Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions

• Erosion (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Housing, (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Commercial development
• Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure
• Illegal construction
• Interpretative and visitation facilities
• Ground transport infrastructure
• Ground Water Pollution
• Solid waste
• Management systems/management plan (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Legal Framework
• Financial resources
• Heavy rain (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Wind (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Changes to oceanic waters
• Salt-laden atmosphere (issue resolved in 1998 but significant again in 2019)
• Lack of maintenance of built fabric

Total amount granted: USD 26,770 provided in 2007 by the Australia Trust Fund for the project "Cleaning Ussher Fort; USD 49,261 received in 2007 by the European Commission for the project "External Works for the Restoration and Redevelopment of Parts of Ussher Fort"; USD 33,593 provided in 2019 by the UNESCO / Netherlands Funds-in-Trust for the project "The rehabilitation of Ussher Fort Slave Museum and Documentary Centre"; USD 35,377 provided in 2021 by the government of France for the "Consolidation of Fort Amsterdam (Ghana) for Conserving and Preserving Heritage for sustainable Development"; USD 50,000 provided in 2024 by the UNESCO / Netherlands Funds-in-Trust for the project "Enhancing visitor experience at Fort Amsterdam".

On 22 February 2024, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/34/documents/, addressing a number of conservation issues previously raised by the Committee as follows:

• For the delineation of boundaries and buffer zones, the State Party engaged in May 2023 a consultant under the World Bank-funded Ghana Tourism Development Project. Three out of four stages are completed (reconnaissance survey of all components for their physical inspection, gathering information from the localities, meetings with local authorities, etc.). The fourth stage concerns the drawing of site plans indicating proposed final boundaries and buffer zones;
• The report recalls the completion of the Rehabilitation of the Ussher Fort Slavery Museum and structural consolidation works at Fort Amsterdam, with support from France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as well as capacity building in cultural resource management supported by France;
• The draft Integrated Management Plan (IMP) has been amended following ICOMOS’ review; a steering committee was to be established during the first quarter of 2024;
• Two Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) World Bank-funded Ghana Tourism Development projects are referred to:
  • Design for the Elmina Iconic Project at St George Castle at Elmina: the State Party is compiling the necessary documentation following ICOMOS' recommendations for resubmission to the World Heritage Centre,
  • Work at Victoria Park in front of Fort St. Anthony at Axim has been halted while the plans are reviewed internally before submission to the World Heritage Centre;
• Despite its commitment to addressing the numerous conservation challenges, the State Party acknowledges the limited progress made largely due to a lack of resources required to survey the structural integrity of components and expresses strong concern at the ongoing deterioration of the integrity of the property components. It would welcome technical and financial support from the international community to develop a sustainable approach to the property's conservation, as well as advise from the World Heritage Centre on how to seek technical support from international partners to this end;
• An overview is provided of known projects within or near site components, noting that the James Town Fishing Harbour project and the use of Fort Fredensborg at Old Ningo as a contractor’s yard continues. It has been unable to make progress on engaging UNESCO's Routes of Enslaved Peoples project, draft a Disaster Risk Plan or to create a Heritage Fund.

The State Party’s candid communication regarding the challenges it faces in maintaining the state of conservation of the property is greatly appreciated. The efforts of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board to address the current worrying state of conservation of the property within this context are laudable, especially in its continued engagement with, and response to the advice provided by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies. The State Party's commitment to respond to the advice provided by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies related to the World Bank-funded tourism development projects in Elmina and Axim is welcome and it would be appropriate to request that the revised projects be submitted in a timely manner for a new technical review by the Advisory Bodies.

The State Party’s willingness to revise projects and the IMP in response to technical reviews by ICOMOS is also noted with satisfaction. The completion of the rehabilitation work at the Ussher Fort Slavery Museum and the consolidation interventions at Fort Amsterdam (funding for follow-up interventions was approved by the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in April 2024) illustrate the dedication of the State Party and its willingness to collaborate with external parties to address the conservation needs of the property. Similarly, the project to delineate property boundaries and definition of buffer zones has led to all components of the property being inspected, but regrettably already completed survey reports and related documentation were not provided for a more detailed appreciation.

However, the limited progress in implementing past Committee Decisions and mission recommendations, as reported by the State Party, is of great concern.

The State Party’s unequivocal message is that it has neither the capacities nor means to address the urgent challenges presented by the property, which go beyond the physical maintenance of its integrity to include development pressures, visitor security, interpretation and display, and inappropriate projects. The capacity building activities, funded by the government of France, are therefore very welcome. However, the continued development of a fishing harbour at James Town, which directly negatively impacts Fort James and has a detrimental impact on its setting, potentially affecting also Ussher Fort nearby, and also the use of Fort Fredensborg at Old Ningo, indicates that not all organs of the State currently consider the safeguarding of the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) to be a priority.

The State Party makes a general request for assistance in its report. One of the primary challenges in the maintenance of the components of this property is that most of them are vacant and do not significantly contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of their communities. Noting that the Convention is founded on the principle of collective assistance to maintain the OUV of World Heritage properties, and that the Committee has, in Decision 45 COM 7B.125, already called for an increased mobilization of the international community to provide more financial and technical support to the State Party, it would be appropriate at this time to establish a directed campaign to assist the State Party. This campaign would aim at developing strategies for long-term sustainable maintenance of the various property components in an effort to address the ascertained danger faced by the property due to the continued deterioration of materials, structure and/or ornamental features and architectural coherence. This requires an integrated approach, based on a thorough assessment of the components' structural integrity, individual contribution to the OUV of the property, territorial, spatial and socio-economic context, and climate change resilience.

In consideration of the above, it is appreciated that the State Party has invited a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, as was requested by the World Heritage Committee at its extended 44th and 45th sessions. The mission was scheduled to take place after the time of writing this report, but before the 46th session of the Committee. The mission report will be available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/34/documents/.