Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab)
Factors affecting the property in 2011*
- Housing
- Illegal activities
- Land conversion
- Legal framework
- Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure
- Management systems/ management plan
- Other Threats:
d) Degradation of the mural paintings and the buildings;
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
a) Absence of legislative framework and comprehensive management plan;
b) Absence of coordination mechanisms;
c) Illegal constructions and encroachments;
d) Degradation of the mural paintings and the buildings;
e) Touristic development and absence of visitors management
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2011
Total amount approved : 65,000 USD
2004 | Elaboration of the Management Plan for Ouadi Qadisha ... (Approved) | 20,000 USD |
2001 | Installation of Plaques and Publication of Leaflets to ... (Approved) | 2,500 USD |
1999 | Restoration works in the site of Ouadi Quadisha and the ... (Approved) | 35,000 USD |
1993 | Financial contribution for the preparation of a ... (Approved) | 7,500 USD |
Missions to the property until 2011**
June 2003: World Heritage Centre reactive monitoring mission.
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2011
The State Party did not submit a state of conservation report which was requested by the World Heritage Centre by a letter dated 26 November 2010 in response to information received on the existing situation of the property. The property was last examined by the World Heritage Committee at its 27th session (Paris, 2003). At the time, the State Party was requested to establish an appropriate legal framework for the property, to develop and implement a management plan and to address the integrity of the property by taking the required measures to ensure its protection from illegal constructions and unplanned development.
The retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) for the property was adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010). In this Statement, it is noted that although the elements of the site existed to meet the conditions of integrity and authenticity, their state of conservation was in some cases precarious and that the visual integrity continued to be threatened by human settlements, illegal constructions and tourism developments. As for protection and management, it is stated that new town and buildings plans had been approved and that the Management Plan had been updated in 2007-2008, tools which would provide for better protection of the attributes of the property. However, in the Report on the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the Arab States presented during the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia in 2010, the State Party indicated that urgent implementation of the management plan for the property was still needed, as well as adequate visitor management and the establishment of a buffer zone in which regulations were properly enforced.
During 2010, several reports, including by the Department of Antiquities of the State Party, were received regarding the state of conservation of the property. Factors that threaten the OUV of the property include illegal constructions and commercial and touristic ventures, management of solid waste, pollution, unmanaged public use and visitation, among others. In its April 2010 answer, the World Heritage Centre had encouraged the State Party to urgently submit an International Assistance request in order to revise the Management Plan so as to make it operational, as well as to provide expertise in the field of cultural landscapes and legal issues to reinforce the means of control in the property.
On 26 November 2010, the World Heritage Centre requested official information from the State Party as to actions being implemented to address the situation and announcing the presentation of this report to the next session of the World Heritage Committee, but no official response was received.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2011
The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note the poor state of conservation of the property and the limited recent efforts made to address the conditions at the property which have been highlighted since the time of inscription and in the subsequent reactive monitoring mission. The lack of systematic implementation of the management plan and conservation interventions, as well as the lack of enforcement of existing regulations, appear to threaten the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. They consider that the World Heritage Committee may wish to send a reactive monitoring mission to assess the current state of conservation of the property.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2011
35 COM 7B.52
Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab) (Lebanon) (C 850)
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 27 COM 7B.103, adopted at its 27th session (UNESCO, 2003),
3. Regrets that the State Party did not submit the requested state of conservation report;
4. Expresses its deep concern regarding the state of conservation of the property, in particular the lack of implementation of the Management Plan and conservation interventions, as well as the lack of enforcement of existing regulations, which appear to threaten the Outstanding Universal Value of the property;
5. Requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission to assess the state of conservation of the property;
6. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2012, a report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012.
Draft Decision: 35 COM 7B.52
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 27 COM 7B.103, adopted at its 27th session (UNESCO, 2003),
3. Regrets that the State Party did not submit the requested state of conservation report;
4. Expresses its deep concern regarding the state of conservation of the property, in particular the lack of implementation of the Management Plan and conservation interventions, as well as the lack of enforcement of existing regulations, which appear to threaten the Outstanding Universal Value of the property;
5. Requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission to assess the state of conservation of the property;
6. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2012, a report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012.
* :
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.