Stone Town of Zanzibar

• Management system/management plan
• Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure
• Development and environmental pressures, particularly in relation with Malindi port project (issue resolved)
• Natural disasters and lack of risk-preparedness
• Visitors/tourist pressures
• Housing pressure
• Lack of human and financial resources
• Lack of legal framework
• Commercial development (large shopping mall) particularly in relation to the Darajani Corridor project
• Lack of maintenance of the built fabric

Total amount provided to the property: 2009: USD 24,000 for the inventory of the public spaces in Zanzibar; 2011: USD 14,000 for capacity-building in managing digital inventory; 2013: USD 49,935 for participatory mapping of HUL (Netherlands Funds-in-Trust). 2010-2013: USD 400,000 for Zanzibar and two other African sites under the World Heritage Cities Programme (Flemish Funds-in-Trust), USD 40 000 for Zanzibar for emergency works and capacity building (Oman FiT), USD 400 000 (JFiT) and USD 100 000 (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Fund for Culture at UNESCO) for Majestic Cinema Rehabilitation Project

A joint World Heritage Centre/ICCROM/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property in July 2023. The mission report is available online at the following web address: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/173/documents/. On 1 February 2024, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, an executive summary of which is available at the aforementioned address. Progress in a number of issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in those reports, as follows:

• Legislative changes have been implemented, including to amend the 2010 Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority Act;
• Departmental directors and heads of sections have been appointed in line with the Stone Town Conservation and Heritage Management Plan (STCHMP);
• The STCHMP has been amended to include Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) and mandatory conservation by building owners;
• A new proposal for the Darajani Bazaar project has been submitted to the World Heritage Centre and this proposal is being assessed through an HIA;
• The State Party is seeking an investor for the Malindi Port who will consent to work in line with conservation guidelines;
• The State Party is developing an integrated mobility program to connect Stone Town with other towns of Zanzibar. A central parking area will be constructed at Kijangwani. A multistorey parking building structure, envisaged in the 2020 Master Plan, and a Bus Stand will be constructed inside the property at Malindi. Designs are being prepared. These will be assessed through HIAs. These will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for the review before the commencement of the projects;
• Four of the mitigation measures at the Mambo Msiige/Park Hyatt conversion have been implemented;
• Details for the reconstruction and restoration of the House of Wonders and Tippu Tip House have been submitted to the World Heritage Centre and the development of a reuse plan for the House of Wonders is being expedited and plans for the renovation of the Palace Museum are being developed, both in collaboration with the State Party of Oman.

The State Party also affirms its commitment to safeguard the state of conservation of the property and to communicating with the World Heritage Centre in accordance with the invitation extended by the Committee in Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.

A joint World Heritage Centre/ICCROM Advisory mission visited the property in April 2024. The mission report is available online at the aforementioned address.

Finalisation of the 2023 Reactive Monitoring mission report was delayed, and the State Party has not yet, at the time of writing, been able to fully implement its recommendations. The mission reports progress in strengthening the management system, improving the lives of the inhabitants of the Stone Town, redressing the negative impacts of traffic, implementation of past Committee Decisions and addressing the concerning state of conservation of the built fabric of the property, but also notes that conservation work is progressing at a slow pace and the number of buildings requiring urgent attention is increasing. At the same time, the mission notes a tendency of gentrification, in part due to the costs of building maintenance. A further point of concern, and a new tendency, that the Committee may start to see as a concern, is the continuous erosion of public open space, including but not limited to parks, open spaces and courtyards. These breathing spaces and part of the historic landscape of the Stone Town are being acquired and built on. The mission advises that the State Party continue implementing the measures in place and previous recommendations. In addition, it strongly recommends strengthening the capacity of all responsible institutions and authorities involved in the development process of the Stone Town to effectively manage the property and avoid a lapse in the implementation of the proposed actions that may threaten and jeopardize the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property.

The reforms of the management system reported by the State Party are very welcome. The amendment of the 2010 Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority (STCDA) Act now gives the property management authority greater power in the day-to-day operations of the property. The appointment of new staff will capacitate the STCDA to respond to the challenge of improving the state of conservation of the property, which has been a point of concern since its inscription. These developments, and the progress made in the implementation of the mitigation measures at the Mambo Msiige/Park Hyatt Hotel, indicate a renewed commitment to the maintenance of the property’s OUV and better management of its attributes.

The Management Plan amendment, which mandates HIAs as recommended by ICOMOS in a technical review and grants the STCDA powers to enforce building maintenance, is likewise a significant enhancement of the management system. However, the Committee may wish to repeat its request that the State Party resubmit the final STCHMP to the World Heritage Centre following its amendment in response to the ICOMOS technical review and advice which also recommended placing the protection and maintenance of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) central to the aims of the STCHMP.

The general state of conservation of the built fabric of the property remains concerning, despite the efforts of the government to address critical cases, which in the extreme, can lead to building collapses. The Darajani development project was not implemented according to the design assessed in the HIA and has subsequently been halted.

The continued support of the State Party of the Sultanate of Oman for capacity-building for nominations and promotion of World Heritage in Eastern Africa, including the rehabilitation of both the Palace Museum and the House of Wonders, is vital. The State Party has submitted detailed reports on the state of conservation and technical details on the latter, but the rehabilitation of both buildings requires a thorough understanding of their construction phases as requested by the Committee for the House of Wonders in Decision 45 COM 7B.37, as well as an assessment of their building pathologies and clear integral vision on the future use of the buildings as museums. The need for an integral vision was highlighted by the 2024 Advisory mission. The World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies remain available to advise the State Party on these complex projects.

In May 2024, the State Party, through financial support from the Governments of Japan (JFiT) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Fund for Culture at UNESCO), launched the spearheaded Majestic Cinema Rehabilitation Project. The project, the launch of which was facilitated as a pilot project for UNESCO Priority Africa activity on good conservation and socioeconomic development, will rehabilitate the Majestic Cinema into a cultural hub, providing a cultural and social impulse to support social economic development in the property. For further information, see: https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2691/.

Mobility remains an enduring challenge in the property and in its buffer zone. The new transport plan, of which the Inception Report was reviewed by ICOMOS in January 2022, may be able to address this. The details of the “Safe Mobility Program for Stone Town” and the reported 5-year implementation plan, which the 2023 Reactive Monitoring mission reports as being implemented, have not yet been submitted for review, as requested by the Committee. The construction of a parking structure and bus exchange terminal inside the property at Malindi may provide relief but also have a negative impact on the property’s OUV. The State Party’s commitment to submit the details of the design as well as an HIA for the Malindi Bus Stand project is appropriate, but the same should be undertaken for the multistorey parking building at Malindi. Such an HIA may provide an occasion to explore all possible mitigation measures, including alternatives long term measures.

The submitted material on the Tippu Tip House was reviewed by ICOMOS in 2021, which concluded that the proposal reuse project as a hotel and restaurant and recommended represents an inappropriate use that will greatly and permanently negatively impact the OUV of this property and, recalling past advice, encourage the State Party again to ensure that the building be given a public cultural or educational use.

The relocation of the harbour will open opportunities in the Malindi Port but also remove an economic driver for the city. The Committee may wish to recall its previous request that the redevelopment be conceptualized with a focus on local communities and the property to ensure its long-term sustainability.

The 2024 Advisory mission made a key recommendation on improving the level of communication between the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, including a regular series of on-site coordination meetings with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies regarding the monitoring of the rehabilitation of the House of Wonders and establishing a quick feedback system to be operationalised through the appointment of an independent expert to support management authority in the follow-up.

To that effect, the State Party has invited a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory mission to visit the property in December 2024.