Borobudur Temple Compounds
Factors affecting the property in 2023*
- Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
- Ineffectual legal and institutional framework for the management and protection of the property (issue resolved);
- Impacts on the stone of Borobudur Temple from the use of epoxy resin, steam cleaning and water repellants (issue resolved).
- Development projects for tourism facilities
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2023
Total amount provided to the property: USD 7,000,000 under the UNESCO International Safeguarding Campaign for Borobudur (1972-1983); USD 35,000 from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust to provide technical support for the enhancement of the management effectiveness (2005-2006); close to USD 2,000,000 between 2011 and 2020 in the framework of the Emergency safeguarding activities for the Borobudur Temple Compounds implemented by UNESCO Office in Jakarta with funding support from the Federal Republic of Germany and Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and other partners.
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2023
Total amount approved : 5,000 USD
1999 | On-site promotion at Borobudur and Prambanang (NOT ... (Approved) | 2,500 USD |
1998 | Project Proposal for On-site Promotional Meeting (Approved) | 2,500 USD |
Missions to the property until 2023**
April 2003 and February 2006: reactive monitoring missions; September 2007 and October 2008: UNESCO expert missions.
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2023
On 10 March 2023, in response to World Heritage Committee’s Decision 44 COM 7B.29, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, along with a Technical Brief towards Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for Borobudur Temple Compounds, the Integrated Tourism Management Plan of Borobudur-Yogyakarta-Prambanan (ITMP BYP) dated December 2020, the Final Draft of the Borobudur Visitor Management Plan (BVMP) dated June 2020, an Updated Heritage Impact Assessment dated December 2022 for 11 programs within the Borobudur National Tourism Strategic Area (NTSA), the Borobudur World Heritage Strategic Tourism Development Review, the Plant Species Recommendations in the Borobudur Temple Area, and the Policy Strategy to Develop an Integrated Small Medium Enterprises Center around Borobudur. All these documents are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/592/documents and provide the following information:
- The four major development projects consist of (i) the construction of a cultural area gateway containing 2 construction programs, (ii) the arrangement of a cultural axis pathway between Mendut, Pawon and Borobudur temples containing 7 programs, (iii) an arrangement of the Borobudur concourse area and (iv) the relocation of the Borobudur Commercial and Parking Area;
- The four major development projects contain 11 programs, and the updated HIA concluded that 10 out of 11 programs should proceed, subject to major mitigation measures with one proposed construction project determined to have an unacceptable impact on the heritage;
- At the time of preparing the HIA, 8 out of 11 projects had already been completed;
- The Presidential Decree No.1 of 1992, which acts as a basis for the current management, is being updated, aiming to harmonize the management of Borobudur Temple Compounds based on the 2010 law concerning cultural property and the 2007 law concerning spatial management;
- Technical guidance for Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) was completed in 2021, and will be updated to incorporate the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
- A new development plan for a regional religious centre has been proposed, and a HIA will be required;
- The ITMP and BVPM are being updated to align with the latest national policy and post-pandemic situation;
- The State Party proposes to seek advice and assistance with capacity building from the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies to enrich the Management Plan for the property.
The State Party considered inviting an on-site ICOMOS Advisory mission, but no such request had reached the UNESCO World Heritage Centre at the time of preparing the present report.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2023
It is of utmost concern that 8 out of 11 proposed development programmes have been completed, despite the Committee’s request that work on these projects be paused. It is regrettable that the related documents, including the ITMP BYP, the BVMP and the updated HIA were appended to the State Party’s report only after the completion of most of the projects, despite the Committee’s request that these documents be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for further review by ICOMOS prior to their adoption so that they could be revise if necessary, and inform decision-making for the projects that have been completed. Considering the timing of conducting these assessments, these should be considered as EIA/HIA post-project analysis which serve different purposes than an impact assessment. Although most projects have been completed, two projects have not yet commenced. The State Party should be urged to halt these projects until the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies review the submitted documents and opportunities are provided for any necessary changes.
The Borobudur World Heritage Strategic Tourism Development Review, conducted to supplement the updated HIA, indicated that the other he State Party has been requested to provide the full HIA but has declined to do so to date, so the Committee may wish to request the State Party to submit the full HIA conducted by an independent team from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research and Technology in 2022 at its earliest convenience.
Given that the major developments were carried out without the requested review by the Committee or any jointly discussed mitigation measures, they may represent a potential threat to the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). It is recommended that the Committee remind the State Party to submit information on any proposal that may have an impact on the OUV of the property to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies before making any decision that would be difficult to reverse, along with any associated impact assessment, in conformity with paragraphs 118bis and 172 of the Operational Guidelines. It is appropriate that the State Party’s Technical Guidance for HIAs is to be revised to align with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Heritage Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context.
It is noted that the ITMP and BVPM, both of which date from 2020, are being updated to align with the latest national policy and post-pandemic situation, and it would be appropriate for the revised documents to be submitted for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies before they are finalised. It is welcome that the State Party will seek advice and assistance with capacity building to enrich the Management Plan for the property.
It is also noted that the Presidential Decree No.1 of 1992 is being updated, but the progress accomplished with the establishment of an integrated management body for the whole of the Borobudur National Strategic Area, based on the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2010, as previously promised by the State Party, is unclear, especially regarding the inclusion of stakeholders. Therefore, it is recommended that the Committee reiterate its request that the management body should involve relevant stakeholders, including the national and regional governments, private sector partners and local communities, and that the development and operation of the management body should be initiated by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Borobudur Conservation Office.
Based on the above, it is recommended that a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission be carried to the property as soon as possible to review the state of conservation of the property, assess the existing, cumulative and potential impacts of the finalised, ongoing and/or planned construction projects and of any planned mitigation measures on the property and its OUV, propose any further required mitigation measures, and to consider what advice or assistance might enrich the Management Plan for the property.
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2023
45 COM 7B.162
Borobudur Temple Compounds (Indonesia) (C 592)
The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
- Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.142 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
- Deeply regrets that, despite its previous requests, the State Party has completed significant development projects within and around the property prior to submitting the requested Integrated Tourism Management Plan of Borobudur-Yogyakarta-Prambanan (ITMP BYP), the Borobudur Visitor Management Plan (BVMP), or the updated Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) to address the projects’ potential impact on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
- Notes that the ITMP BYP and BVMP are to be reviewed to align with the latest national policy and post-pandemic situation, and requests the State Party to submit the updated versions of these documents to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for review before they are finalised;
- Further requests the State Party to duly implement the revised HIA in accordance with the newly provided Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, as submitted on 9 March 2023;
- Notes with utmost concern that eight out of eleven proposed projects have already been completed, and urges the State Party to halt the projects that have not yet been completed until the submitted documents have been reviewed by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies and any resulting recommendations for change have been addressed;
- Welcomes the State Party’s ongoing endeavour to harmonize the management of Borobudur Temple Compounds by updating the Presidential Decree No. 1 of 1992, and requests the State Party to prioritize establishment of an integrated management body for the entire Borobudur National Strategic Area, involving multiple stakeholders such as, national and regional governments, private sector partners and local communities, and to oversee its development and operation;
- Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property as soon as possible to review the state of conservation of the property, assess the existing, cumulative and potential impacts of the finalised, ongoing and/or planned construction projects and any planned mitigation measures on the property and its OUV, propose any further required mitigation measures, and to consider what advice or assistance might enrich the Management Plan for the property;
- Further notes that the State Party’s Technical Guidance for Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is to be revised to align with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and reminds the State Party to submit information on any proposal that may have an impact on the OUV of the property to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies before making any decision that would be difficult to reverse and before any further works commence, along with HIAs, in conformity with paragraphs 118bis and 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
- Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.
Draft Decision: 45 COM 7B.162
The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
- Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.142, adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
- Deeply regrets that, despite its previous requests, the State Party has completed significant development projects within and around the property prior to submitting the requested Integrated Tourism Management Plan of Borobudur-Yogyakarta-Prambanan (ITMP BYP), the Borobudur Visitor Management Plan (BVMP), or the updated Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) to address the projects’ potential impact on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
- Notes that the ITMP BYP and BVMP are to be reviewed to align with the latest national policy and post-pandemic situation, and requests the State Party to submit the updated versions of these documents to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for review before they are finalised;
- Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre the complete HIA conducted by an independent team from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research and Technology in 2022;
- Notes with utmost concern that eight out of eleven proposed projects have already been completed, and urges the State Party to halt the projects that have not yet been completed until the submitted documents have been reviewed by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies and any resulting recommendations for change have been addressed;
- Also notes that the Presidential Decree No.1 of 1992 is being updated to harmonize the management of Borobudur Temple Compounds, and requests that the State Party prioritise establishment of the previously promised integrated management body covering whole of the Borobudur National Strategic Area, based on the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2010, which should involve all relevant stakeholders, including the national and regional governments, private sector partners and local communities, and that the development and operation of this management body be initiated by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Borobudur Conservation Office;
- Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property as soon as possible to review the state of conservation of the property, assess the existing, cumulative and potential impacts of the finalised, ongoing and/or planned construction projects and any planned mitigation measures on the property and its OUV, propose any further required mitigation measures, and to consider what advice or assistance might enrich the Management Plan for the property;
- Further notes that the State Party’s Technical Guidance for Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is to be revised to align with the new Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and reminds the State Party to submit information on any proposal that may have an impact on the OUV of the property to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies before making any decision that would be difficult to reverse and before any further works commence, along with HIAs, in conformity with paragraphs 118bis and 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
- Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.
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.