Landscape for Breeding and Training of Ceremonial Carriage Horses at Kladruby nad Labem

• Lack of revised management plan, including visitor strategy
• Need to improve risk management
• High-voltage power lines crossing the landscape and visual impact of the Chvaletice power station
• Necessity to ensure the correct interpretation of the site as a cultural landscape

On 28 January 2020, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1589/documents/ and addresses recommendations made at the time of the inscription of the property in 2019 (Decision 43 COM 8B.27), as follows:

• The process for enlarging the buffer zone southwards initiated and expected to be finalised by mid-2020;
• The first draft of the new Management Plan (2021 – 2026) submitted to the World Heritage Centre will be enforced by 1 January 2021. The creation of a digital archive for the property is envisaged in the draft Management Plan;
• The first draft of a visitor strategy is being reviewed;
• A risk analysis, including risks associated with climate change prepared and will be implemented as per existing regulations;
• A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) approach is already implicitly embedded in the Czech legal framework (Act n.20/1987 Coll.). Heritage management bodies provide binding opinions on all planned modifications to protected monuments, based on expert reviews. The National Heritage Institute provides expert opinions on local development plans of municipalities located within the property;
• The Agreement on the General Principles of Restoration and Further Development of the Landscape for breeding and training of ceremonial carriage horses at Kladruby nad Labem has been updated, integrating an explicit commitment of the relevant ministries to monitor potential conflicts between infrastructure projects and conservation, and possible impact of river tourism on the historic hydraulic system and the Natura 2000 site;
• The Principles of Land Development in the Pardubický Region were updated in June 2019, envisaging explicitly the relocation of power lines and establishing a new potential corridor. Minimizing the visual impact of the Chvaletice power station is addressed in the new Management Plan through a vegetation screen;
• Measures are proposed to ensure that restoration and ongoing maintenance of vegetation respects the property’s landscape value, and to appoint three new staff members;
• Initiatives for improving the interpretation of the property are based on the provisional Statement of Outstanding Universal Value; five major projects are planned within the property and a further three are planned in the buffer zone.

The State Party has addressed all key recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee: some are in a more advanced state of implementation whilst others have only been included in relevant updated planning documents.

The southwards expansion of the buffer zone has been defined and a map submitted. The procedure was finalized in August 2020 and the State Party submitted a request for a minor modification of the boundaries of the property on 5 October 2020 to the World Heritage Centre (see Document WHC/21/44.COM/8B.Add).

A new draft Management Plan (2021-2026) exists, sections of which have been submitted to the World Heritage Centre. The available drafts suggest that a thorough work on the identification of themes, objectives, actions and actors has been carried out. The synoptic table would benefit from the introduction of priorities and budget needs. It is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to submit the complete version of the plan to the World Heritage Centre.

The draft visitor strategy is to be welcomed and should be finalised and implemented. The main threats and related risks, including those associated with climate change, have been assessed in the risk analysis and emergency measures identified. The State Party should be encouraged to document the governance chain in case of disastrous events and to establish coordination with the property management to avoid negative impacts deriving from general emergency measures.

The State Party considers that an HIA approach is embedded implicitly in the legislation and it does not deem further efforts necessary in this direction as the provisions of the law would suffice. However, the mechanisms described in the report are common to most national legislations and do not seem to address impacts on intangible dimensions and attributes of the property as they focus on either structures or the landscape and not specifically on the attributes of the OUV: it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to work further on this to ensure that an HIA approach for World Heritage is embedded in the management mechanisms.

The update of the “Agreement on General Principles of Restoration and Further Development” and the “Principles of Land Development” represents important progress, particularly as the latter envisages the relocation of the high voltage power lines crossing the property and the identification of a potential corridor. The intention to add to the management unit of the property an arborist, a horticulturalist and a landscape architect to implement the principles included in the “Agreement” is welcome: no indication of a timeframe is offered though, nor of the financial resources needed.

The steps undertaken to improve the interpretation of the property are welcomed and should be continued, possibly by expanding the offer to other foreign languages. The programme envisaged for the digital archive is well-articulated and its implementation is to be fostered.

Regarding the eight major projects within the property and its buffer zone, the World Heritage Centre has invited the State Party to submit project documentation and relevant HIAs for review. It is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to address this request and to submit a timeframe for the implementation of the projects.