Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís

• Governance
• Interpretative and visitation facilities (provide visitor interpretation and future accessibility to components not yet open to the public)
• Human resources (guardians and managers)
• Housing (future urban development)
• Water infrastructure (discussion on the construction of a hydropower dam)
• Air transport infrastructure
• Financial resources
• Management systems/ management plan

Total amount granted: USD 95,260 for the project “Engaging youth from local communities and indigenous peoples in participatory management and conservation of the Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís” (German Foreign Office), currently under implementation

On 30 November 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1453/documents/, and presents progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions, as follows:

• The cooperative project with the University of Costa Rica on joint management activities with communities near the sites was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was suspended in May 2021. Resumption remains a future possibility;
• Despite pandemic-related restrictions, several activities were carried out to engage local youths and indigenous peoples in participatory management and conservation. Workshops were geographically focused on the canton of Osa;
• Between 2020-2022, collaboration activities with the indigenous communities of Curré/Yímba and Boruca were developed, among them an intervention on the spheres located in Boruca town’s Community Museum and a fair for the valorisation of traditional knowledge in Curré/Yímba;
• Between 2020-2022, 6,471 people participated in 302 educational activities;
• Between 2020-2022, three exhibitions were opened in the temporary exhibition hall in the Finca 6 Visitor Centre. 10 information signs and 20 directional signs were placed along trails at the four sites;
• The Osa Canton Regulatory Plan relating to buffer zone regulation is still suspended due to ongoing difficulties. In October 2022, a draft agreement was presented to representatives of the Surcoop association of landowners within the Finca 6 buffer zone, which would maintain land use for agricultural purposes and establish measures relating to future projects. Similar agreements will be sought with the owners of the land in the buffer zones of other archaeological sites in the series;
• Risk assessments associated with the property’s archaeological sites have been evaluated annually;
• The High-Level Commission to ensure the adequate protection of the property is in place to provide support, should pressing issues arise;
• The preliminary proposal for the organization of the administrative unit and its position in the institutional organization chart is being evaluated at the national level;
• The feasibility of the Southern International Airport project is still pending. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has not been approved by the Environmental Technical Secretariat after a request by the National Museum of Costa Rica not to do so until the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is completed;
• The government invested in upgrading existing regional airports, including the Palmar Sur airport, which is in the Diquís delta;
• The hydroelectrical project remains indefinitely suspended. In November 2021, the General Direction of Civil Aviation requested the Heritage Impact Assessment of the project;
• In 2020 and2022, four spheres located in the only two alignments preserved to date in the Finca 6 archaeological monument, were restored.

Additionally, in a note received by the World Heritage Centre on 10 May 2023, the State Party confirmed that feasibility and impact studies concerning the Southern International Airport had been relaunched and were expected to be carried out in the next months.

It is commendable that, despite pandemic-related restrictions, the State Party has continued activities aimed at engaging local communities and indigenous peoples in participatory management and conservation and furthering collaboration with the indigenous communities of Curré/Yímba and Boruca. The State Party must be also commended for continuing the Heritage Education programme. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cooperative project with the University of Costa Rica for joint management activities with some of the communities near the sites could not be executed within the established timeframe and was suspended in May 2021. Since the possibility of resuming it remains open, it is hoped that the project could be carried out and that the State Party keeps the World Heritage Centre informed of the outcomes. It is also welcomed that exhibitions were held in the temporary exhibition hall in the Finca 6 Visitor Centre and that the programme of signage and interpretation has been continued.

The Committee may wish to commend the State Party for the above-mentioned activities and also for the restoration of four spheres located in the only two alignments preserved to date, in the Finca 6 archaeological monument, in the framework of the cooperation with Mexico.

The regulation of the buffer zone is still pending, although a meeting between the Director of the National Museum and the Mayor of Osa was held in 2022, and a draft agreement was presented which aims at reaching the adoption of a decision to maintain the agricultural use of the land and to establish measures for future projects. The State Party should be requested to continue with the efforts to reach agreements with the Osa municipality and landowners to find a solution to this issue.

In 2020, the “Local institutional plan for risk reduction” was prepared and approved by the Administrative Board of the National Museum of Costa Rica and approved by the Ministry of Health. However, annual evaluations have been conducted by the Internal Audit of the National Museum and a risk and disaster management plan is not yet finished.

It is welcomed that the High-Level Commission to ensure the adequate protection of the property has met several times over the last two years. However, the establishment of a consolidated and multidisciplinary management unit for the property has not yet been reached due to financial constraints in the country. The State Party should therefore be requested to reach the agreements to establish the management unit.

The Southern International Airport project is unchanged, and its feasibility is still pending. It is welcomed that the EIA has not been approved by the Environmental Technical Secretariat after the request of the National Museum of Costa Rica and it is hoped that the HIA can be conducted, as confirmed in the note of the State Party of 10 May 2023. The report submitted by the State Party indicates investment for upgrading of the Palmar Sur airport located in the Diquís delta but provides no detailed information, and it is expected that any project or action that could jeopardise the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, its integrity and authenticity, will be the object of a HIA.

The hydroelectrical project remains indefinitely suspended. Since the General Direction of Civil Aviation requested a HIA of the project, it is expected that the State Party keeps the World Heritage Centre informed on its outcomes. HIAs should be conducted in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context.