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Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso

Chile
Factors affecting the property in 2014*
  • Commercial development
  • Housing
  • Legal framework
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Marine transport infrastructure
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Interventions planned at the port, such as the Barón Port and the Prat Dock, as well as for touristic facilities and real estate projects;
  • Fragmentation of competencies and mandates by sectors and by different levels of government, as well as by the different types of specific protection and use of different areas, does not allow for the management of the property with respect to its Outstanding Universal Value and within a broader perspective.
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2014
Requests approved: 1 (from 2010-2010)
Total amount approved : 140,688 USD
Missions to the property until 2014**

November 2013: ICOMOS Advisory Mission

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2014

An ICOMOS advisory mission visited the property in November 2013 (report available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/959/documents/. Subsequently, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report on 3 February 2014, which reports progress in a number of conservation issues:

  • The National Urban Development Policy, adopted in 2013, will contribute to promote a more integral management of the property.
  • The third and final formulation phase for the Valparaíso Heritage Management Guiding Plan (DGP) has started.
  • A World Heritage Commission has been created to improve institutional coordination and definition of conservation policies.
  • A Bill for reforming the National Monuments Law has been submitted which will require the creation of the Regional National Council for Monuments empowered to facilitate management.
  • The Urban Technical Board has been created to coordinate territorial planning and achieve a comprehensive vision of the property.
  • A Technical Board for the Historic Quarter, established with the participation of Valparaíso Port Enterprise, aims to coordinate the DGP with the Port Master Plan.

Regarding the development project at Puerto Barón, it is reported that:

  • The project has been granted a building permit.
  • The responsible national authority has authorised the intervention at the Simón Bolívar warehouse.
  • Only excavation works were performed and due to archaeological findings they were stopped until the Archaeological Management Plan is approved.
  • The Court ruled on the temporary interruption of works after the injunction submitted by citizens’ organizations.
  • A decision by the Environment Superintendent’s Office is still pending on the issue of entering the project into the Impact Assessment System.

The report also refers to the Expansion of Terminal 2 at the port and notes that it must be executed without altering the city’s heritage and environmental values and its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). When the Project is submitted to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System, background information will be sent to the World Heritage Centre.

The Advisory mission analysed the existing planning tools and the involvement of diverse stakeholders in conservation endeavours. It underscored however that a broader approach is needed for the management of the property, particularly in relation to the reconciling of development needs of a port city with its heritage. The management structure for the property also needs to be enhanced to ensure coordinated decision-making, as there are different actions with mandates over the property. In relation to the Puerto Baron development project, the mission noted that the project proposal entailed a new urban form that would rupture the urban landscape of Valparaiso but also underscored a larger issue, related to the future development of the heritage city and its relation with the functioning port.

Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2014

It is noted that the State Party and the Municipality of Valparaíso has made efforts in addressing the state of conservation of the World Heritage property and in developing planning tools and setting up a regulatory framework to enhance protection and management.

The Management Plan is considered to have an overall good technical quality but there is a need to embrace a broader approach to the interpretation and management of the attributes of the World Heritage property and, consequently, to make the necessary adjustments to take into consideration the cultural landscape aspects by integrating other heritage attributes related to the OUV into the same management structure. The Historical Urban Landscape (HUL) approach could be considered a source of reference to undertake this review. In its current phase, the Management Plan does not take into account the important cultural relations existing between the protected area and the rest of the city, including the port, as an integrated whole.

It is also noted that deficiencies remain in the management to ensure that overlapping mandates are integrated into consistent policies for decision making for the property and its buffer zone. It is crucial that larger coordination exists in order to reconcile development proposals with the conservation of the attributes of the property. In particular, decision-making should be articulated between the national and municipal authorities and the Port Enterprise of Valparaiso, as well as with representatives of other economic sectors of the city and the civil society. This coordination should be legally adopted to ensure the sustainability of the management arrangements.

The expansion projects for Terminal 2 of the Port and the Mall Plaza Barón may have a negative impact on the OUV of the property. Therefore, it is recommended that Environmental and Heritage Impact assessments be carried out to evaluate alternatives for use and land use occupation of the ocean border, to inform potential review and to identify mitigation actions. The review process should also take into account the options for public access and visits to the port precincts.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2014
38 COM 7B.41
Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso (Chile) (C 959rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.95, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
  3. Appreciates the efforts made by the State Party to fund and organize the Advisory mission conducted in November 2013 and encourages it to implement the recommendations contained in the mission report;
  4. Takes note of the work undertaken by the national and municipal authorities, and the contributions from sectors of civil society, to elaborate a Management Plan and promote the conservation of the property and encourages the State Party to adopt a broader approach in the formulation of planning tools in relation to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, considering the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach to formulate integrated policies for conservation and development;
  5. Also encourages the State Party to review the Management Plan to incorporate provisions for attributes related to the cultural landscape aspects of the city (such as the shoreline, the geographical amphitheatre, the elevators, the Bodegas Bolivar; the docks Espigon and Barón, important buildings in the flat area and the remains of the old railway system);
  6. Considering that management arrangements are insufficient, urges the State Party to create a management structure to ensure coordination among the main entities with mandates and the property and enhance decision-making for the property;
  7. Requests the State Party to undertake, before commencing works for the planned expansion project in Terminal 2, an Environmental and Heritage Impact Assessment, to identify potential impacts and define mitigation measures to ensure that the OUV of the property is not negatively impacted, and submit these documents to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies by 30 November 2014;
  8. Notes with concern that the proposed project of Puerto Barón Mall may affect the OUV of the property and requests the State Party to define in a multisectorial group constituted by all relevant stakeholders, in particular the Site Manager, the Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales (National Monuments Council) and the Ministry of Transports and Telecommunications, alternative architectural designs that take into account the attributes of the property and submit them to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies by 30 November 2014, prior to making commitments to implementation;
  9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.
Draft Decision:   38 COM 7B.41

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,

2.  Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.95, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),

3.  Appreciates the efforts made by the State Party to fund and organize the Advisory mission conducted in November 2013 and encourages it to implement the recommendations contained in the mission report;

4.  Takes note of the work undertaken by the national and municipal authorities, and the contributions from sectors of civil society, to elaborate a Management Plan and promote the conservation of the property and encourages the State Party to adopt a broader approach in the formulation of planning tools in relation to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, considering the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach to formulate integrated policies for conservation and development;

5.  Also encourages the State Party to review the Management Plan to incorporate provisions for attributes related to the cultural landscape aspects of the city (such as the shoreline, the geographical amphitheatre, the elevators, the Bodegas Bolivar; the docks Espigon and Barón, important buildings in the flat area and the remains of the old railway system);

6.  Considering that management arrangements are insufficient, urges the State Party to create a management structure to ensure coordination among the main entities with mandates and the property and enhance decision-making for the property;

7.  Notes with concern that the expansion projects for Terminal 2 of the Port and Puerto Barón Mall may affect the OUV of the property and requests the State Party to halt interventions in Puerto Baron and the Seaport area until the Environmental and Heritage Impact Assessment are undertaken and submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;

8.  Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.

Report year: 2014
Chile
Date of Inscription: 2003
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iii)
Documents examined by the Committee
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2014) .pdf
arrow_circle_right 38COM (2014)
Exports

* : 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.


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