Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System

Threats identified at the time of the inscription of the property in 2014:

• Interpretative and visitation facilities
• Earthquake vulnerability
• Management systems (management and conservation plans under development should integrate adequate risk preparedness and disaster management plans, as well as visitor management strategies)
• Management activities (Geographic Information System to be developed)

Total amount granted: USD 450,000 for the project “Support to the reinforcement of the participative management structure of the Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System” (UNESCO/Japans Funds-in-Trust-for World Heritage) (Currently under approval by the Donor)

On 30 November 2015, the States Parties submitted a joint state of conservation report available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1459/documents, which indicates the following:

• A technical meeting was held in Cusco in March 2015 where all six States Parties confirmed their engagement to ensure the effective implementation of the Management System for the property, in particular by the creation of the international Committee, composed of the technical committee and its first Pro Tempore Secretariat in Peru. In close cooperation with the World Heritage Centre, a project entitled “Support to the reinforcement of the participative management structure of the Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System” was elaborated to be funded by the UNESCO/Japan Fund in Trust (JFIT) for World Heritage with the objective to support the establishment of a monitoring system with specific indicators for the state of conservation of the property, and in a more general sense, to reinforce the management mechanism to respond adequately to the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) ;
• Each State Party is developing participatory management and conservation plans. The executive summary of the “Master Plan for the Conservation and Management of Qhapaq Ñan-Chile” has been finalized in 2014 and was submitted as sample of progress.
• A “Worksheet for risk assessment of natural and/or anthropic occurrences” and its model synthesis, attached to the report, are presented as a methodology model. A “Synthesis and analysis Worksheet” is under development to provide an overall picture of the location of critical areas.
• A geoportal, which will enable the visualisation of a navigable map which synthetically integrates all significant information, is currently under development through the GeoNode programme.
• The six States Parties have concluded the extension of various buffer zones, as requested by the Committee: Angualasto (Argentina) has been extended to 13, 889.65 ha including the road (Colangüil-Angualasto) and associated archaeological sites (Punta de Barro and Angualasto). The Ministry of Culture of Peru and the Municipality of Cieneguilla are working in the definition of a shared buffer zone for the archaeological sites of Molle and Huaycán, and thus have developed a first proposal map. Socialisation processes for acknowledgment by the communities of the buffer zone of the segment Pancca Buena Vista-Chuquibambilla and for the definition of new limits connecting the segments Cerro Jircancha – Cerro Torre and Maraycalla – Inca Misana took place, both agreed by minutes signed on September and October 2015 respectively. After evaluation of the considerations made by UNESCO and the Advisory Bodies regarding the definition of buffer zones, the six States Parties concluded that their current buffer zones are now well adapted to protect the property. Moreover, Peru and Argentina have extended the buffer zones of nine segments of the property.
• In October 2015, a first training meeting took place in Ecuador where a coordinated group was established to formulate a methodology and tools for the elaboration of Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs). The project developed within the framework of JFIT will also contribute to reinforce capacity building regarding this particular aspect.
• It was reported that in the nomination process, the six States Parties elaborated ethnographic and oral record sheets identifying the attributes related to criterion (vi) in each segment of the property. The whole set of sheets, including the elaborated ethnographic thematic maps, are attached to the report as they were only partly included in the Nomination File. The JFTI project will also contribute to the establishment of a monitoring system of intangible heritage elements associated to the property.

The implementation of the overarching management structure through the establishment of the International Committee and the first Pro Tempore Secretariat is noted as a first step toward the implementation of an effective Management System for the property as pledged by the six States Parties at the time of the inscription of the property.

Even though the adoption of the platform used during the Second cycle of the Periodic Reporting process as a guiding model for the development of a “Monitoring System Matrix” for the property is noted, much progress is needed in order to establish an integral monitoring system to ensure the integrity and authenticity of the property. 

In this sense, the Committee may wish to note with appreciation the elaboration of the project “Support to the reinforcement of the participative management structure of the Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System” to be financed by the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust (JFIT), in coordination with the World Heritage Centre, in order to answer many of the recommendations of the Committee, particularly the reinforcement of management capacities at national and local level. The project is currently under approval by the Donor.

Progress is noted in the elaboration of Conservation and Management Plans through the submission of the executive summary of the “Master Plan for the Conservation and Management of Qhapaq Ñan-Chile”. However, it is imperative to complete the elaboration of the remaining segments of the property.

The elaboration of a “Worksheet for risk assessment of natural and/or anthropic occurrences” and its subsequent proposal “Worksheet of synthesis and analysis” to provide an overall picture of the location of critical areas is welcomed. Moreover, the development of a comprehensive Risk Management Plan and capacity building activities associated within the framework of the abovementioned extra-budgetary project is encouraged.

The adoption of the GeoNode programme for the development of a geoportal which will feature a navigable plan illustrating all significant information regarding thematic maps, technical reports and others are welcomed. It is expected that the portal will be available to all site managers and institutions concerned with the management and conservation of the property as well as the visitors for their better understanding of the integral significance of the cultural route.

Moreover, it is recommended that the Committee commend the States Parties for their efforts in the extension of the buffer zones of the property to include landscape features, in particular the redefinition of the buffer zones of nine segments located in Argentina and Peru. In this sense, it is also recommended that the Committee encourage the States Parties to continue their efforts until finalizing the establishment of all buffer zones and property boundaries, as requested by the Committee.

The establishment of a coordinated group to formulate the methodology, tools and roadmap for the elaboration of HIAs is acknowledged. It is to be underscored that HIAs remain of upmost importance in the event of any significant development project in order to protect the important landscape features around the cultural route. In this sense, it is expected that the States Parties will progress in the framework of the implementation of the JFIT project.

The submission of the whole set of ethnographic and oral record sheets, along with their ethnographic thematic maps is noted. However, the initiative to develop a monitoring system of intangible heritage and the implications in terms of management of the property needs to be ensured within the framework of the implementation of the JFIT project.