Brasilia

a) Urban pressure that may affect the original city plan (Plano Piloto) that warranted inscription in the World Heritage List;

b) Lack of a Master Plan.

The State Party submitted a state of conservation report on 5 February 2010. The report provides information on the activities implemented by the Superintendence of Instituto Do Patrimonio Historico e Artistico Nacional (IPHAN) in relation to the control and supervision of the property. It also submitted technical reports on projects as requested by the World Heritage Committee in Decision 33 COM 7B.133.

a) Federal District’s Territorial Development Planning

The State Party reported that the main challenge of this planning is to define principles and mechanisms to safeguard and preserve Brasilia’s Urban Plan Compound area. The Complementary Law no. 803/2009, approved by Federal District Legislative, April 2009), establishes the Compound Urban Zone (ZUCT) in addition to defining limits and creating guidelines for this ZUCT. The establishment of buffer zones come under a different planning tool, the Urban Historical site preservation plan; there are additional means to declare controlled use urban zones to protect the inscribed area. In addition, Brasilia’s Urbanistic Compound Preservation Plan has been finalised and there is a project in place to protect areas that contribute to maintaining the horizontal line of the city.

The State Party reports that the study for the delimitation of the buffer zone is being developed with requested support from the Geographical Services Directory and the Army’s Geographical Information and Image Centre. It is not clear whether this will extend to the wider setting that was said to be protected in last year’s report. The State Party also states that this study will be presented in the first semester of 2010, subject to review by IPHAN.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies take note on the information provided by the State Party and encourage the State Party to continue its efforts in articulating all planning documents to strengthen preservation and maintenance of the attributes that sustain the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. They reiterate their request to the State Party to submit the proposed new boundaries for the buffer zone, proper cartography and related regulations for examination by the World Heritage Committee.

b) Management Plan – Brasilia’s Urbanistic Compound Preservation Plan

The Urbanistic Compound Preservation Plan has been submitted by the State Party (printed only and in Portuguese). In last year’s State Party Report this was stated to be considered as the management plan for the property.

c) Roads W3 and VLT- Light Vehicles on rails

In addition to what is mentioned in the report, the State Party submitted a technical document on the projected infrastructure works for Roads W3 and VLT. It indicated that these projects concur with the guidelines established in the Territorial Development and Planning document and have been reviewed by technically competent national bodies.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies consider that the projected works are comprehensive and technical information illustrates how efforts have been made to maintain the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. They encourage the State Party to submit additional studies requested by IPHAN for the creation of underground parking spaces and new public spaces for the establishment of squares for examination and review prior to implementation.

d) Orla Project

The State Party reports that activities have resumed to implement this project albeit on a reduced scale than originally proposed. Three stages are foreseen for the implantation of qualified public spaces to reinstate the connection between the lake and the Federal District population area. The technical report for this project was included.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies encourage the State Party to implement recommendations included in the technical studies to maintain the qualities of the area.

e) Southern local commerce areas regulations

The State Party reported that Law – Southern Local Areas Trade Regulations (Lei dos Puxadinhos / Complementary Law no. 766/2008) was created to establish regulatory measures for the occupation of the Southern Local Commerce and occupations of spaces between blocks. Although the Law is in place, enforcement continues to depend on the Inspecting Agency, and improvements are needed to actively implement the Law.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies welcome regulations that address gaps in the existing frameworks and urges the State Party to identify appropriate strategies to enforce their implementation.

f) Vila Planalto

The State Party submitted an action plan for this section of the city with includes provisions for its management and the review of desired usage and occupation. The Plan was developed by the Federal District Document and supervised by the heritage authority (IPHAN-DF).

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies recognize the dynamism of Brasilia and encourage the State Party to consider the attributes that sustain the Outstanding Universal Value of the property in decision-making regarding future developments and finalize the retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value within the framework of the Retrospective Inventory for Latin America and the Caribbean.

g) Other Conservation Issues

The State Party reports that since 2006, IPHAN has been conducting necessary restoration work and a rigorous inspection process (such as the Brasil Cathedral, Alvorada Palace, Planalto Palace etc).

Technical evaluations are ongoing for the Platforma Rodoviaria and the Teatro Nacional.

The Northern Cultural Sector project is currently in an evaluation phase and is awaiting a response to requested adjustments. No clarification was submitted for this project.

In conclusion, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note that the State Party has developed a number of planning tools to deal with the urban development affecting the original city plan. They encourage the State Party to ensure that these planning tools can be implemented in an integrated manner and that mechanisms are adopted to ensure their effectiveness .