Butrint

• Difficult financial situation
• Need for monitoring of the situation at the site

WHC:

The Secretariat has been informed that the Government of Albania has decided to nominate the site and the neighbouring area to the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat. To date, this nomination is under examination. Furthermore, the Secretariat has been informed that a decree - rather than a law - may be proposed for the legal protection and management of the World Heritage site. A letter was sent to the Permanent Delegation of Albania on 12 February 2003 requesting some information on the consequences it would have for the protection level of the site. In addition, the Secretariat has been informed that a large tourist development project is currently foreseen by the Albanian authorities in the immediate vicinity of the World Heritage site. A letter was sent on 28 February 2003 to the Permanent Delegation of Albania to UNESCO.

On 14 March 2003 the World Heritage Centre received copies of the translation of two newspaper articles stating that the Albanian Minister of Culture is considering the possibility of allowing the construction of tourist resorts in the National Park and to suspend the archaeological excavations carried out by the Butrint Foundation (Koha Jone, 14 March 2003). In another article (Korrieri, February 28 2003), some contradictory information is given about the excavation activities of the past years in the area by British archaeologists.

On 27 March 2003 the Centre received a copy of a letter from the World Bank to the Albanian Prime Minister concerning planned construction activities within or close to the World Heritage site of Butrint. In this letter the Bank ‘strongly recommends that any residential or commercial developments should be considered only after appropriate land use study and environmental assessment are carried out’, and that the Bank is aware ‘of continuing reported attempts to encroach on the Butrint National Park, or pursue other developments in its immediate vicinity’. 

On 1 April 2003 the Permanent Delegation of Albania sent a report from the Albanian Minister of Culture wherein the Centre is informed about the extension of the members’ composition of the Board of the National Park of Butrint, about the fact that the duties and policies that each of the members of the Board have planned to develop in the Butrint Park are clearly identified in a yearly Agreement between the members of this Board; that the identification, priorities and time schedule of the preservation works  to be carried out by the Cultural Monuments Institute are clearly identified in the Agreement and that the Albanian Council of Ministers is discussing a draft decision ‘on the Functioning of the Administration and Coordination office of the National Park of Butrint; Moreover, the report lists the legal framework that has been developed since 1992 and confirms that the Albanian Parliament ratified the RAMSAR Convention and that the new law for cultural heritage has already been adopted by the Council of Ministers.

This report also states that all illegal construction built within the boundaries of the park has been demolished, and it is noted that there is no decision of the Council of Ministers giving license to build inside the spaces of the National Park.

In addition to the information above, the Centre was informed on 14 April 2003, that the cultural heritage law of Albania was passed in the Albanian parliament. This would lead to an important step in the protection of Butrint.