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State of Conservation Minaret and ... 2004

Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam

Afghanistan
Factors affecting the property in 2004*
  • Civil unrest
  • Ground transport infrastructure
  • Legal framework
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Other Threats:

    Need for consolidation and restoration of the monument

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

Lack of capacity in conservation techniques; Lack of management mechanism (including legislation); Lack of monitoring system; Lack of presentation and interpretation; Lack of human and financial resources; Lack of institution co-ordination; Earthquake; Civil unrest, Looting/Theft.

Additional Details:

Structural instability of the leaning Minaret aggravated by seasonal flooding

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2004
Requests approved: 1 (from 2002-2002)
Total amount approved : 20,000 USD
2002 Training for national and local authorities in the ... (Approved)   20,000 USD
Missions to the property until 2004**
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2004

Following the inscription of the Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam on the World Heritage List in 2002, the Government of Italy financed a US$50,000 Funds-in-Trust project for the elaboration of a management plan for the property. This project also aims to strengthen legal regulations for the protection of the property and enhance local awareness regarding the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage. As part of this project, a UNESCO expert mission was undertaken in January 2004. This mission included representatives from the Ministry of Information and Culture and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development of Afghanistan.

 

This mission aimed to carry out a feasibility study for the construction of a road and a bridge at the World Heritage Site of Jam as well as advise the Afghan Government on the best possible option for the preservation of the site, taking into account Afghan national legislation, the World Heritage Convention and the immediate local needs.

 

The experts assessed, from a technical, archaeological and social point of view, the various possibilities for the construction of the road already proposed by Afghanaid, and the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture.

 

The mission resulted in a common agreement signed by the three commanders representing the local communities of Jam, the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, UNOPS, the Head of the Jam Rehabilitation Organization and UNESCO, by which all involved parties acknowledged that:

 

a)  The problem arising from the construction of the road is not under UNESCO’s responsibility. UNESCO will however recommend to the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture the immediate construction of a footbridge across the Hari River in order to enable villagers access from the Bedam Valley to the Jam Valley;

 

b)  Priority must be given to the consolidation and restoration of the monument;

 

c)  The security of UNESCO experts, as well as that of all equipment, needs to be ensured in the district as a whole.

 

Considering the number of heavy vehicles crossing the Hari River daily, the construction of a simple ford is suggested as a complement to the footbridge. This solution would preserve the property’s visual integrity without calling for further road construction in the vicinity of the Minaret, thus not significantly increasing traffic at the site.

 

The UNESCO mission observed with satisfaction the presence of several guards responsible for the surveillance of the site and paid by the Afghan Ministry of Interior.

Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2004
28 COM 15A.21
Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam (Afghanistan)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Commends the State Party for having reached a compromise solution concerning the road construction in the immediate vicinity of the Minaret of Jam;

2. Requests the State Party to implement the recommendations of the UNESCO mission of February 2004 as follows:

  • to give priority to the consolidation and restoration of the Minaret of Jam,
  • to construct an alternative footbridge across the Hari River in order to
    enable access of the villagers from the Bedam valley to the Jam valley;

3. Further requests the State Party, with assistance from the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, to elaborate and finalize a site management plan as well as to strengthen legal protection for the property;

4. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2005, a report on the progress achieved on the above-mentioned
recommendations for examination by the Committee at its 29th session in 2005;

5. Decides to retain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Read more
28 COM 15C.2
List of World Heritage in Danger

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Following examination of state of conservation reports of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger (WHC-04/28.COM/15A Rev),

2. Decides to maintain the following properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger:

  • Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam, Afghanistan (Decision 28 COM 15A.21)
  • Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan (Decision 28 COM 15A.22)
  • Butrint, Albania (Decision 28 COM 15A.28)
  • Tipasa, Algeria (Decision 28 COM 15A.16)
  • Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, Azerbaijan (Decision 28 COM 15A.29)
  • Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin (Decision 28 COM 15A.14)
  • Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park, Central African Republic (Decision 28 COM 15A.1)
  • Comoé National Park, Côte d'Ivoire (Decision 28 COM 15A.2 )
  • Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, Côte d'Ivoire/Guinea (Decision 28 COM 15A.5)
  • Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Virunga National Park, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Garamba National Park, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Salonga National Park, Democratic Rep. of the Congo (Decision 28 COM 15A.3)
  • Sangay National Park, Ecuador (Decision 28 COM 15A.12)
  • Abu Mena, Egypt (Decision 28 COM 15A.17)
  • Simien National Park, Ethiopia
  • (Decision 28 COM 15A.4)
  • Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras (Decision 28 COM 15A.13)
  • Group of Monuments at Hampi, India (Decision 28 COM 15A.24)
  • Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, India (Decision 28 COM 15A.10)
  • Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat), Iraq (Decision 28 COM 15A.18)
  • Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, Jerusalem (Decision 28 COM 15A.31)
  • Timbuktu, Mali (Decision 28 COM 15A. 15)
  • Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (Decision 28 COM 15A.25)
  • Air and Ténéré Natural Reserves, Niger (Decision 28 COM 15A.6)
  • Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan (Decision 28 COM 15A.26)
  • Chan Chan Archaelogical Zone, Peru (Decision 28 COM 15A.30)
  • Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Philippines (Decision 28 COM 15A.27)
  • Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, Senegal (Decision 28 COM 15A.7 )
  • Ichkeul National Park, Tunisia (Decision 28 COM 15A.9)
  • Everglades National Park, United States of America (Decision 28 COM 15A.11)
  • Historic Town of Zabid, Yemen (Decision 28 COM 15A.20)
Read more

Draft Decision: 28 COM 15A.21

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Commends the State Party for having reached a compromise solution concerning the road construction in the immediate vicinity of the Minaret of Jam;

2.  Requests the State Party to respect and implement the recommendations of the UNESCO mission to enhance the protection, conservation and management of the property;

3.  Requests the State Party, with assistance from the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, to elaborate and finalize a site management plan as well as to strengthen legal protection for the property;

4.   Decides to retain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Previous 2003 Next 2005
Report year: 2004
Afghanistan
Date of Inscription: 2002
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (ii)(iii)(iv)
Danger List (dates): 2002-present
Documents examined by the Committee
WHC-04/28.COM/15A.Rev
arrow_circle_right 28COM (2004)
Exports
Previous 2003 Next 2005

* : 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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