Butrint

• Insufficient management mechanisms
• Illegal constructions
• Slow progress on the implementation of the recommendations of the joint missions (issue resolved)
• Tourism development

N/A

On 4 October 2023, the World Heritage Centre invited the State Party of Albania to submit a report on the state of conservation following information received from third parties on new construction and tourist facilities in the World Heritage property, with supporting visual evidence, as well as the findings of the joint UNESCO World Heritage Centre/lCOMOS Advisory Mission to the World Heritage property from 26-28 October 2022, on the vulnerability of the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and confirmation of the removal of 600 ha from the National Park, which had not been notified to the World Heritage Centre and represented a change in the protection regime of a sensitive part of the buffer zone of the property.

On 4 March 2024, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/570/documents/. Progress on a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in this report, as follows:

• The State Party provides a response to the Committee’s previous decision on the state of conservation of the property in 2009 (Decision 33 COM 7B.86) and to the recommendations of the 2007 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM and the 2022 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory missions, including the Integrated Management Plan of the Butrint National Park 2020-2030 (IMP) and progress reports on the state of conservation of the property in 2011 and 2015 on the recommendations of the 2007 mission;
• Steps are being taken to implement the IMP. Management of sections of the property is being transferred to the Butrint Management Foundation (BMF), an independent NGO established through a Cooperation Agreement between the then Ministry of Culture, now restructured as the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation (MECI), and the Albanian-American Development Foundation;
• Work is underway to ensure that the MECI will have oversight of the entire World Heritage property after the management of the areas, collectively referred to as Area A3, is transferred to the BMF by October 2024;
• The Butrint Research Group was established in 2022 and members were appointed in 2023;
• A local team of experts has been appointed to oversee the management of the property. This will be expanded and a budget for training has been approved by the Board of Directors for 2024;
• A map of the property and buffer zone is being prepared for submission to the World Heritage Centre;
• In response to the recommendations of the 2022 mission, terms of reference have been prepared to undertake various management studies, including on community engagement and development, new interpretation of the Triangular Castle, new interpretation of the Venetian Castle on the Acropolis, and an update of the IMP Action Plan and Conservation Plan. The BMF is ready to undertake urgent conservation work to be carried out following the update of the Action Plan;
• Technical meetings have begun to prepare a detailed Action Plan with a timeframe for implementing the recommendation of the 2022 mission;
• The cultural heritage assets (movable and immovable) in the Butrint Archaeological Park and the Archaeological Museum of Butrint have been inventoried and included in the National Register of Cultural Properties;
• The BMF is in the process of organising a series of missions and meetings necessary to obtain input from the Advisory Bodies;
• For the proposed Visitors’ Centre, a two-component design has been selected following an international design competition. A methodology, work plan, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) and archaeological assessment have been submitted to the World Heritage Centre. The HIA is considered a ‘working’ document that will be updated following public consultation. The timeframe for the HIA has been adjusted, following recommendations from ICOMOS. Further ICOMOS recommendations will be taken into account in the development of the project.

The World Heritage Centre has been informed by third parties that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Albania is considering the request by a group of members of the Parliament of Albania to repeal the 2022 Law ‘On the adoption of Agreement on the Administration of the sub-zones of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Landscape of Butrint National Park’, entered between the then Ministry of Culture and the Butrint Management Foundation, as being incompatible with the Constitution. On 4 October and on 13 December 2023, the World Heritage Centre transmitted to the State Party third party information on this case pending before the Supreme Court and on new construction and tourist facilities in the World Heritage property. At the time of writing, the State Party has not responded to these letters.

The State Party reports that it is taking steps to improve the management of the property. The establishment of the various bodies and organisations required to implement the IMP’s is welcome. The IMP includes the establishment of the BMF and its future management of area A3 after a transitional period. It is unfortunate that this process may result in a fragmented management environment, as A3 sections do not cover the entire property. This should be avoided at all costs. Considering that the IMP has been approved by the Council of Ministers in 2020 and that the transition period has ended, the Committee may invite the State Party to undertake a mid-term review of its implementation based on its monitoring framework.

The State Party’s confirmation that it is working towards ensuring that the MECI will retain an oversight role of the entire World Heritage property is therefore welcome. The clarification of the boundaries of the property and its buffer zone is urgent, especially in this context. Urgent clarifications are required of how the sections of the property not covered by the designation A3 and administered by the BMF will be managed and of how the conservation of attributes in these areas will be resourced. It is regrettable that the clarification of the boundaries of the property and its buffer zone, expected since 15 February 2023 as part of the retrospective inventory, is still pending. This is particularly urgent in the current context, given that the 2022 mission confirmed that in January 2022, approximately 600 ha were withdrawn from the National Park near Ksamil, where a tourist residential complex was under construction at the time, and that this land lies within the buffer zone of the property as approved in 2007, and that a small part of the property may also have been breached. The current protective regulations and designated uses of all areas of the National Park need to be clarified in relation to the protection of the property and the function of its buffer zone.

Community engagement should also remain a priority and the development of the Community Engagement and Development plan should continue. The updating of the Conservation Plan and Action Plan is welcomed, as is the willingness of the BMF to implement the Action Plan and the urgent restoration work required. These updated plans should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review to ensure that they are commensurate with the State Party’s commitments to maintain the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property.

Progress is reported on the implementation of the recommendations of the 2022 mission. It would be appropriate for the Committee to request the State Party to fully implement the recommendations of the mission to further the property’s conservation and management.

Specifically, the further development of plans and tools based on pre-defined terms of reference is welcomed, but care should be taken to ensure that the further development of plans and tools should have the maintenance of the property’s OUV as the primary aim and should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies.

Several development projects are planned for implementation in the property and its vicinity. The design for the Visitor Centre and associated documents and studies have been reviewed by ICOMOS, which has recommended that a full HIA, including the landscape dimension, needs to be developed to assess the impact of the proposal on the OUV of the property. This requires further diverse and thorough archaeological investigations, more time to conduct an assessment, and clarity on how the architectural project will be amended in response to outcomes of the technical review processes by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies.

The State Party’ stated commitment to implement these recommendations and to ensure that the project is appropriate for the maintenance of the property’s OUV is welcomed in this regard. The Committee may wish to request that a process of engagement continue between the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to ensure that the project is consistent with the maintenance of the property’s OUV. Details of any other development projects that may affect the OUV of the property, such as those for the Triangular Castle and the Venetian Castle on the Acropolis, should be assessed through independent HIAs and details should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre in a timely manner, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, before decisions are made about their implementation.