Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications

• Weakness in the management of the Galle Heritage Foundation in its role as the managing authority for the property
• Potential impact of a proposed port construction on the integrity of the property
• Intrusive and illegal constructions within the Galle cricket ground impacting on the integrity of the property

On 10 December 2015, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/451/documents, which includes the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) of the Galle Port Development (January 2015) and the Integrated Management System (IMS) document (January 2015):

• Galle Port Development Project: The port development has been scaled back from the original proposal and is intended as a tourism port for cruise ships. It is awaiting the approval and funding from JICA Japan;
• Heritage Impact Assessment and Archaeological Impact Assessment: The HIA carried out in 2015 was submitted to the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS for review. While the conclusion of the HIA is largely positive, it also provides a number of recommendations concerning the scale of the project, tourism management and underwater investigation by diving survey. A technical study of the impacts on the maritime archaeological remains was undertaken in 2007. According to the State Party, this assessment remains valid for the now downscaled harbour development project, and it is concluded that there would be no damages to the underwater archaeological remains;
• Integrated Management System: The Ministry of National Heritage, together with the Department of Archaeology and the Galle Heritage Foundation, have prepared the Integrated Management Plan, thereby providing a legal framework for the implementation of actions towards the preservation of the property. Once it receives approval by the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS, it will be ready for official adoption;
• Boundaries and buffer zone: There is no need to extend the boundaries and buffer zone of the property to include the maritime archaeological heritage, as this heritage is not considered representative of the values of the property. In addition, the protection of underwater heritage is already sufficiently provided for under the provisions of the Antiquities Ordinance.

It is noted that the port development project has been significantly scaled back. The terminal quay has been shortened and is intended for tourism cruise ships only. The conclusions of the HIA are largely positive and see the development of the port as having great potential for the development of the area; the major negative impact remains the way new structures in the harbour and at the port will be visible from the property and could affect views of the property from the sea and from the opposite side of the harbour. The HIA provided a series of recommendations in order to minimise this impact on the OUV of the property. They include the need to downsize and relocate the new structures associated with the port as far away from the Fort as possible, undertake further hydrodynamic modelling of the proposed design of the port area, and carry out monitoring of the potential impact on underwater archaeology. The State Party has responded that it is too late to scale back the development and that adequate hydrological modelling has been undertaken.

It is suggested that the Committee request the State Party to provide exact plans for the port development as soon as possible and to indicate how its recommendations have been considered in order to limit the potential impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property. Furthermore, the way development projects will be addressed must be clarified, should the port project be successfully implemented, along with the consequences of increased tourism such as the need for larger buildings. Little has been said about the ways in which future development will be planned or controlled.

According to the HIA, the effects of the changed currents and tidal flows will not have any impact on the marine archaeology. The State Party should consider appointing a marine archaeologist at an early stage during the development to closely observe the impacts of the project, in order to initiate mitigating actions, if necessary. It is noted that the State Party does not consider it necessary to extend the buffer zone to include maritime archaeology, which supports the attributes of OUV, although it should be highlighted that the State Party indicates that this heritage is fully protected under national legislation.

While the Integrated Management System Report contains overall strategies for the management of the property, it remains unclear how and when it will be implemented, how it will reinforce the overall management capacity of the Galle Heritage Foundation, and how far along the process of adopting this system has come – all of which was already requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session. In addition, it is considered that further legislative changes would be required to ensure that the system is functional. A clear funding strategy, including funding for the maintenance of the property, should also be provided. Furthermore, a tourism strategy should be developed to promote and protect the cultural values of the property and ensure sustainable benefits for the local community, particularly from the port project which, if successful, could overwhelm local infrastructure.

The management and conservation of the property remains a concern, particularly in view of the lack of information in the State Party report concerning progress with the revision of the boundaries and with the international cricket stadium project. Therefore, it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, in order to consider the detailed plans for the port project and how it will be managed sustainably to benefit the property and local communities, as well as to examine the overall state of conservation of the property.