Meidan Emam, Esfahan

• Commercial development (issue resolved)
• Underground transportation infrastructure
• Housing
• Urban sewerage and water infrastructure
• Disaster Risk Management (anti-earthquake structural consolidation)

Total amount granted: 5,710 Euros (France/UNESCO Cooperation Agreement)

On 1 December 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, a summary of which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/115/documents. The report presents progress with several conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions, as follows:

• The final version of the Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) in Persian for Imam Square has been prepared and approved. An English-language translation of the Plan is underway and will be submitted for review by the World Heritage Centre as soon as it is completed, as requested by the Committee;
• The draft Disaster Risk Management Plan (DRMP) and the Preliminary Studies of Water System and Sewage System Reorganization Plan for Naqhsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan (Imam Square), requested by the Committee, have been prepared and were attached to the report;
• A brief paper entitled ‘Pedestrian route on Imam Square Complex’ showing the current condition of the main pedestrian access routes was enclosed in the Report.

The State Party report refers to other actions, including:

• Ongoing conservation and restoration of the decorations of the dome of the Abbasi Grand Mosque, which was damaged in 2010;
• Restoration and conservation of the mural paintings along the Royal route of Ali Qapo palace since 2019;
• Continuing work on the re-installation of painted decorations at Ali Qapo mansion, along with repairs and arrangement of CCTV cameras and audio protection systems, installation of fencing around the copper pond, and construction of a restroom;
• Ongoing installation of lighting, organisation of ramps, shop signage, security patrols, and educational and interpretative activities in the Imam Square complex;
• Continued conservation and restoration of the second and third sections of the tile working decorations of the dome of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque;
• Printing of tourist guide maps in English, Spanish, Arabic, and French.

The State Party also indicated that national and international visitors have been returning to the site since 2022.

On 8 August 2022, the World Heritage Centre received third-party information concerning the Shah Mosque, which was reportedly damaged during restoration works. The State Party responded on 22 October 2022, indicating the ongoing conservation process to address the damage. On 18 October 2022, the World Heritage Centre received further third-party information on a physical intervention that may have led to alterations to an entrance at the Qeyssariyeh portico and forwarded this information to the State Party for verification. At the time of writing the present document, the World Heritage Centre has not received any response from the State Party on this question.

The adoption of the Persian-language CMP, and it is recommended that the Committee note this development and request the submission of its translation.

The Disaster Risk Management Plan (DRMP) is a substantial and sophisticated document that identifies, analyses and evaluates the risks facing the property and classifies them by magnitude. This analysis can be utilised as a means of determining the priorities for action to protect against risks. A table of prioritised actions to address the assessed risks is provided, but the State Party recognizes that the DRMP is the first part of the process to address risks, and that the next part of the process is to provide measures to reduce the identified risks and be able to respond to disaster. The Committee’s previous request that the DRMP include planning for specific anti-earthquake measures is no longer appropriate, given the larger range of high risks identified in the Plan. It is therefore recommended that the Committee commend the State Party for completing this first part of the risk assessment planning and request that the next part is undertaken, and that a prioritised work plan be prepared to address the extreme and high priorities identified in the DRMP.

The Preliminary Studies of Water System and Sewage System Reorganization Plan for Naqhsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan (Imam Square) is an exhaustive study identifying the scale of the water and sewage leak problem. This problem is caused by ageing and damaged pipes sitting over or under the fill layer of soil in which the building foundations sit, and which is underlain by a clay layer that inhibits water drainage. This results in rising damp, made worse by the presence of nitrate and sulfate ions from the sewage, which accelerates buildings’ decay. This study identifies the nature and scale of the problem and highlights that around 255 of the existing sewers had not previously been mapped, and that 16% of manhole access points were flooded, indicating downstream blockage. However, further study is now needed to map and assess the physical condition of the pipelines themselves and to facilitate the planning of repair and replacement programs. The cost, based on the current large sewer collector pipe system replacement program, is estimated to be in the order of 500 million Euros, but the State Party has not provided any prioritisation of works to address the highest risks to the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). It is therefore recommended that the Committee welcome the Water System and Sewage System Reorganization Plan and reiterate its request that the State Party submit a prioritised programme of works to implement this plan.

The three-page paper ‘Pedestrian route on Imam Square Complex’ identifies the main pedestrian routes around the property from other parts of the buffer zone. It is solely a statement of current condition and does not address the historical and cultural access issues raised in the State Party’s report in 2018. It is recommended that the Committee take note of this report and reiterate its request that the State Party submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, the final plan for the development of spatial structures for motorized and pedestrian access to the property. This plan should focus on resolving historical changes made to enable access for motorised vehicles, which have proven detrimental to the conservation of heritage values, and on improving pedestrian movement in and around the property.

The Committee may wish to thank the State Party for the information it provided on the works undertaken at the Emam Mosque dome, yet request the State Party to submit more information on the conservation measures, including details of the mortars being used and the structural causes of the deformation of the dome. The Committee may also wish to request information on the proposed actions to address the issues reported at the Portico of Qaysariyyeh, which could be supported by a Heritage Impact Assessment carried out in line with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context. Advice should also be added in the Conservation and Management plan to counter future potentially problematic changes to the property.