Historic Centre of Bukhara

• Ground Transport Infrastructure (Roads)
• High impact research / monitoring activities
• Housing, Development (Use of new building material and methods, inappropriate restoration and reconstruction methods; utilities or service infrastructure)
• Management deficiency (Lack of coordination with regard to the conservation and restoration activities carried out as part of the State Programme; Lack of on-going routine maintenance and varying state of conservation of monuments)
• Managements systems/Management Plan (Lack of a proper conservation and management plan; Lack of guidelines for rehabilitation of housing and lack of integration of Management Plan with City Master Plan and HUL Recommendation)
• Archaeological excavation and rebuilding on the Shakhristan Market site
• Implications of the Project of Detailed Planning of Historical Centre of Bukhara Development (PDP)
• Recent hotel constructions which would negatively affect the integrity of the property (issue resolved)
• Heavy traffic, pollution and poor sewerage system (issue resolved)
• Others: Degradation of traditional houses

Total amount provided: 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 ‘Historic Centre of Bukhara’ and ‘Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures’; 2019: USD 43,115 UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust project “Building capacity in managing World Heritage properties, interconnection of development and heritage preservation in Uzbekistan and Central Asia”

On 24 November 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/602/documents/. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in this report, as follows:

• The Agency for Cultural Heritage (ACH) has been established under the Ministry of Tourism, which now co-ordinates protection for World Heritage properties and implements decisions of the Committee. An Inspectorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage has also been established;
• The first technical session of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) was held in July 2022 also saw the passing away of its leading member Professor Michael Jansen. A delegation from the IAC previously visited Bukhara in March 2022;
• The ‘Detailed Planning Project’ for the Master Plan is addressing the recommendations of the World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission in January 2020 and a ‘road map’ approved by the Cabinet of Ministers is guiding implementation of Committee Decision 44 COM 7B.38;
• The previous moratorium on development and new work has been extended to the property’s buffer zone and will remain until the Master Plan and the Management Plan have been reviewed by the Advisory Bodies and it is agreed that adequate conservation and management systems are in place;
• A Public Scientific Advisory Council, comprising local experts, advises the Bukhara Regional Department of Cultural Heritage about proposals for demolition, construction, and reconstruction within the property and its buffer zone, and advises on local resident projects and works, with a view to supporting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
• Plans for restoration and conservation of Abdulazizkhan Madrasah have been reviewed and progressed in light of advice provided in an ICOMOS Technical Review;
• International Assistance was approved for "Restoration and conservation of Abdullakhan Madrasa" in April 2021;
• Other planned restoration and new constructions projects include the restoration of the Abdullakhan, Ulugbek, Miri Arab, Amir Olimkhan, and Rashid Madrasas and Kalon Mosque, Khoja Kalon Hauz and reconstruction of the Shakhristan Market. Documentation, drawings and Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) for these projects have been re-submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review. Projects, which received a positive review are proceeding, whereas others are being revised. Archaeological research continues at the site of the Shakhristan Market;
• Guidelines for conservation, renovation, infrastructure installation, and the location, scale and form of new developments, alterations and additions have been prepared in Uzbek, and presented to local people, including the Mahalla leaders;
• Much of the physical cultural heritage of the property remains in a deteriorated state and salinity and groundwater challenges are to be addressed through installation of 15 vertical drainage wells.

The State Party would welcome a visit to Bukhara by experts from the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and the IAC.

In February 2023, the World Heritage Centre received a third-party petition relating to the reported construction work approved by the local authorities and requested the verification of the State Party on 1 March.

The State Party and its agencies continue to address previously identified threats to the OUV of the property through regulatory change, capacity building, preparation of additional guidance documents, proposed conservation works and other initiatives. This progress should be supported through the newly established IAC for World Heritage properties in Uzbekistan, which organized its first technical session in July 2022. The Committee may wish to welcome the establishment of the of the ACH, the local Public Scientific Advisory Council and the IAC for World Heritage properties in Uzbekistan, noting that the IAC’s role is to advise the national authorities on the conservation of cultural heritage properties and the implementation of Committee decisions and previous mission recommendations, without superseding the capacity of the World Heritage Committee.

The continuation of current moratorium on development and new work and its extension to include the buffer zone of the property, pending the finalization of key management documents and other conservation/design guidelines is welcome. Additional work remains necessary to integrate the approach of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (2011) and to ensure the adequate recognition of the property’s World Heritage status within the Master Plan for the City and a better process for Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA), in accordance with Decisions 42 COM 7A.4 and 44 COM 7B.38. The moratorium should remain in place until the Master Plan for the City and the Management Plan for the property have been finalized, following submission to the World Heritage Centre and positive review by ICOMOS. It is also welcome that guidelines for conservation, renovation, infrastructure installation, and the location, scale and form of new developments, alterations and additions have been prepared and distributed in local language to local communities.

Previous technical reviews of conservation projects proposed at Shakhristan Bazaar, Kalon Mosque, Abdulazzizkhan Madrassah, Amir Alimkhan Madrassah, Mir Arab Madrassah, within the Ark Citadel and for Khoja Kalon Hauz, identified the need for changes. The revised documentation for these projects should also be subject to Technical Review. Stabilisation of the Abdulazzizkhan Madrassah is an urgent priority, to be followed by long-term conservation and the State Party should be invited to provide a further update on this project. The State Party is also requested to provide the final report on the International Assistance funding that has been provided to Abdullakhan Madrasa.

For major projects, HIAs should be prepared and should follow the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context, and detailed project documentation should continue to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review. This approach should be adopted for the proposed installation of 15 vertical drainage wells, which are intended to address salinity and groundwater issues.

As reported to previous sessions of the Committee, vernacular architectures, which are highly important yet insufficiently protected elements of the property remain under threat. The 2016 and 2020 Reactive Monitoring missions noted that there was insufficient control over development in mahallas, especially for traditional houses with no national protection. There is a continuing need for stronger legal protection and planning codes for cultural heritage and appropriate incentives for building owners. In light of the regular advices from local inhabitants, the State Party is also requested to continue assisting the regional authorities in undertaking appropriate dialogue with local stakeholders, including developers, investors and populations, notably on the rules and policies about the conservation, demolition and construction towards the local authorities and inhabitants on the obligations, procedures, roles of each stakeholder in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention at national and local level.