Historic Inner City of Paramaribo
Factors affecting the property in 2014*
- Legal framework
- Management systems/ management plan
- Other Threats:
Need to implement urgent measurements in Inner City to address decay and erosion of the attributes of the property.
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2014
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 2014**
August 2013: ICOMOS Advisory Mission
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2014
The World Heritage Centre requested the State Party to submit information about conditions at the property and the redevelopment plan at the waterfront. This was submitted and reviewed in 2012 and an ICOMOS Advisory mission was carried out in August 2013 to assess the state of the property. It recommended that the State Party develop an Emergency Plan to identify measures to address factors affecting the property.
The State of conservation report, together with the Emergency Plan approved by the Council of Ministers, was submitted by the State Party on 31 January 2014, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/940/documents/ Current conditions: the mission noted that conservation programmes were not regularly implemented given that funding had not been secured. The State Party reports that a Maintenance Plan will be implemented at all state-owned historic buildings and that tax incentives are being explored for the establishment of a Monuments Fund Suriname to support conservation endeavours.
- Management system: a Management Plan (2011-2015) has been formulated but deficiencies in the legal and institutional frameworks hinder effective management. In particular, the Management Authority (SGES) is not sufficiently empowered and lacks adequate staffing and resources. The State Party notes that a priority action of the Emergency Plan will be the review of the existing Monuments Act of 2002 and to strengthen SGES by developing adequate management tools and increasing resources.
- Construction at the property: the mission noted that the construction of the seawall and traditional steps at the Waterfront were justified due to erosion and floods and did not affect the riverside area and that the Harbour Village project was halted as had been recommended. The State Party reports that a Building Committee of Public works will be established to evaluate designs for new projects within the property and buffer zone. It also mentions that all requests to demolish historic buildings are being rejected.
- Others: The State Party reports that the creation of a third buffer zone is being explored to provide an added layer of protection for the property. It also notes several actions are being implemented to raise awareness and increase capacity building in relation to heritage conservation.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2014
The development of the Emergency Plan recommended by the Advisory Mission and the identification of measures to address current factors at the property is noted. The approval for its implementation is crucial to ensure that adequate attention is placed on matters that currently hinder the efficient management and conservation of the property, in particular the legal and institutional frameworks. The existing Management Plan is considered an important tool to guide decision-making at the property but it needs to be adopted at all government levels to ensure its implementation. Similarly, provisions need to be complemented with the definition of a zoning plan and urban regulations, particularly in relation to new construction and development within the property and its buffer zones, as for example for Building 1790, for Waterkant 20-32 and for Henck Arronstraat 1. The establishment of an additional buffer zone, with appropriate regulatory measures, will also be an important step to enhance the protection of the attributes of the property and its setting.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2014
38 COM 7B.47
Historic Inner City of Paramaribo (C 940rev) (Suriname)
The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
- Recalling Decision 26 COM 23.20, adopted at its 26th session (Budapest, 2002),
- Welcomes the development and approval of the Emergency Action Plan for the property and the efforts being made by the State Party to address conservation and management concerns;
- Urges the State Party to continue with the implementation of actions foreseen, in particular:
- Update and harmonise legislative and regulatory frameworks to address overlaps and strengthen the role of the Management Authority,
- Finalise the formal process for the adoption of the Paramaribo Historic Inner City Management Plan and broadly disseminate its contents to ensure its implementation by all stakeholders,
- Develop a zoning plan and urban regulations to complement existing provisions in the Management Plan,
- Establish the Building Committee of Public Works to evaluate designs for new projects,
- Finalise the formal process for establishing buffer zones and their regulatory measures and submit a proposal for a minor boundary modification, according to the procedure established by the Operational Guidelines, for examination by the World Heritage Committee;
- Acknowledges the State Party’s commitment to ensure that all requests to demolish historic buildings are be rejected;
- Requests the State Party to submit, in accordance to Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines , project proposals for the redevelopment of the Waterfront as well as technical specifications and details about the foreseen conservation and rehabilitation interventions within the property or its buffer zone, for review prior to making commitments to their implementation.
- Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 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 40th session in 2016.
38 COM 8E
Adoption of Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value
The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/8E,
- Congratulates the States Parties for the excellent work accomplished in the elaboration of retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value for World Heritage properties in their territories;
- Adopts the retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value, as presented in the Annex of Document WHC-14/38.COM/8E, for the following World Heritage properties:
- China: Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area;
- Japan: Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu; Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara; Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama; The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome);
- Sri Lanka: Sinharaja Forest;
- Vietnam: Hoi An Ancient Town; Complex of Hué Monuments;
EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA:
- Albania: Butrint;
- Armenia: Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley;
- Austria: Semmering Railway; Wachau Cultural Landscape;
- Azerbaijan: Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower;
- Belarus / Estonia / Finland / Latvia / Lithuania / Moldova / Norway / Russian Federation / Sweden / Ukraine: Struve Geodetic Arc;
- Belgium: Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels); Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes (Mons); Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai; Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex;
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar;
- Cyprus: Paphos;
- Denmark: Ilulissat Icefjord;
- Finland: Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki; Fortress of Suomenlinna; Old Rauma; Petäjävesi Old Church; Verla Groundwood and Board Mill;
- Georgia: Historical Monuments of Mtskheta; Upper Svaneti;
- Germany / Poland: Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski;
- Germany: Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch; Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau; Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at Brühl; Collegiate Church, Castle and Old Town of Quedlinburg; Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz; Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg; Monastic Island of Reichenau; Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin; Pilgrimage Church of Wies; St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim; Völklingen Ironworks; Wartburg Castle; Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square; Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen;
- Holy See / Italy: Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura;
- Holy See: Vatican City;
- Iceland: Þingvellir National Park;
- Italy: Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua; Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta; Historic Centre of Florence; Historic Centre of Naples;
- Lithuania / Russian Federation: Curonian Spit;
- Lithuania: Kernavė Archaeological Site (Cultural Reserve of Kernavė);
- Malta: City of Valletta; Hal Saflieni Hypogeum; Megalithic Temples of Malta;
- Mongolia / Russian Federation: Uvs Nuur Basin;
- Montenegro: Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor;
- Netherlands: Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour, Curaçao;
- Norway: Vegaøyan -- The Vega Archipelago; West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord;
- Poland: Centennial Hall in Wrocław; Historic Centre of Warsaw;
- Portugal: Historic Centre of Évora; Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture; Monastery of Alcobaça; Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon;
- Russian Federation: Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye; Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl; Kizhi Pogost;
- Slovakia: Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve; Vlkolínec;
- Slovenia: Škocjan Caves;
- Spain: Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida; Burgos Cathedral; Historic Centre of Cordoba; Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid; Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias; Mudejar Architecture of Aragon; Old City of Salamanca; Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches; Old Town of Cáceres; Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct; Poblet Monastery; Route of Santiago de Compostela; Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe; San Cristóbal de La Laguna; Santiago de Compostela (Old Town); Works of Antoni Gaudí;
- Turkey: Archaeological Site of Troy; City of Safranbolu; Hattusha: the Hittite Capital; Xanthos-Letoon;
- Ukraine: Kiev: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra;
- United Kingdom: Gough and Inaccessible Islands; Henderson Island; Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda;
- United States of America: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site; Chaco Culture; Independence Hall; Mesa Verde National Park; Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville; Statue of Liberty;
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARRIBBEANS:
- Argentina: Ischigualasto / Talampaya Natural Parks; Los Glaciares; Península Valdés;
- Belize: Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System;
- Bolivia: City of Potosí;
- Brazil: Brasilia; Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia; Historic Centre of São Luís; Historic Centre of the Town of Diamantina; Historic Centre of the Town of Goiás; Historic Centre of the Town of Olinda; Historic Town of Ouro Preto; Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas;
- Colombia: Los Katíos National Park;
- Costa Rica / Panama: Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park;
- Cuba: Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba; San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba; Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos; Viñales Valley;
- Dominican Republic: Colonial City of Santo Domingo;
- Guatemala: Tikal National Park;
- Panama: Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection; Fortifications on the Caribbean Side, Portobelo and San Lorenzo;
- Suriname: Central Suriname Nature Reserve; Historic Inner City of Paramaribo;
4. Decides that retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value for World Heritage properties in Danger will be reviewed by the Advisory Bodies in priority;
5. Further decides that, considering the high number of retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value to be examined, the order in which they will be reviewed by the Advisory Bodies will follow the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting, namely:
- World Heritage properties in the Arab States;
- World Heritage properties in Africa;
- World Heritage properties in Asia and the Pacific;
- World Heritage properties in Latin America and the Caribbean;
- World Heritage properties in Europe and North America;
6. Takes note that the World Heritage Centre is in the process of harmonising all sub-headings in the adopted Statements of Outstanding Universal Value and, as appropriate, reflects name changes of World Heritage properties throughout the text of the Statements as requested by the Committee at its 37th session, and requests the World Heritage Centre to also update the size of the property and/or its buffer zone, as appropriate, following subsequent Decisions of the World Heritage Committee concerning Minor Boundary Modifications.
7. Requests the States Parties to provide support to the World Heritage Centre for translation of the adopted Statements of Outstanding Universal Value into English or French respectively, and finally requests the Centre to upload the two language versions on its website.
Draft Decision: 38 COM 7B.47
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 26 COM 23.20, adopted at its 26th session (Budapest, 2002),
3. Welcomes the development and approval of the Emergency Action Plan for the property and the efforts being made by the State Party to address conservation and management concerns;
4. Urges the State Party to continue with the implementation of actions foreseen, in particular:
a) Update and harmonise legislative and regulatory frameworks to address overlaps and strengthen the role of the Management Authority,
b) Finalise the formal process for the adoption of the Paramaribo Historic Inner City Management Plan and broadly disseminate its contents to ensure its implementation by all stakeholders,
c) Develop a zoning plan and urban regulations to complement existing provisions in the Management Plan,
d) Finalise the formal process for establishing buffer zones and their regulatory measures and submit a proposal for a minor boundary modification, according to the procedure established by the Operational Guidelines, for examination by the World Heritage Committee;
5. Requests the State Party to submit, in accordance to Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, project proposals for the redevelopment of the Waterfront as well as technical specifications and details about the foreseen conservation and rehabilitation interventions within the property or its buffer zone, for review prior to making commitments to their implementation.
6. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2016, 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 40th session in 2016.
SurinameDocuments examined by the Committee
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.
