City of Quito
Factors affecting the property in 1998*
- Earthquake
- Effects arising from use of transportation infrastructure
- Financial resources
- Identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community
- Volcanic eruption
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
- Earthquake of March 1987;
- Overpopulation;
- Heavy traffic
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 1998
UNDP released $130,000 for the work to be undertaken on San Augustin and El Sagrario
Several feasibility studies were outlined during a seminar for which international financing has been identified (UNDP/IDB) concerning:
(i) the development and management of tourism in the historic centre of Quito ($160,000), on the understanding that tourism remains compatible with the master plan;
(ii) the urban rehabilitation of the historic centre ($250,000);
(iii) strengthening of the municipality's planning service ($150,000).
International Assistance: requests for the property until 1998
Total amount approved : 341,800 USD
Missions to the property until 1998**
November 1988: expert mission
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 1998
The UNESCO Representative in Quito, informed the Secretariat on 7 October 1998 that the Volcano Pichincha, in the vicinity of the western part of the City of Quito, had become active after three hundred years. An eruption (most probably stones and acid ashes) could seriously imperil the lives of the inhabitants of villages and the City of Quito and could affect its historic centre and its monuments. The National Geophysical Institute has established a scientific committee with experts from the United States of America to monitor the situation. The Mayor of Quito, who has been assigned by the Government with the responsibility for the crisis management, has approached UNESCO for immediate support for:
- preventive measures at the historic monuments of Quito
- expert advice on planning and management of this type of crisis in urban areas.
At the time of preparation of this document, the Secretariat is in contact with the national authorities, the UNESCO Office in Quito and the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee about the appropriate response to this situation.
The Bureau took note of the information provided by the Secretariat and requested the State Party to keep the Secretariat informed on the situation.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 1998
22 COM VII.43
Reports on the State of Conservation of Cultural Properties Noted by the Committee
VII.43 The Committee noted the decisions of the twenty-second extraordinary session of the Bureau as reflected in the Report of the Bureau session (Working Document WHC-98/CONF.203/5) and included in Annex IV of this report on the following properties:
Rapa Nui National Park (Chile)
The Mountain Resort and Its Outlying Temples in Chengde (China)
The Potala Palace, Lhasa (China)
Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu (China)
Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains (China)
City of Quito (Ecuador)
Memphis and its Necropolis - the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur (Egypt)
Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis (Egypt)
Islamic Cairo (Egypt)
Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn (Estonia)
Collegiate Church, Castle and Old Town in Quedlinburg (Germany)
Historic Centre of Florence (Italy)
Quseir Amra (Jordan)
Luang Prabang (Laos)
Baalbek (Lebanon)
Tyre (Lebanon)
Vilnius Historic Centre (Lithuania)
Old Towns of Djenné (Mali)
City of Cusco (Peru)
Archaeological site of Chavin (Peru)
Historic Centre of Lima (Peru)
The Baroque Churches of the Philippines (The Philippines)
Historic Centre of Porto (Portugal)
Island of Gorée (Senegal)
Sacred City of Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka)
Ancient City of Polonnaruva (Sri Lanka)
Ancient City of Sigiriya (Sri Lanka)
Site of Palmyra (Syrian Arab Republic)
Historic Areas of Istanbul (Turkey)
Kiev: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings (Ukraine)
Complex of Hué Monuments (Vietnam)
Old City of Sana'a (Yemen)
No draft Decision
Ecuador
* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).
** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.
