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 14 March 2023, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, whose summary is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/959/documents/, presenting progress on the issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions, as follows:

• The Technical Cooperation support granted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has allowed the implementation of all the scheduled meetings and studies;
• As a result of the December 2020 agreement established between the municipality of Valparaíso and the Ministry of Cultures, the Arts and Heritage, the management of the World Heritage site has been strengthened, together with the financial, legislative, administrative and decisional synergy between all national and local actors concerned;
• In January 2022 the "Municipal Corporation for Heritage Site Administration" was created, associating Valparaiso’s institutional, academic and civil society stakeholders. The mandate of the Corporation is to promote and strengthen public-private partnerships for the comprehensive development of projects, programmes and actions that ensure the conservation of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the site, and the preservation of its architectural, urban, cultural, social and environmental features;
• The third stage of the development of a technical platform for the risk management of the site was implemented, allowing the completion of the risk assessment for the site and the identification of risk factors and indicators. A handbook for the site manager has been published. The elaboration of a Risk Management Plan should start in 2023;
• The creation and provision of Regional Heritage Directorates under the National Cultural Heritage Service has progressed throughout the country. The team of the technical office of the National Monuments Council is expected to be reinforced in the first half of 2023;
• A programme of restoration and conservation of nine elevators and of a number of historic buildings is ongoing, including Palacio Subercaseaux, the Interpretation Center of the World Heritage Site of Valparaiso, the Former-Prison Memorial Site, the Cemetery of Valparaiso, the Library Santiago Severin, the University Museum of Printing, and the Church of San Francisco del Baron;
• Concerning the enhancement of the accessibility of the port of the city, a series of consultations were carried out in 2021 and a collaboration agreement between the Municipality of Valparaíso and Valparaíso Port Company has been established to ensure participation and synergy. In this context, the Terminal 2 extension project has been abandoned and an alternative project will be participatorily defined in 2023;
• Extensive information on the new Paseo Barón project, focusing on the creation of a public park that will enhance the social relation between the coast and the city, has been annexed to the report. A bidding process for the excavation works will be launched in 2023 in view of the completion of the works in 2025;
• Following the visit to Valparaiso of the UNESCO Director-General in May 2022, an Advisory mission of the World Heritage Centre took place in November 2022 to meet institutional and civil society representatives and advise on matters linked to the conservation of the site and the implementation of the decisions of the World Heritage Committee. In Annex 39 of the state of conservation report submitted in January 2023, the State Party reports on the state of implementation of the Advisory mission’s recommendations.

The continued support of the IADB is noted, as well as the timely implementation of the scheduled meetings and studies, whose content – however – has not been specified in the report. Complete information should therefore be requested on the activities carried out in this framework.

The establishment of the agreement between the municipality of Valparaíso and the Ministry of Cultures, the Arts and Heritage is welcomed as a tool to ensure better coordination and synergy between all national and local actors and stakeholders concerned at financial, legislative, administrative and decision-making levels. The State Party should be encouraged to concretely implement the agreement and to report to the Committee on the results obtained in its framework.

The State Party should be commended for the creation of the "Municipal Corporation for Heritage Site Administration", with the mandate of promoting and strengthening public-private partnerships. The Committee may wish to request the State Party to report on the decisions and measures that will be taken by the Municipal Corporation for Heritage Site Administration.

The third stage of the development of technical platform for the risk management of the site is noted with satisfaction, and note is also taken that the elaboration of a Risk Management Plan should start in 2023. It is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to submit the Plan, once completed, for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies.

The further progress in the creation and provision of Regional Heritage Directorates under the National Cultural Heritage Service should also be welcomed. Due to the pressing needs of the institutions concerned, it is suggested that the State Party be urged to reinforce the technical office of the National Monuments Council.

The information on the new Paseo Barón project, focusing on the creation of a public park that will enhance the social relation between the coast and the city should be welcomed; the Committee may wish to request that the State Party report to the World Heritage Centre on the excavation works expected to be launched in 2023 for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The ongoing implementation of a programme of restoration and conservation of nine elevators and a number of historic buildings is noted. The State Party should be urged, as a matter of priority, to accelerate the implementation of restoration and conservation activities, and to extend them to all the buildings of the property in need of urgent rehabilitation, also as a means to reverse the recognized depopulation trends in the site, in line with the recommendations of the Advisory mission of November 2022.

The abandonment of the previous Terminal 2 extension project is noted. Complete information on the alternative project expected be defined in 2023 should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for review as soon as available.

The State Party should be commended for the agreement established between the Municipality of Valparaíso and Valparaíso Port Company to ensure participation and synergy among the main stakeholders on issues related to port accessibility and port-city interaction.

The State Party should also be commended for having invited an Advisory mission of the World Heritage Centre in November 2022, to facilitate institutions and civil society consultations on all matters linked to the conservation of the site and the implementation of the decisions of the Committee. The Advisory mission has invited the State Party to consider a set of general and specific recommendations, among them the development, approval, and implementation of an integral participatory management plan as a means of integrating current legal instruments and administrative relevant competencies. The State Party reports on the state of implementation of the recommendations; first stage for the development of the integral management plan is scheduled for 2023.