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Kathmandu Valley

Nepal
Factors affecting the property in 2007*
  • Housing
  • Management systems/ management plan
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

a) Uncontrolled urban development resulting in the loss of traditional urban fabric, in particular privately-owned houses;

b) Lack of co-ordinated management mechanism

Threats for which the property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger
  • Partial or significant deterioration of traditional elements of heritage in six of the seven monument zones;
  • General loss of authenticity and integrity.
Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger

Establishment of an integrated conservation management system

Corrective Measures for the property

a) Completing and adopting the integrated management plan by 1 June 2007;

b) Ensuring establishment of concrete conservation guidelines and their dissemination;

c) Completing the categorized inventories in the seven Monument Zones in order to effectively link these with conservation guidelines;

d) Implementing appropriate building regulations to control the transformation of heritage buildings within the World Heritage boundaries and in their buffer zones;

e) Undertaking effective monitoring measures to assess the implementation of the management plan, by documenting and evaluating physical transformation of heritage buildings regularly.

Timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures
1 June 2007
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2007

Total amount provided to the property: USD 10-15 million under the International Safeguarding Campaign for the Kathmandu Valley (1979-2001). The campaign was officially closed in 2001. USD 45,000 was provided in 2005 by the Dutch Funds-in-Trust.

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2007
Requests approved: 15 (from 1979-2006)
Total amount approved : 342,679 USD
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2007

On 1 February 2007, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report to the World Heritage Centre as requested by the Committee at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006). An ICOMOS/World Heritage Centre reactive monitoring mission took place from 24 to 29 April 2007, in order to review the progress reported by the State Party above, and to review the conditions for removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The mission and the State Party note the following accomplishments in their respective reports:

a) Preparation of a draft Integrated Management Framework (IMF), designed as an instrument to give official legitimacy to the IMP, and included within the IMP, to be adopted by the Government before the end of May 2007;

b) Completion of inventories of heritage buildings (categorized into A, B and C with grades of condition) in each of the seven World Heritage Monument Zones;

c) Revision of all existing building bylaws in each of the seven Monument Zones;

d) Amendment of some building bylaws conceptually linked to prescriptions for the inscribed site, buffer zone and surrounding areas;

e) Nepalese Conservation Guidelines (Ancient Monument Conservation Manual 2006) set up by the Government of Nepal;

f) Integration of the conservation of the inventorized buildings in linkage to building bylaws for each Monument Zone, as well as to the guiding conservation principles established in the IMF;

g) Identification of the site managers for each monument zone;

h) Establishment of a Coordinative Working Committee (CWC) for the IMP of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property, composed of (representatives of) the site managers of each monument zone and chaired by the World Heritage Unit of the Department of Archaeology;

i) Establishment of the Secretariat of the CWC within the Department of Archaeology,

j) Establishment of a database containing all collected information on the property by the Secretariat of the CWC, which would eventually become the principal shared public source of information for the conservation of heritage values in the Kathmandu Valley;

k) Preparation of Management Handbooks and Action Plans for each of the seven Monument Zones;

l) Monitoring measures set up to assess the implementation of the management plan by regularly documenting and evaluating physical transformation of heritage buildings.

ICOMOS and the World Heritage Centre commend the State Party on the quality and completeness of the state of conservation report, and on the continued strong efforts to complete the Integrated Management Plan according to the time table set last year, in difficult work conditions and political circumstances.

The mission found the IMP to be exemplary in many respects. The IMP was completed after two and a half years of work, addressing the social, political and economic complexities and challenges of the multi-component World Heritage property. It could be considered a model for the development of integrated management plans in all regions of the world. Its excellence lies in the innovative aspects of many of its constituent instruments (such as the Integrated Management Framework for adjusting structural relations among stakeholders) and its commitment to build from the ground-up a planning approach which involved all those who will be responsible for its implementation.

Referring back to the Decision 30 COM.7A.26, the mission reports with respect to the following five points:

a) The integrated management plan is in place, awaiting final completion to incorporate comments provided during the mission, for the envisaged Governmental adoption by the end of May 2007;

b) Guiding conservation principles for the Kathmandu Valley, which reflect the philosophy of the recently completed Nepalese national conservation guidelines (Ancient Monument Conservation Manual 2006), have been included in the IMF;

c) The categorized inventories in the seven Monument Zones have been completed by the Department of Archaeology, and through their linkage to the conservation guidelines (and building bylaws), and are to be effectively utilized for documenting and monitoring. Categorized inventories in the “buffer zones” of Patan and Bhaktapur Durbar Square Monument Zones, with large perimeters, are still awaiting completion;

d) The building by-laws for each Monument Zone have been revised, to control the transformation of heritage buildings within the World Heritage boundaries and in their buffer zones;

e) Regular monitoring measures to document and evaluate physical transformation of heritage buildings are planned within the Plan of Action for each Monument Zone, for monthly reporting to the Coordinative Working Committee in order to be assessed within the framework of implementing the Integrated Management Plan as a whole.

The mission recommends,on the basis of the above, the removal of the Kathmandu Valley from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The mission further recommends, during implementation of the IMP that close attention be given to:

a) Long-term sustainability of IMP involving identification of secure self-sustainable resources and a self-assessment mechanism within the State Party;

b) Strengthening of cross-sectoral co-ordination around the implementation of the IMP;

c) Increased recognition of risk preparedness as a key strategic priority in overall management of the property.

The mission further notes the importance of the official submission of the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value by the State Party. 

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2007
31 COM 7A.23
Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) (C 121 bis)
 

The World Heritage Committee,

1.       Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7A.Add,

2.       Recalling Decision 30 COM 7A.26, adopted at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006),

3.       Notes the information provided by the World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS joint mission in April 2007,

4.       Further notes with satisfaction the efforts of the State Party to complete the Integrated Management Plan by the goal of June 2007 established at the 30th session of the Committee;

5.       Acknowledges the establishment of an integrated conservation management system for the property, as requested by the Committee, focused on the completed Integrated Management Plan (itself including key guiding conservation principles linked to the completed categorized inventories in the seven Monument Zones, revised building by-laws and effective monitoring measures);

6.       Decides to remove the Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) from the List of World Heritage in Danger, based on the results achieved;

7.       Strongly encourages the State Party to continue its efforts in sustaining the integrated management system for the conservation of the outstanding universal value of the property, by implementing the Integrated Management Plan;

8.       Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2008 a progress report on the state of implementation of the IMP and the state of conservation of the property as a whole, for examination by the Committee at its 32nd session in 2008.

31 COM 8C.3
Update of the list of the World Heritage in danger - removal - Royal Palaces of Abomey, Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, Kathmandu Valley, Everglades National Park

The World Heritage Committee,

1.Following the examination of the state of conservation reports of properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger (WHC-07/31.COM/7A and WHC-07/31.COM/7A.Add, WHC-07/31.COM/7A.Add.2, WHC-07/31.COM/7A.Add.3),

2.Decides to remove the following properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger:

  • Benin, Royal Palaces of Abomey (Decision 31 COM 7A.14)
  • Honduras, Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Decision 31 COM 7A.13)
  • Nepal, Kathmandu Valley (Decision 31 COM 7A.23)
  • United States of America, Everglades National Park (Decision 31 COM 7A.12)
Draft Decision: 31 COM 7A.23

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7A.Add,

2. Recalling Decision 30 COM 7A.26, adopted at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006),

3. Notes the information provided by the World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS joint mission in April 2007,

4. Further notes with satisfaction the efforts of the State Party to complete the Integrated Management Plan by the goal of June 2007 established at the 30th session of the Committee;

5. Acknowledges the establishment of an integrated conservation management system for the property, as requested by the Committee, focused on the completed Integrated Management Plan (itself including key guiding conservation principles linked to the completed categorized inventories in the seven Monument Zones, revised building by-laws and effective monitoring measures);

6. Decides to remove the Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) from the List of World Heritage in Danger, based on the results achieved;

7. Strongly encourages the State Party to continue its efforts in sustaining the integrated management system for the conservation of the outstanding universal value of the property, by implementing the Integrated Management Plan;

8. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2008 a progress report on the state of implementation of the IMP and the state of conservation of the property as a whole, for examination by the Committee at its 32nd session in 2008.

 

Report year: 2007
Nepal
Date of Inscription: 1979
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iii)(iv)(vi)
Danger List (dates): 2003-2007
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 31COM (2007)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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