Ḥimā Cultural Area

• necessity to set up a monitoring system
• projects related to tourism activities and infrastructure at Najd Khayrān
• necessity to set up a conservation programme
• restoration of the above-ground walling for the wells and water channels at Ḥimā
• need to advance archaeological research in the buffer zone

N/A

On 24 November 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1619/documents/. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous session is presented in this report, as follows:

• Work on the inventory of the property and the establishment of a database to ensure adequate documentation and monitoring of the state of conservation is progressing;
• At present, no projects require Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA);
• The monitoring programme is under development;
• A conservation programme of the Ḥimā wells has been developed and is expected to be implemented in 2023;
• Several capacity building activities for staff have been organized;
• An inventory of the archaeological sites and rock-art panels indicates that a significant number of sites exist both within the buffer zone and beyond it. Based on these findings, the State Party has extended the buffer zone. Once the new boundary is officially approved, the State Party will submit a minor boundary modification request.

The State Party has made considerable progress towards implementing the World Heritage Committee’s recommendations. A list of attributes, organized in typologies, has been defined to guide the State Party’s efforts with regard to the inventory, mapping, research and monitoring programme for the property. The epigraphy inventory has been completed and a similar programme for rock-art is ongoing. The field recording is largely completed. However, the recording of the data in the database, which is still being developed, will take more time. Overall, the inventory is expected to be completed in 2023-2024. Two preliminary maps of the inventoried sites and the format of the upgraded database sheets were provided by the State Party, as examples of the work carried out so far.

The monitoring programme for the property is under development. The set of indicators, tools to be used, frequency of monitoring and who is responsible for it, have already been defined. Since the indicators cover different management aspects, it is recommended that conservation indicators are prioritized.

A conservation programme for the Ḥimā wells has been developed, following digital surveys and field observations on their state of conservation, undertaken between March and April 2022. The objective is to restore the wells to their original condition. The programme details the conservation approach for each of the wells, the work that is required and an approximate implementation schedule. It is recommended that the State Party also develops a conservation programme for the property as a whole.

A tourism management strategy is also under development. The State Party informs that, at present, the scale and kind of projects that are being considered do not threaten the conservation of the property. HIAs will be developed in the event of larger project proposals. It is recommended that HIAs be conducted in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context.

The State Party also informs that it has organized a series of capacity building activities on visitor management, rock-art monitoring, and impact assessments for the staff at Najran. No information is provided on the recruitment of new staff, as recommended by the Committee.

Based on the mapping and research, which has been carried out, the State Party considers the most important rock-art panels to be within the boundaries of the six component parts which constitute the property. However, the ongoing inventory has shown that thousands of archaeological sites and rock-art panels exist both within the buffer zone and beyond it, although most seem to be of lesser importance and interest. Hence, the State Party has decided to extend the buffer zone. The new boundaries are presented in the maps included in the report. Once approved, the State Party will formally submit a minor boundary modification request.