Sítio Roberto Burle Marx

• management system to be strengthened
• urban development pressures

N/A

On 19 February 2024, the State Party submitted a report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1620/documents/. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at the time of inscription of the property on the World Heritage List in 2021 is presented in the report as follows:

• In the framework of the 2022 Periodic Report, five attributes were identified, including the location and geography, the property as a landscape laboratory, the botanical collection, the interaction between architecture and landscape and the relationship with society. Extensive research and documentation are in progress;
• A programmed Conservation Plan is under preparation that takes into account the documental character of the gardens as well as the permanent transformation and interaction with its natural environment. A broad group of experts serve as an advisory board for this process. The first component concerns the Roberto’s House Garden that will be finalised in the first semester of 2024, to be followed by conservation plans for the Atelier Garden and Lakes Garden;
• Following a workshop with institutions and stakeholders in August 2023, a formal Management Committee will be set up by means of a National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) ordinance. Once this Committee is operational, the preparation of the Management Plan will be initiated;
• A security plan is currently being prepared, to be finalised and implemented in 2024, that considers fire prevention, detection and panic control. Camera surveillance has been improved and a 24-hours security team is in place. A diagnosis of risk factors and threats was made in the 2022 Periodic Report;
• Protection of the buffer zone and the control of urban development pressure, will be incorporated in the Management Plan for the property;
• All components of the buffer zone are under the supervision of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro, IPHAN, the State Institute of Cultural Heritage (INEPAC) and the Rio de Janeiro State Environmental Institute (INEA). Interventions in the buffer zone require impact assessments and approval of IPHAN;
• Urban development is supervised by different sectors of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro on the basis of the Municipal Master Plan and the Urban Structuring Plan for Guaratiba.

Other actions include the creation of the Association of Friends of the Sítio Roberto Burle Marx (AASRBM), education and diffusion, a Botanical Memorial Project to document and publicise the collection expeditions of Burle Marx, restoration of nurseries, cataloging of the museological collection and library, oral history project and partnership with the Landscape Laboratory of the Federal University of Pernambuco.

The systematic approach to the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee at the time of inscription of the property on the World Heritage List is very much appreciated.

Progress is noted in all fields that are necessary for an integrated management of the property and buffer zone such as the upcoming establishment of a broad Management Committee, the preparation of a Conservation Plan, risks preparedness and control of urban development in the buffer zone of the property. For the latter, it is recommended that any required Heritage Impact Assessment be undertaken by the State Party in conformity with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context. Other reported actions are noted with satisfaction.

It is recommended that the State Party be requested to prioritise the detailed delineation of the attributes of the property and their degree of intactness, in line with Paragraph 4.a) of Decision 44 COM 8B.27, with the advice of ICOMOS and the World Heritage Centre if requested, and submit the results to the World Heritage Centre for evaluation by the Advisory Bodies.

The attributes should then be reflected in and guide the elaboration of the Conservation Plan, Management Plan, Risk Preparedness Plan and urban regulations for the buffer zone. The State Party should be requested to establish a collaboration process with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to address the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee at the time of inscription of the property on the World Heritage List and to submit these plans and regulations as soon as they become available for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies.