Historic Centre of Shakhrisyabz

• Management systems/management plan (Lack of a comprehensive conservation and management plan)
• Management activities
• Housing; Commercial development (Major interventions carried out, including demolition and re-building activities)
• Legal framework (Need to reinforce the national legal framework)
• Human resources (inadequate)
• Financial resources (inadequate)

• Large-scale urban development projects carried out without informing the Committee or commissioning the necessary heritage impact assessments
• Demolition and rebuilding of traditional housing areas
• Irreversible changes to the original appearance of a large area within the historic centre
• Significant alteration of the setting of monuments and the overall historical town planning structure and its archaeological layers
• Absence of conservation and Management Plan

Not yet drafted

Not yet identified

Not yet identified

Total amount provided: 2016: USD 30,670 from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust project for the Application of the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on Historic Urban landscape (2011 UNESCO HUL Recommendation) at the World Heritage properties in Uzbekistan; 2019: USD 43,115 from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust for building capacity in the conservation and management of World Heritage properties in Uzbekistan.

On 31 January 2024, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/885/documents/. Progress in addressing a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in this report, as follows:

• Progress is reported on how a nomination might be presented in the future with a new justification of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and how conservation challenges at the property are being identified and will be addressed;
• Work has started exploring how a nomination for a significant boundary modification that focuses on the Timurid monuments in an urban setting might be developed. This is being led by the Agency of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Uzbekistan in collaboration with the International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS);
• The International Advisory Committee (IAC) will be updated on the progress of the proposed nomination and will be invited to discuss a draft in the second half of 2024 prior to its submission to the World Heritage Centre. Due to the complexity of the work, a report will be submitted by 1 February 2025;
• A conservation project and strategy for the Ak Saray tiles are under preparation and will be revised according to recommendations following review by the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS;
• A high-level international structural engineering report was commissioned for the Kok Gumbaz Mosque following the collapse of some columns. The preliminary report, issued in November 2023, highlighted several horizontal and vertical cracks and the displacement of walls at the bottom of the dome. Further engineering assessments will be conducted in 2024;
• An initial assessment of historic monuments was undertaken in 2021 and a tabular summary is provided. This will be followed by a more comprehensive analysis focusing on the integrity and authenticity of each monument;
• Erosion of the mud-walled fabric, salinity of walls, temperature and humidity fluctuations and earthquakes are all seen as major threats to the property;
• Inappropriate signage in the Historic Centre of Shakhrisyabz has been removed from the protected area. Streetlights have been reduced, and the destroyed part of the Silk Road Street, affected by the construction of an avenue, is included in the master plan for restoration.

Confirmation that a nomination with a potential modification in criteria and/or attributes based on Timurid monuments within an urban setting is being explored should be welcomed. It is noted that, following discussion by the IIAC, a report on this work will be submitted by 1 February 2025.

While the State Party acknowledges the complexity of this process, the Committee strongly recommended that the State Party engage in a specific consultation with the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS on procedural questions related to such work, allowing for discussions on possible approaches before any detailed work is undertaken. So far, this engagement has not taken place. In the spirit of upstream advice, the Committee may wish to reiterate its recommendation and request that dialogue between the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies be undertaken in 2024, in advance of a submitted report.

To allow the Committee to consider at its 47th session whether a clear way forward can be supported or if the property should be deleted from the World Heritage List, the Committee may wish to request that the State Party’s report, to be submitted by 1 February 2025, should set out a possible way forward for consideration, in compliance with Paragraph 166 of the Operational Guidelines. If the Committee agrees with this proposal, the State Party could then proceed with the development of a nomination dossier, as outlined in several of the Committee’s previous decisions.

The development of a strategy for the conservation of the Ak Saray tiles and a project for their conservation is also to be welcomed. It is indicated that these are under preparation and will be submitted for review by the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS. This should happen before any work commences or is planned in detail.

It is noted that in November 2023 an international structural engineering report was commissioned for the Kok Gumbaz Mosque following the collapse of some columns, and that further engineering assessments will be conducted in 2024 to consider actions to address identified cracks and displacements.

In previous decisions, the Committee had recommended the development of detailed conservation plans for the various individual monuments and an overall conservation approach to be included in the Management Plan. For both Ak Saray and Kok Gumbaz, it would be helpful if such plans are prepared, given the very different challenges each faces.

The State Party’s report indicates that further analysis of the conservation needs of monuments will be undertaken based on the initial assessment of historic monuments undertaken in 2021. Although the State Party specifies that most monuments are in a good state of conservation, this contrasts sharply with the statement that erosion of the mud-walled fabric, the salinity of walls, temperature and humidity fluctuations and earthquakes are all seen as major threats to the property. Given the somewhat drastic measures taken some years ago, clarity is needed on which monuments face erosion and salinity threats and how these will be addressed.

The Committee has also urged the State Party to develop an overall Master Plan for the city, which integrates the conservation needs for the monuments, the Management Plan, proposals for restoration and reconstruction, as well as planning and legal frameworks, all in line with the UNESCO 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. The latest report mentions that an area of the main street is in the ‘Master Plan for restoration’. So far, no details have been provided of this Master Plan. The Committee might wish to stress the need for a draft of this Master Plan to be provided at the earliest opportunity, as it will have a bearing on any proposal for nomination.