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Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta

Pakistan
Factors affecting the property in 2019*
  • Deliberate destruction of heritage
  • Earthquake
  • Erosion and siltation/ deposition
  • Housing
  • Illegal activities
  • Land conversion
  • Management activities
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Other climate change impacts
  • Solid waste
  • Other Threats:

    Stability of the foundations (earth mechanics) of the Jam Nizamuddin tomb

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Deliberate destruction of heritage
  • Earthquake
  • Erosion and siltation/ deposition
  • Housing
  • Illegal activities
  • Land conversion
  • Management activities
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Other climate change impacts
  • Solid waste
  • Other Threats: Stability of the foundations (earth mechanics) of the Jam Nizamuddin II tomb
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2019

Total amount granted: USD 30,000 from UNESCO Regular Programme Funds for condition survey of Jam Nizamuddin tomb (2011); USD 33,000 from Netherlands Funds-In-Trust: Emergency assessment and immediate response to damages caused by the floods (2012); Emergency assessment and immediate response to damages caused by the floods (2012); USD 600,065 from the UNESCO/Republic of Korea Funds-in-Trust project for Sustainable Development and Community Involvement Initiatives (SDCI) for World Heritage properties in Bangladesh and Pakistan, in particular for this property

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2019
Requests approved: 0 (from 2014-2014)
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 2019**

November-December 2006: Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission; October 2010: World Heritage Centre fact-finding mission to the property following the major flood that devastated the area in August 2010; May 2012: Joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission; April 2016: Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission; April 2016: joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission; January 2019 joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2019

On 28 November 2018, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, followed by an additional submission on 15 January 2019. Subsequently, a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property in January 2019 (all three reports are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/143/documents/).

The State Party reports conservation activities are continuing, including:

  • Monitoring of analogue crack monitors;
  • Installation of digital monitoring devices at the tomb of Jam Nizzamuddin II and expert assessment of and recommendations for its stabilization;
  • Monitoring of data from the three weather stations;
  • Continuing process of drafting a Management Plan for the property and a new process to draft a Visitor Plan and implement a visitor survey;
  • Drainage repair and general maintenance, including conservation work and additional stabilization of structures in danger of collapse, often supported by international funding bodies;
  • Augmentation of the inventory for displaced architectural elements;
  • Photo and drawing documentation of structures;
  • Execution of a detailed Disaster Risk Reduction study at various places of the site;
  • Removal of illegal structures and progress in completing the boundary wall;
  • Identification of an area outside to property for contemporary burials and consultation with communities, while noting that sporadic illegal burials are still taking place;
  • Monitoring the property by security guards.

The report also mentions a single event of focused vandalism at the property. The perpetrator was caught while damaging the Jam Nizzamuddin II tomb and was taken into custody.

It is further reported that the draft Management Plan was to be completed by January 2019, in time for the Reactive Monitoring mission visit to the property.

The State Party’s additional submission included a report on a newly drafted policy for interventions. This policy directs that a conservation philosophy must be drafted and will steer stakeholder engagement. It also grades monuments in the property according to their significance and risk, prioritising interventions accordingly. Further capacity building activities have focussed on the cause, effect and monitoring of building movement, drone and laser scanning and monitoring. These activities are part of the 2017 protocol review concerning fallen decorative architectural elements and management systems.

Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2019

The efforts of the State Party note the improving demarcation, management and state of conservation of the property, including relocation of encroaching constructions from the property, improved monitoring, and the installation of an area for contemporary burials outside the property have contributed to its improved state of conservation. Unfortunately, the Management Plan requested by the Committee since 2007 (31 COM 7B.85) has not yet been completed and submitted for review. The 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission reports some progress in this regard but the actual implementation of the Master Plan, finalized in 2016, remains also unclear. The mission also reports that a regulatory plan for the buffer zone has not been drafted.

The 2019 mission further concluded that improvements in the protocols of documentation and facilities for the storage of displaced architectural elements and inventory system are urgently required, the full details of which still need to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre as previously requested (41 COM 7B.97). Protocols regarding the systematic monitoring, prioritizing of conservation interventions and a visitor management, disaster management, and emergency response plan are urgently required. 

The mission also reported that some consolidation and restoration projects implemented by third parties have not always been coordinated with the site management. Such coordination was previously requested by the Committee (41 COM 7B.97). The conservation philosophy proposed by the State Party may meet these needs once implemented. 

The State Party relies heavily on the expertise of external consultants. Capacity building therefore remains a priority, as does awareness raising among the local population, considering the living aspects of the property.

Many of the requests of the Committee in 2017 (41 COM 7B.97) remain unfulfilled. The overall monitoring and maintenance of the site – including weather monitoring, monitoring of cracks in monuments, litter collection, access control, signage and site security – continue to improve. Wind-borne salinity poses a permanent problem that is not being addressed. Careful study of this factor is required and a strategy should be developed to monitor and mitigate the effects on the monuments, insofar as is feasible. 

An investigation of the underlying ground with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is required to safeguard potential archaeological remains at the tomb of Jam Nizzamuddin II before implementation of stabilisation measures. The upper balcony of the building should also be stabilized.

While the general state of conservation of the property has improved, a number of important monuments, and the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property itself, remain under threat. The State Party should be offered a further opportunity to urgently complete required tools and actions, particularly the submission of the Management Plan. These tools and actions also include an emergency risk preparedness and visitor management components, substantive improvements to the inventory and storage systems for displaced elements and remaining architectural surface decoration, submission of the request for minor boundary modification, further conservation work on important monuments, and coordination of conservation activities according to clear standards.

The Committee has requested a number of these actions over an extended period and it is therefore recommended that the Committee request the State Party to implement all recommendations of the 2019 mission and to inform the World Heritage Centre of any major projects, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines. In the absence of substantial progress, the Committee may want to consider the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger at its 44th session in 2020.  

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2019
43 COM 7B.73
Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta (Pakistan) (C 143)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.97, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
  3. Acknowledges that the investment and preservation efforts of the State Party in recent years, the capacity building of the management and conservation staff, stabilization of some of the property’s monuments and an improved demarcation of the property through further construction of boundary walls and removal of encroaching constructions have contributed to the general improved condition of the property;
  4. Notes the conclusions of the 2019 joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission and requests that the State Party implement its recommendations, including:
    1. Implementation of the Master Plan for the property by establishing a proper and comprehensive Management Plan, including accompanying action plans with clear timeframes,
    2. Improving and formalizing the management structure for the property, defining an official mission statement for the overall management, carrying out a needs assessment related to staff capacity building and implementing programmes to address shortcomings,
    3. Establishing a clear protocol for prioritizing of interventions and developing a risk preparedness strategy,
    4. Coordination of international and external cooperation and associated fundraising with intervention priorities based on ethical and technical principles and criteria for collaboration,
    5. Developing an Action Plan with a clear timeline and resources for the stabilization and conservation of the tomb of Jam Nizamuddin II and implementation thereof after its review by the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies,
    6. Establishing a secure storage facility for the most important displaced architectural elements and urgently implementing a clear documentation system and protocol after submission for review by the Advisory Bodies, enabling systematic recording of important detached architectural elements,
    7. Establishing a systematic monitoring system for all principal monuments that includes close inspection of fragile components and recording of any noted changes from an extensive baseline photographic database, as well as a maintenance system for the property,
    8. Completion of the boundary wall construction, and submission of a minor boundary modification request adopting the boundaries identified in 2013, to the World Heritage Centre;
  5. Noting that important requests made by the Committee remain to be fully addressed and implemented, also requests these be completed, implemented, and reported to the World Heritage Centre urgently, including:
    1. The completion and submission of a Management Plan for the property taking into account the findings and recommendations of the 2019 mission for review,
    2. The completion and submission for review of a regulatory plan for the proposed buffer zone,
    3. Assessment of monuments in danger of collapse and their stabilisation, while ensuring their implementation will not cause further harm, especially at the tomb of Jam Nizzamuddin II where an investigation of the underlying ground with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is required before implementation of stabilization interventions;
  6. Further requests that the Management Plan currently being developed include components covering:
    1. Programmes to record and analyse data from weather stations and crack monitors to ensure that and these results contribute directly to the management and conservation of the property and its monuments,
    2. Visitor management,
    3. Coordination of third party support and interventions,
    4. Emergency preparedness,
    5. Monitoring of the property and its constituent monuments and displaced architectural elements,
    6. Protocols for stakeholder engagement and community education programmes,
    7. A detailed management structure with clear definitions of the site management’s mission, for roles and tasks for all staff engaged in the conservation and management of the property;
  7. Requests furthermore the State Party continue to provide short- and mid-term training programmes for the staff of the Department of Archaeology focussed on the management and long-term conservation of the property, its constituent monuments and architectural and decorative elements belonging to them;
  8. Requests moreover that the State Party initiate a mid-term project to study the effects of wind-borne salinity on the monuments and develop feasible mitigation measures to reduce this impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
  9. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, 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 44th session in 2020.
Draft Decision: 43 COM 7B.73

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.97, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
  3. Acknowledges that the investment and preservation efforts of the State Party in recent years, the capacity building of the management and conservation staff, stabilization of some of the property’s monuments and an improved demarcation of the property through further construction of boundary walls and removal of encroaching constructions have contributed to the general improved condition of the property;
  4. Notes the conclusions of the 2019 joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission and requests that the State Party implement its recommendations, including:
    1. Implementation of the Master Plan for the property by establishing a proper and comprehensive Management Plan, including accompanying action plans with clear timeframes,
    2. Improving and formalizing the management structure for the property, defining an official mission statement for the overall management, carrying out a needs assessment related to staff capacity building and implementing programmes to address shortcomings,
    3. Establishing a clear protocol for prioritizing of interventions and developing a risk preparedness strategy,
    4. Coordination of international and external cooperation and associated fundraising with intervention priorities based on ethical and technical principles and criteria for collaboration,
    5. Developing an Action Plan with a clear timeline and resources for the stabilization and conservation of the tomb of Jam Nizamuddin II and implementation thereof after its review by the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies,
    6. Establishing a secure storage facility for the most important displaced architectural elements and urgently implementing a clear documentation system and protocol after submission for review by the Advisory Bodies, enabling systematic recording of important detached architectural elements,
    7. Establishing a systematic monitoring system for all principal monuments that includes close inspection of fragile components and recording of any noted changes from an extensive baseline photographic database, as well as a maintenance system for the property,
    8. Completion of the boundary wall construction, and submission of a minor boundary modification request adopting the boundaries identified in 2013, to the World Heritage Centre;
  5. Noting that important requests made by the Committee remain to be fully addressed and implemented, also requests these be completed, implemented, and reported to the World Heritage Centre urgently, including:
    1. The completion and submission of a Management Plan for the property taking into account the findings and recommendations of the 2019 mission for review,
    2. The completion and submission for review of a regulatory plan for the proposed buffer zone,
    3. Assessment of monuments in danger of collapse and their stabilisation, while ensuring their implementation will not cause further harm, especially at the tomb of Jam Nizzamuddin II where an investigation of the underlying ground with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is required before implementation of stabilization interventions;
  6. Further requests that the Management Plan currently being developed include components covering:
    1. Programmes to record and analyse data from weather stations and crack monitors to ensure that and these results contribute directly to the management and conservation of the property and its monuments,
    2. Visitor management,
    3. Coordination of third party support and interventions,
    4. Emergency preparedness,
    5. Monitoring of the property and its constituent monuments and displaced architectural elements,
    6. Protocols for stakeholder engagement and community education programmes,
    7. A detailed management structure with clear definitions of the site management’s mission, for roles and tasks for all staff engaged in the conservation and management of the property;
  7. Requests furthermore the State Party continue to provide short- and mid-term training programmes for the staff of the Department of Archaeology focussed on the management and long-term conservation of the property, its constituent monuments and architectural and decorative elements belonging to them;
  8. Requests moreover that the State Party initiate a mid-term project to study the effects of wind-borne salinity on the monuments and develop feasible mitigation measures to reduce this impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
  9. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, 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 44th session in 2020, with a view to considering, in the absence of substantial progress, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Report year: 2019
Pakistan
Date of Inscription: 1981
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iii)
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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