Samarkand – Crossroad of Cultures

• Management Systems/Management Plan (Lack of strategic approach to urban conservation; Lack of implementation of the management plan)
• Management activities (Impact of urban landscaping programme on the authenticity and integrity of the property)
• Ground transport infrastructure (Large-scale development projects such as road building)
• Others (Conservation of urban fabric)

Total amount granted: USD 50,000 from the UNESCO/Spain Funds-in-Trust; 2016: USD 30,670 from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust project for the Application of the UNESCO Recommendation on Historic Urban landscape (HUL, 2011) at the World Heritage properties of the Historic Centre of Bukhara and Samarkand

On 18 March 2019, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/356/document and provides information relating to the following:

• A new Master Plan is being prepared as a priority, along with the project of Detailed Planning for Historic Centre and Buffer Zone, including a new traffic scheme; Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) are required for any projects potentially impacting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, which is supported by the ‘Development Control of the Historic Centre of Samarkand and its Buffer Zones’;
• The Management Plan is being revised, with support from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-In-Trust, to include the adoption of the approach following the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), including participatory processes an planning for the regeneration of mahalla, as well as its integration with the city’s Master Plan;
• Five new legal tools concerning heritage have been adopted in 2018 and 2019;
• A comprehensive survey and mapping of the property, buffer zones and their setting is ongoing and aims to update information on heritage attributes;
• The actual boundaries of the property and buffer zones are being reconsidered to provide an enhanced protection for the OUV;
• 16 hotels are being developed to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization International Summit in 2022 (exact locations are not identified);
• An overall development initiative, launched in conjunction with the above-mentioned summit, includes the following:

Within the property:

• Alongside a main city street, houses will be rebuilt, the canal improved and views of the Namozgoh Mosque opened up;
• An unused building will be repaired and adapted as a ‘social services building’ ;
• Hotel "Registan Plaza" will be improved and upgraded, with the facade retained;
• Hotel "Afrosiab" will be repaired, re-faced and upgraded;
• On an undeveloped site, a three-storey structure will be built to harmonise with existing Temurid and European style buildings,

Within the Buffer Zones of the property:

• Two large industrial areas will be landscaped;
• An area currently used as a stadium with residential and administrative buildings will be re-developed, possibly as a hotel, to enhance views of a nearby mosque;
• On a site adjacent to the city walls with residential buildings, landscaping is proposed to provide views of the walls;
• Along the road from the airport, residential buildings will be demolished and replaced by ‘service constructions’;

Immediately outside the Buffer Zones:

• On a site visible from Afrosiyab, illegal buildings will be demolished and rebuilt in Temurid style;
• The site of a non-operating plant will be reorganised for ‘city needs’;
• The report also includes details on the development of a new Master Plan, which will include a new traffic scheme;
• The State Party submitted the document entitled ‘Urban Design Guidelines for Priority Projects in Samarkand’ to the World Heritage Centre on 6 June 2019.
• A preliminary study and mapping of the six sites are said to be under preparation. A design proposal with HIAs will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The State Party also highlighted the continued need for capacity building to enhance national expertise in order to cope with the complex and multidisciplinary issues arising as part of the preservation and management of the historic centre of Samarkand. The 2019 High-Level mission to Shakhrisyabz, Uzbekistan, also conducted a training workshop in Samarkand.

The measures taken over the past two years to enhance legal, human and financial resources for the preservation and management of the property are to be welcomed, as are the start of an inventory for the city and the initiation of a process to develop a new Master Plan and update the existing Management Plan with supporting guidelines such as the ‘Detailed Planning’ and the ‘Development Control’ documents that could provide a much needed framework for the projects proposed.

The above-mentioned tools should be designed by adopting multidisciplinary and participatory approaches to meet the complex requirements of the management and preservation of a living city, following the HUL approach, taking into consideration the evolving needs of its inhabitants and the safeguarding of its heritage values.

In addition to the information provided by the State Party in its report, during the High-Level mission, the State Party indicated that two industrial sites had been cleared in the buffer zone to allow a Convention facility to be constructed on the site for the Shanghai Cooperation Summit, and made reference to the demolition of two other buildings within the property intended for new constructions. These sites were indicated on the map of Samarkand showing the new constructions, which was shared with the World Heritage Centre during the meeting with the State Party in December 2018. However, no details on the demolitions have been submitted to the World Heritage Centre so far, nor documentation of the structures demolished or of sites cleared, nor plans and drawings of the new constructions, nor the HIA for the numerous interventions completed, ongoing, or planned.

The number and variety of major construction projects ongoing and proposed in the city are significant, many moving with speed to meet the deadline of the 2022 event. The plan to construct a variety of infrastructures and tourism facilities are a source of concern, including those required to host the Shanghai Corporation Organization International Summit in 2022 (the locations of which are not yet identified), and the multi-functional project ‘Samarkand City Tourist Zone’, which involves the demolition and re-development of a number of areas within the property, its the buffer zones and beyond. 

It appears that the ‘Samarkand City Tourist Zone’ project is largely stimulated by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization International Summit, and the two together may have led to the development of the Master Plan. Therefore, despite the positive move to develop guidelines, a Master Plan, an updated Management Plan and other tools, there is nevertheless concern that, before these tools are completed, major projects will have been implemented and irreversible changes will have occurred within the property and buffer zone that could potentially have an adverse impact on the OUV of the property. Furthermore, the projects in some of these areas involve the re-location of communities on the basis that housing is sub-standard, but no precise details have been provided on the areas nor on social consequences. This fact possibly points out that the constant inspection or established control over housing construction and refurbishment has not been adequately carried out and that systematic processes need to be put in place.

Within the framework of the Master Plan, it is reported that a new draft Traffic Scheme is being developed, favouring new roads outside the historic centre and the further pedestrianization of the centre. This is to be welcomed, as it will replace the 2004 plan that led to a new road being driven through the historic centre and prevent the implementation of further new roads in the property envisaged in the 2004 plan.  

It should be noted with regret that, despite the Committee’s requests (Decision 39 COM 7B.73), due process has not been followed in notifying the Committee and the World Heritage Centre prior to any decision being made that would be difficult to reverse regarding a major restoration or new construction which may affect the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in conformity with the Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.

It is important to recall that the property needs multi-disciplinary planning tools that recognise the need to conserve the OUV, upon which development and tourism planning should be based including the well-being of the local communities, in line with the HUL approach.

As such, the speed and number of the projects proposed and ongoing, the pressure for completion by the deadline of the 2022 Summit, together with the absence of adequate guidelines, regulations, and tools, cumulatively pose a threat to the OUV of the property.

It is recommended that the State Party be requested to provide an in-depth study of the issues listed above as a matter of urgency, given the tight timescale before the Summit, and prior to issuing construction permits. Modifications may need to be considered for those contracts or permits that may be already in place. It is essential that full details of the technical documents and planning tools be thoroughly reviewed and mitigation measures considered for the projects that are ongoing or implemented.  The Master Plan needs to be approved before detailed plans are envisaged for specific areas.

It is therefore recommended that the Committee request the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission at the earliest opportunity, with a view to considering:

1. The full scope of the development projects, both planned and underway, including hotel development and restoration projects and the ‘Samarkand City Tourist Zone’ project, and with a view to determining whether any threat to the property constitutes an ascertained or potential danger to its OUV and would warrant its potential inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in line with Paragraph 179 of the Operational Guidelines;
2. Possible mitigation measures that may be necessary for projects that may have been already undertaken prior to their review by ICOMOS and the World Heritage Centre;
3. Proposed guidelines and other tools and legal instruments for the new development, with a view to protecting the OUV of the property;
4. The proposals for the development of the Master Plan and the updates to the management plan in following the HUL approach.