Churches of Chiloé

• Insufficient delimitation of boundaries
• Construction of a shopping mall in the vicinity of the Castro Church
• Insufficient legal definition of buffer zones and visually sensitive areas of each component 
• Commercial development
• Effects arising from use of transportation infrastructure
• Legal framework
• Management activities
• Management systems/ management plan

On 2 February 2024, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/971/documents/. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in those reports, as follows:

• Within the framework of the Comprehensive Plan for the Protection of the Churches Environments, the National Monuments Council (CMN) has been working with local communities. Cooperation with the six local municipal governments concerned has intensified;
• Increased demand from communities and municipal governments has resulted in new participation and socialization processes for the proposals of Typical Zones already approved by the CMN but not yet enacted by the Ministry.
• Due to legal actions brought by civil society and indigenous representatives in 2023 concerning the consultation and designation procedure, the process of protection of the wider environment of the churches of Castro, Achao, Rilán and Dalcahue has been interrupted. The Decree concerning the designation of the Typical Zone of Castro was annulled by the Supreme Court in August 2023, whereas the Typical Zones of Achao and Rilán are under renewed review by the CMN. The process for Dalcahue will be resumed in 2024. In the case of Caguach, priority will be given to the restoration of the church before the definition of a Typical Zone;
• The Intervention Guidelines for Castro are pending the legal process. Those for Ichuac, Detif and Aldachildo have been submitted for review by the Advisory Bodies. Work on the guidelines for Colo and San Juan will proceed;
• The Integrated Management Plan 2023-2028 (IMP) has been under development since 2020 and is now being evaluated by the Site Manager and the cultural institutions. The proposed management model recognizes the churches as a fundamental pillar of Chiloe’s identity and a source of sustainable development and ensures participation of all identified stakeholders. Positive achievements of local participation through roundtables can be noted. Community priorities of conservation, tourism, security and social issues have been included in the IMP. The challenge for 2024 will be to keep these community coordination roundtables active. The draft IMP of November 2023 is submitted for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
• In 2023, the Cuidemos Chiloe Plan progressed with the technical work for the improvement of 200 houses in Typical Zones. A neighborhood revitalization programme is being implemented in Castro. Conservation works are being undertaken in the churches of Chonchi, Detif, Ichuac, Caguach and Colo, while community management is strengthened in Rilán, Chelín, Nercón, Dalcahue, San Juan and Tenaún. Financial resources are provided by the World Heritage Sites Social Programme and the Cultural Heritage Fund;
• The execution of the “Castro by-pass Project” has suffered delays but will be resumed in 2024 and is expected to be completed in two years. In the meantime, archaeological research was completed at 14 sites that were identified during construction and a management plan has been proposed for archaeological monitoring during the future construction works;
• While the Risk Management Plan is being completed, actions and projects are being undertaken that address emergency and risk conditions.
• Targeted measures have been taken to reinforce cultural heritage institutions and to develop a new Cultural Heritage Law.

Since the 2013 Reactive Monitoring mission, the State Party has been working on the designation of protected areas around the churches (the Typical Zones) and the preparation of specific regulation for each of them, the preparation of the IMP, and the execution of numerous conservation and restoration, risk prevention, awareness building and education programmes.

The case of Castro is extremely complex. The designation of a Typical Zone has encountered opposition from different groups in the community. Furthermore, the State Party has made great effort to mitigate the impact of the shopping mall development but could not advance very far as the mall is privately owned and physical measures would barely be able to mitigate the generated visual impact.

The State Party is commended for the numerous actions and programmes it has undertaken for the conservation of the 16 churches, the designation of Typical Zones and the establishment of intervention guidelines for each of them. Progress is noted in numerous fields of action. However, the draw-back in and concerns of civil society on the designation of Typical Zones and the corresponding Intervention Guidelines for Castro, Achao, Rilán and Dalcahue is noted with serious concern. The State Party should be urged to strengthen the consultation processes with the local and indigenous communities and municipalities that should lead to agreement on the definition of the Typical Zones and Intervention Guidelines.

The completion of the draft IMP is welcomed. The State Party should be encouraged to consider the recommendations of the Advisory Bodies once the technical review is completed.

The delay in the execution of the “Castro by-pass” is noted and the State Party should be urged to complete the works as planned. The attention the State Party is giving to archaeological research during and after the works is commended.

The protection of the setting of the church of Castro and the implementation of mitigation measures for the shopping mall were among the recommendations of the 2013 Reactive Monitoring mission. Unfortunately, the State Party has not been able to implement these recommendations. As a consequence, the actual threats to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property persist, as concluded by the World Heritage Committee at its extended 44th session in 2021.

Considering the difficulties encountered in the implementation of some of the most substantive and critical recommendations of the 2013 Reactive Monitoring mission, it is recommended that a second Reactive Monitoring mission be undertaken as soon as possible. The mission should review the implementation of all recommendations of the 2013 mission, particularly those referring to the designation of buffer zones and regulations for each of the 16 churches that make up the serial property. Special attention should be paid to the case of Castro and to whether mitigation measures to the shopping mall are feasible and/or potentially effective to diminish its negative impact on the OUV of the property. The mission should also be tasked to identify broad mobilization measures to respond to the urgent conservation needs of the property.