Party provides a legal framework for the management plan. Furthermore, ICOMOS stated that the programme and timeframe for the development of the management plan are appropriate, as is the proposal to organise round tables for each of the development phases. The plan should take into account appropriate measures of territorial and urban planning such as conservation plans for urban areas, guidelines for architectural and landscape restoration, thematic guidelines for developing cultural tourism and revalorise the area (such as data collection on the intangible heritage values of the property, civil and religious traditions).