Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso

• Emergency situation due to the massive fire of April 2014 (issue resolved)
• Interventions planned at the port, such as the Barón Port and the Prat Dock, as well as for touristic facilities and real estate projects
• Fragmentation of competencies and mandates by sectors and by different levels of government, as well as by the different types of specific protection and use of different areas, which does not allow for the management of the property with respect to its Outstanding Universal Value and within a broader perspective
• Commercial development
• Legal framework
• Management systems/ management plan
• Marine transport infrastructure

On 2 December 2020, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, an executive summary of which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/959/documents. Supplementary information was submitted by the State Party on 1 February 2021. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in these reports, as follows:

• The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is continuing its Technical Cooperation (TC) and has extended the deadline and timetable initially established. In August 2019, the working team was officially established through the formation of the “Interinstitutional Roundtable for the IDB’s Technical Cooperation with the Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso World Heritage Site”, which worked alongside the TC working group in 2019 and 2020. According to the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, this working team has been built with a systemic approach focused on communities promoting a dialogue with the property’s environment. Following steps aim at identifying a management model for the World Heritage property and formulating a development strategy and roadmap for its implementation;
• Administrative appeals have been submitted to the Environmental Qualification Resolution that approved the Terminal 2 project. The appeals are under review in line with environmental legislation in place. The construction has therefore not yet begun, and the corresponding mitigation and compensation measures have not yet been implemented;
• The Parque Barón (formerly Paseo del Mar) project will constitute the main access point to the city’s waterfront, including green areas and recreational and sports facilities. The public contest of ideas has been concluded and construction is expected to begin in 2021;
• The environmental evaluation process of the project “Improving Accessibility to Valparaíso’s Port” for port terminals 1 and 2 is still ongoing. The National Monuments Council, amongst other institutions, has issued technical recommendations regarding the project and its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), concerning the proposed area of influence, the baseline conditions, the project owner’s prediction and evaluation of the environmental impact on the cultural heritage, and the plan for mitigation, repair and compensation measures presented. These recommendations were included in the Environmental Assessment Service’s consolidated evaluation, issued in November 2020. Recommendations expressed in this evaluation need to be addressed by the project’s responsible party;
• In the framework of the implementation of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage since 2018, regional agencies related to heritage protection and conservation have been established;
• Initiatives implemented with regional funds are continuing to be launched, among them the restoration of Valparaíso’s elevators, the Regional Archive project (in the former Subercaseaux Palace) and the Tassara building project;
• The Enhancing our Heritage (EOH) Toolkit for assessing management effectiveness was applied during 2019 and 2020. The State Party hopes that the exercise’s results will contribute to improving the management system of the property.
• Other initiatives and activities related to the World Heritage property have been implemented, among them the Community Development Plan, the capacity-building project “Strengthening Disaster Risk Management at Three World Heritage Properties in Chile”, the Street Arts Ordinance, the Covid-19 emergency management by the Site Manager and the Valparaíso Invest initiative.

The information provided by the State Party on conservation and restoration of heritage buildings, assessment of management effectiveness, and social programmes is welcome. Also welcome is the continuing Technical Cooperation offered by the IDB, the extension of the TC’s deadlines and timeframe, and the formation of the Interinstitutional Roundtable, which includes several agencies related to the conservation and management of the property and worked alongside the TC working group in 2019 and 2020. Although these can be considered important steps relating to the establishment of an institutional framework, the identification of a management model appropriate for the property and of a strategy and roadmap for its implementation have not been yet defined. The World Heritage Committee might wish to reiterate its request to the State Party to submit further information on these issues as soon as it becomes available, for review by the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies.

It is noted that the construction of the Terminal 2 Project has not yet begun and that administrative appeals against the project are currently under review, in line with the environmental legislation in place. It is therefore recommended that the Committee request the State Party to report on the results of that review and on potential further mitigation and compensation measures that may be advised.

The Parque Barón (formerly Paseo del Mar) will constitute the entrance to the city’s waterfront. Taking into account that a contest for a new project has been concluded on the basis of which preliminary images and designs have been drafted, and that the construction is expected to start in 2021, it is suggested that the State Party be requested to provide complete information and documentation on the project for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies.

Regarding the “Improving Accessibility to Valparaíso’s Port” project, it is noted that the National Monuments Council expressed in 2020 several observations related to the impact of the project on the property and on its buffer zone, which were reiterated in the Environmental Assessment Service’s consolidated evaluation. These observations will need to be addressed by the project’s responsible party to finalize the environmental evaluation process; it is advised that appropriate corrective measures are adopted accordingly. 

The establishment of regional agencies dealing with heritage protection and conservation, and the initiatives related to restoration and conservation of elevators and historic buildings, are welcome.  It is noted with appreciation that the Enhancing Our Heritage (EOH) Toolkit for assessing management effectiveness has been applied, and the State Party should be encouraged to consider the results of the exercise in the future management of the property. Considering that technical assistance has been delivered for the first development phase of a technological platform for Risk Management, the Risk Management Plan for the property.