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Tipasa

Algeria
Factors affecting the property in 2019*
  • Deliberate destruction of heritage
  • Erosion and siltation/ deposition
  • Housing
  • Human resources
  • Illegal activities
  • Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation
  • Management activities
  • Marine transport infrastructure
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Natural degradation caused by littoral erosion, marine salt and vegetation covering part of the inscribed sectors
  • Deterioration of the remains due to vandalism, theft and uncontrolled visitation causing accumulation of rubbish
  • Urbanisation on the outskirts of the property where, in the absence of a defined buffer zone, illegal construction provokes land disputes
  • Lack of capacities for site conservation, unsuitable restoration techniques, and poor conservation conditions for the archaeological remains
  • Proposed port development
  • Management activities
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2019

Total amount granted: USD 9,564 from the Italian Funds-in-Trust

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2019
Requests approved: 6 (from 1989-2001)
Total amount approved : 75,900 USD
Missions to the property until 2019**

2002: World Heritage Centre and experts missions; March 2006: joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission; April 2017: joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2019

On 29 November 2018, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/193/documents/. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in this report, as follows:

  • The Ministry of Culture’s National Office of Management and Exploitation of Protected Cultural Properties (OGEBC) has undertaken the rehabilitation or replacement of the perimeter security fences at the three components of the World Heritage property. Guardhouses and secondary access points have also been created, and lifebuoys have been placed at high-risk zones. The OGEBC is also carrying out studies for signage as well as peripheral lighting. Some of these projects have been completed and some are in progress;
  • The Ministry of Culture has established in Tipasa the first Algerian mosaic conservation and restoration workshop, which has been operational since June 2018. The establishment of this workshop was made possible through partnerships with the Getty Foundation, ICCROM, and others;
  • A study on the development of an updated Management Plan for the Tipasa archaeological site has been launched. The Plan (completion date unspecified) will include an inventory of the values of the property, the attributes that underlie its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and the factors that might affect its state of conservation and/or integrity. It will also propose concrete actions for the property’s conservation, development, and improvement;
  • A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for the port development project was resumed and was completed in September 2018. It is currently under review by the OGEBC and the Ministry of Culture;
  • The project to reinforce the cliff is currently on hold. The State Party advises that a reinforcement proposal was forwarded to the World Heritage Centre in April 2018 for review, and that an expert mission aimed at examining less aggressive reinforcement solutions that would better integrate with the cliff’s natural environment would be needed;
  • An additional 16 security guards were recruited during 2017-2018, bringing the total to 85. Four security officers were also recruited, in addition to two archaeologists (bringing the total to six) and an architect specialized in heritage.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2019

The State Party has outlined the progress made in improving the safety, security, monitoring, maintenance, and documentation of the property, all of which represent positive steps. While the proposed solar panel lampposts have been reduced in size, they seem to form a very dense grouping around the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania. It is recommended that this planned intervention be reviewed to ensure that the most appropriate solution is implemented. It is also recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to continue the implementation of the Plan for the Protection and Development of Tipasa Archaeological Sites (PPMVSA) and the guidelines for monitoring the urban development around the property, following the approach of the 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape Recommendation, including any visual impacts on the OUV of the property.

The establishment of a mosaic conservation and restoration workshop is a noteworthy step that would improve capacities of the State Party, particularly for the property. A study on the development of an updated Management Plan is underway, though no timeframe has been provided.

The completion by the State Party of a final version of the HIA for the port development project is welcomed and should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review. The main issues in the port development project are related to the protection of the shore from large storm waves and future rising sea levels. They are also related to the issue of integration of protective works and port structures in a way that is more in harmony with the natural landscape. A revision of the landscape project is also recommended, particularly regarding the choice of materials, in order to ensure integration within the property.

It is recommended that the Committee reiterate its request to the State Party to take into consideration the full range and substance of the recommendations made in the April 2017 Advisory mission report.  This includes the submission of the final version of the HIA for the port development project, integrating the landscaping of the jetty built between 2006 and 2009 with the port development project, continuing the suspension of work on an embankment wall at the foot of the cliff pending further reflection, and organizing an expert meeting to examine experiences at other World Heritage properties with issues similar to those of Tipasa. It is also recommended that the Committee request the State Party to reconsider the mission’s recommendation to extend the buffer zone to the maritime domain, which the State Party noted was rejected because of the wish to consider the maritime area as an “integral conservation area.” Recommendations concerning the protection of “Crique” beach should also be taken into account.

Concerning the cliff to the west of the port, the studies carried out thus far at the instigation of the State Party are insufficient to elaborate an adequate mitigation strategy. The embankment project for the prevention of landslides should be based on a clear geomorphological model with reliable soil and rock geotechnical information, and a stability study. The appearance of the planned stepped and planted wall should be further clarified by means of detailed illustrative material. Design and implementation should be preceded by archaeological surveys.

As for the problem of rainwater stagnation on the archaeological remains, an exploratory project is scheduled in 2019. The 2017 mission recommended conducting archaeological surveys to identify the old water drainage systems and to explore the possibility of making them operational as a first step in addressing this problem.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2019
43 COM 7B.41
Tipasa (Algeria) (C 193)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.74, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
  3. Takes note of the progress being made by the State Party to improve the safety, security, monitoring, maintenance, and documentation of the property, and recommends that the lighting system be reviewed to ensure the most appropriate solution possible is being implemented;
  4. Encourages the State Party to continue the implementation of the Plan for the Protection and Development of Tipasa Archaeological Sites (PPMVSA) and the guidelines for monitoring the urban development around the property following the approach of the 2011 Historic Urban Landscape Recommendation, including any visual impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
  5. Reiterates its request to the State Party to finalize and submit the updated Management Plan to the World Heritage Centre, for examination by the Advisory Bodies;
  6. Also reiterates its request to the State Party to take into account the full range and substance of the recommendations made in the April 2017 Advisory mission, and in particular:
    1. Submit the final version of the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for the port development project to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies,
    2. Integrate the landscaping of the jetty built between 2006 and 2009 with the port development project in order to mitigate the jetty’s visual impact and integrate it into the landscape,
    3. Continue the suspension of work on an embankment wall at the foot of the cliff pending further reflection in order to find a more suitable solution from a technical and landscape point of view, and submit this solution to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies,
    4. Organize an expert meeting to examine experiences at other World Heritage properties where issues similar to those of Tipasa have been addressed and satisfactory solutions envisaged,
    5. Consider once again an extension to the buffer zone to include the maritime domain in order to prevent future interventions that are likely to have a visual impact on the OUV of the property;
  7. Reiterates its concern about the possible negative effect of rainwater runoff and its stagnation on the archaeological structures, and again urges the State Party to consider the solution proposed by the 2017 Advisory mission concerning the execution of archaeological surveys to identify and, if possible, operationalize the old rainwater drainage systems;
  8. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session in 2021.
Draft Decision: 43 COM 7B.41

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.74, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
  3. Takes note of the progress being made by the State Party to improve the safety, security, monitoring, maintenance, and documentation of the property, and recommends that the lighting system be reviewed to ensure the most appropriate solution possible is being implemented;
  4. Encourages the State Party to continue the implementation of the Plan for the Protection and Development of Tipasa Archaeological Sites (PPMVSA) and the guidelines for monitoring the urban development around the property following the approach of the 2011 Historic Urban Landscape Recommendation, including any visual impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
  5. Reiterates its request to the State Party to finalize and submit the updated Management Plan to the World Heritage Centre, for examination by the Advisory Bodies;
  6. Also reiterates its request to the State Party to take into account the full range and substance of the recommendations made in the April 2017 Advisory mission, and in particular:
    1. Submit the final version of the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for the port development project to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies,
    2. Integrate the landscaping of the jetty built between 2006 and 2009 with the port development project in order to mitigate the jetty’s visual impact and integrate it into the landscape,
    3. Continue the suspension of work on an embankment wall at the foot of the cliff pending further reflection in order to find a more suitable solution from a technical and landscape point of view, and submit this solution to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies,
    4. Organize an expert meeting to examine experiences at other World Heritage properties where issues similar to those of Tipasa have been addressed and satisfactory solutions envisaged,
    5. Consider once again an extension to the buffer zone to include the maritime domain in order to prevent future interventions that are likely to have a visual impact on the OUV of the property;
  7. Reiterates its concern about the possible negative effect of rainwater runoff and its stagnation on the archaeological structures, and again urges the State Party to consider the solution proposed by the 2017 Advisory mission concerning the execution of archaeological surveys to identify and, if possible, operationalize the old rainwater drainage systems;
  8. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session in 2021.
Report year: 2019
Algeria
Date of Inscription: 1982
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iii)(iv)
Danger List (dates): 2002-2006
Documents examined by the Committee
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2018) .pdf
arrow_circle_right 43COM (2019)
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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