Historic Centre of Lima

• Fires in 1998 and 2001 (issue resolved)
• Management systems/ management plan (formalization of the procedures to set up a Management Coordination Unit to implement the Strategic Plan; revision of the Master and Strategic Plans)
• Housing
• New development projects within the Historic Centre including urban transportation systems (Corredor Segregado and subway system) and interventions in historical buildings
• Ground transport infrastructure (development of the cable car project for tourism purposes)
• Management activities (unsuitable interventions)

On 3 December 2020, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, a summary of which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/500/documents/. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented, as follows:

• The High Capacity Segregated Corridor (COSAC) is now the responsibility of the Urban Transport Authority (ATU). Terms of Reference for Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) for seven stations are being finalized by the ATU, and PROLIMA recommends including Central and Caquetá Stations. The HIAs and mitigation measures should be completed in 2021;
• Training courses and developed proposals were offered concerning a “Directive for the Development and Evaluation of the HIA Studies on World Heritage Sites”, to be aligned with the relevant regulations;
• The HIA of Metro Line 2 (which crosses the buffer zone) needs adjustments. An HIA will be carried out for Metro Line 3 (which crosses the World Heritage property). Once completed, both HIAs will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre;
• Interinstitutional working groups addressing security (Special Criminal Investigation Command); irregularities (Public Ministry and Judiciary); traditional knowledge (Ministry of Education); and special regulations for heritage properties (Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation) were activated;
• The Master Plan of the Historic Centre (2019-2029, with a view to 2035) and corresponding administrative regulations were approved in December 2019 (Ordinances 2194 and 2195), following ICOMOS’ September 2019 Technical Review. The Plan is being implemented through interinstitutional agreements;
• Plans to safeguard traditional festivities recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage are being developed;
• Within the framework of the Urban Renewal Programme, a Disaster Risk Management Plan and Peruvian Blue Shield Committee were established. Rehabilitation interventions address pedestrianisation and road improvement; preventive shoring of at-risk buildings; restoration of green areas and sculptural heritage; projects for recovery (acquisition and restoration) of four emblematic buildings in danger; and renewal projects (Rimac River Special Landscape Project) and programmes that involve the private sector. A feasibility study of a Reconversion Project for the existing ecological systems in Rimac was developed;
• Restoration of the exterior walls and frontal public space of the Convent San Francisco, including recovery of many covered mural paintings, has an assigned budget and is under review by the Ministry of Culture, which did not observe any recent detrimental interventions in its 2019 report;
• The previous proposal for the cable car to Cerro San Cristobal has been discarded. The current proposal considers a system closer to the hill. The Ministry of Culture concludes that the proposed layout causes less impact and therefore is feasible, although needing revision. Before further development, an HIA is required for evaluation by the Ministry of Culture;
• The State Party is promoting the formation of an inter-institutional working group to define a Minor Boundary Modification proposal that will include 6 zones comprehending buildings of great heritage value within the property boundaries, to be presented in 2021;
• PROLIMA was constituted as the Executing Unit for Public Investment;
• Other concerning issues are reported, such as clandestine interventions in historic buildings, potential impact of wholesale trade and street markets, disproportionate increase in the value of the land, precarious housing, and lack of incentives for urban renewal.

The State Party has attained developments in various issues. HIA management has been improved through training courses and specific studies regarding proposals for regulations on this issue. Pending HIA studies and mitigation measures are expected for COSAC, Metro line 2, and Metro line 3, but no outcomes are presented regarding the upgrading and extension of Linea Amarilla, and the Committee may wish to request the State Party to provide updated information in this regard.

It is recommended that the Committee welcome the approval of the Master Plan of the Historic Centre (2019-2029) and its regulations, which detail future actions, some of which are already under implementation. However, although climate change and disaster risk management issues are addressed in the new Master Plan, this remains a challenge to be faced, considering threats such as El Niño. As advised in the ICOMOS technical review, the general proposals and guidelines relating to social and economic development included in the Master Plan should be implemented through an integrated Social-Economic Development Plan. This plan should consider the integration of the Historic Centre within the Metropolitan Area and address the serious housing and economic conditions which prevail in a significant portion of the Historic Centre, aiming towards its sustainable development and considering international preservation and intervention criteria. The Urban Renewal Programme should be integrated within this plan, which should implement social economic housing policies and the proposed housing recovery actions.

The Technical School of Traditional Knowledge, to open in 2021, will provide a higher understanding of heritage values, contribute to the safeguarding of immaterial knowledge, and provide employment opportunities. The State Party should consider maintaining regular working groups that also include representatives of civil organizations from the social, economic and technical sectors of the community to contribute to deliberations on the development of the Historic Centre of Lima.

Regarding the Urban Renewal Program, it is advised that the Committee request that the renewal projects that could have an adverse impact on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), such as the project for reconversion of empty lands in the district of Rimac and the Rimac River Special Landscape Project, be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review.

The restoration project for Convent San Francisco is being reviewed by Ministry of Culture. An important issue is the Ministry’s decision not to reconstruct the atrium’s closure wall that was demolished in 1871. The detrimental unauthorized interventions reported by the 2017 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission were not observed by the Ministry of Culture in their 2019 inspection report, which reported that no recent interventions were evident. Parts of the property are in a poor state of conservation and need restoration. The proposal for the gallery roof of the second level of the main cloister is being finalized. It is recommended that the State Party ensure careful observation of the international preservation and intervention criteria and submit the final restoration project, as well as the preliminary project for the enhancement of San Francisco Square, to the World Heritage Centre for review.

The decision to discard the previous proposal of the cable car to the Cerro San Cristobal in Rimac should be welcomed. The Metropolitan Municipality of Lima requires an HIA of the revised proposal to be submitted to the Ministry of Culture for evaluation before further development of the project; it is recommended that this HIA is also submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review.

The State Party should be encouraged to pursue its proposal to establish an inter-institutional working group to define a Minor Boundary Modification proposal that will include within the property’s boundaries a number of monuments that are currently located in its buffer zone, as recommended by the 2017 Advisory mission.

The Municipality of Lima has begun to strengthen PROLIMA, by constituting it as the Executing Unit for Public Investment in 2019. However, it is recommended that the State Party consider providing PROLIMA with oversight functions, which are required for a role as an autonomous authority.