unesco-icomos mission to butrint, albania 26-31 october...

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1 UNESCO-ICOMOS mission to Butrint, Albania 26-31 October 2003 Report Acknowledgement The mission members express their gratitude to the Albanian authorities, in particular to Ms Arta Dade, Minister of Culture, for receiving the mission, and address special thanks to the Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ms Tatjana Gjonaj, and the Secretary-General of the National Commission, Mr Fation Peni, for their help, availability and assistance provided to the mission during its work. Background Inscription history The property of Butrint was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992 under criterion C (iii); In March 1997 it was reported that the site had been looted during the civil unrest in Albania. The Committee, on the basis of the recommendations of a UNESCO-ICOMOS-Butrint Foundation assessment mission, decided to inscribe Butrint on the List of World Heritage in Danger (1997) with the agreement of the Albanian Government. In 1999, the World Heritage Committee decided to extend the site to include not only the walled city from the Greek, Roman and Venetian period, but an additional 184 ha to better protect the site. Justification for the mission In 2001, on the basis of the recommendations made by a second assessment mission carried out that year, the Committee requested that a mission should visit Butrint in October 2003 in order to assess if the property can be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger. In July 2003 (27 th session), the Committee recalled this mission and requested that a report, taking into account all issues, which led to the inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, be submitted by the State Party to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2004 for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 28 th session in 2004. Objectives of the mission According to its Terms of Reference, the mission had the following objectives:

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UNESCO-ICOMOS mission to Butrint, Albania

26-31 October 2003

Report

Acknowledgement

The mission members express their gratitude to the Albanian authorities, in particular to Ms Arta Dade, Minister of Culture, for receiving the mission, and address special thanks to the Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ms Tatjana Gjonaj, and the Secretary-General of the National Commission, Mr Fation Peni, for their help, availability and assistance provided to the mission during its work.

Background Inscription history

The property of Butrint was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992 under criterion C (iii); In March 1997 it was reported that the site had been looted during the civil unrest in Albania. The Committee, on the basis of the recommendations of a UNESCO-ICOMOS-Butrint Foundation assessment mission, decided to inscribe Butrint on the List of World Heritage in Danger (1997) with the agreement of the Albanian Government.

In 1999, the World Heritage Committee decided to extend the site to include not

only the walled city from the Greek, Roman and Venetian period, but an additional 184 ha to better protect the site.

Justification for the mission

In 2001, on the basis of the recommendations made by a second assessment

mission carried out that year, the Committee requested that a mission should visit Butrint in October 2003 in order to assess if the property can be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger. In July 2003 (27th session), the Committee recalled this mission and requested that a report, taking into account all issues, which led to the inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, be submitted by the State Party to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2004 for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 28th session in 2004. Objectives of the mission According to its Terms of Reference, the mission had the following objectives:

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- To assess the current situation of the site in terms of legal protection, management arrangements, planning and state of conservation of the site and its components;

- To assess the implementation of the actions proposed by the UNESCO-ICOMOS mission of April 2001;

- To provide a summary report to the World Heritage Committee on its findings considering Operational Guidelines paragraphs 81-85;

- To formulate a recommendation as to whether the site can be withdrawn from the List of World Heritage in Danger, considering the procedures provided in paragraphs 86-93 of the Operational Guidelines.

Section 1: Assessment of the current situation 1. Legal and institutional framework

The Minister of Culture, Ms Arta Dade, expressed strong commitment on behalf of Prime Minister Fatos Nano and herself to ensure the effective protection and conservation of the World Heritage Site. This commitment is reflected in the progress made during the past years, in particular by the adoption of a new Law for Cultural Heritage, the reinforcement of the Board of the Butrint National Park, which coordinates the activities affecting the Park, and the designation of the area around Butrint as a RAMSAR site.

Due to its importance for the Albanian population, Butrint is also seen as a model to follow for the protection of other cultural and natural heritage in Albania. The strong commitment by the current authorities to protect the site should be assured on the long term through the enactment of effective legislation and consensus among political parties.

A major step has been taken by the adoption on 7 April 2003 of a new Law on Cultural Heritage, which came into force on 5 May 2003. The law was prepared by a commission composed by representatives from the Ministry, universities, museums, lawyers and economists, and afterwards revised by the Council of Ministers. It includes a categorisation of cultural properties, rules concerning their administration, protection areas and a distribution of responsibilities among institutions. There are several decrees by the Council of Ministers for the protection and management of Butrint. These decrees cover the creation in 1998 of the Butrint National Park, its Administration Board and later its statutes. The Board’s composition has been adapted in later decrees. A Law on Protected Zones, for the protection of natural areas of special value, was adopted in June 2002. In October 2002, a Decree by the Council of Ministers defined the land use in the natural area around the World Heritage site of Butrint, since 1999 equal to the extension of the National Park, and the land use of the rest of the area around it, its buffer zone. The total surface of the affected area by this decree is 13 500 ha, which was designed a RAMSAR site in 2003.

The area of the National Park (3 886 ha), which covers the World Heritage site, is divided in three levels of protection (or land-use categories): areas of special archaeological significance, strictly protected biodiversity areas and natural resource

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areas where sustainable agricultural practices can take place. Outside the National Park, 652 ha are occupied by human settlements, some of them (Ksamili, Xarra, Vrina) on the borders of the National Park. The rest of the area, 8 962 ha, forms the total buffer zone.

In 2003 a compilation of regulation in the field of cultural heritage has been published in Tirana, which includes the above-mentioned laws and decrees, the working procedures of the Butrint Board and a translation in Albanian of UNESCO’s 1972 Convention on the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage. The mission received a copy of it in Albanian. A translation of this compilation into English would be very useful, not only for informing the World Heritage Committee but also for the drafting by the Albanian Authorities of the Periodic Report on the implementation of the 1972 Convention and on the State of Conservation of Butrint. Institutional framework

The Ministry of Culture and the Academy of Science are institutionally competent in the field of cultural heritage, and politically responsible for the World Heritage site. The Ministry of Culture operates in Butrint through the Institute of Monuments, and the Academy of Science through the Institute of Archaeology. There is no administrative hierarchy between both.

With the establishment of the Butrint National Park and its Board, the Ministry of

Tourism and Urban Planning and the Ministry of the Environment have also a say in the conservation and management of the National Park and the RAMSAR site. The administration of the Butrint National Park is organised through the Board of the Butrint National Park and the newly created Administration and Coordination Office in Saranda.

The Board has currently the following members: - The Minister of Culture, Chair, - The Directorate General for Cultural Heritage, (Ministry of Culture) - The Director of the Institute of Monuments, (Ministry of Culture) - The Director of the Institute of Archaeology, (Academy of Science) - The Vice-Minister of Tourism, (Ministry of Tourism and Urban Planning) - Director of Nature Protection (Ministry of the Environment) - The Secretary General of the Albanian National Commission (Ministry of Foreign

Affairs)

The meetings of the Board take place at the Ministry of Culture under chairmanship of the Minister. The Board adopts an Annual Agreement on the allocation of resources, which is to be implemented by the Administration and Coordination Office of Saranda.

In order to increase the participation of all the authorities involved in the

conservation of the National Park, especially since the enlargement of the protected area and its nomination as a RAMSAR site, it is advisable to enlarge the Board with representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Defence. There also seems to be a Restoration Board within the Ministry of Culture, which is not involved in the site. Its participation in the Board decisions and involvement in the state

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of conservation of the site should be clarified. The status whether the Director of the National Park, who is appointed by the Minister of Culture, is a member or not of the Board, should also be clarified.

The participation in the Board of representatives from the villages of Mursia and

Ksamili, as seems to be foreseen in the new law, should be made effective as soon as possible, as well as the transfer of 15% of the Park revenues to them for re-investment in conservation needs of the Park (like domestic waste collection). The participation in the Board meetings of non-institutional stakeholders as observers, like the Butrint Foundation, the Packard Centre, the Getty Institute, or the World Bank should be considered.

For the sake of the effectiveness of the implementation activities, it seems

necessary to have a clear description of the function of the Park’s Director and to adequately staff the Administration and Coordination Office. At the time of the mission, the staff foreseen for this Office (5 persons) had not yet been officially appointed. The Director of the National Park is also Head of this Office, and informed the mission members that the current guides of the Butrint peninsula may be recruited as staff of the Office in the future, as civil servants.

The Butrint Foundation The Butrint Foundation, a UK charitable trust, has been active in Butrint since it was set up in 1993. It published a report in March 2003 to evaluate its achievements and to reflect on the future of Butrint. The Foundation’s principle objective is to restore and preserve Butrint for the benefit of the general public. Its main activity, according to the financial statement included in the report, lies in the field of archaeology. Attention is also given to conservation, archiving and educational programmes. The foundation is a major investor in the site and has played an important role in fund- and awareness-raising at international level. 2. Management and financial framework

As stated in the 2001 Mission Report, the establishment of the National Park Office under its Director is a major step forward and an impressive response by the Albanian Government to the concerns expressed in the report of the 1997 assessment mission. The site benefits from energetic management that has paid special attention to the organisation of events and official visits, which has raised awareness of the importance of the site.

The Administration and Coordination Office of the Butrint National Park is in

charge of the management of the site. As mentioned above, the National Park is overseen by a Board.

The tasks of the Office in relation to the Board seem to be unclear. The mission

members were informed that the Office has to carry out the decisions taken by the Board.

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However, it was also stated that according to the Decree on the administration of Butrint (1994, revised 2002), the Butrint Office would have all the power in the administration of the Park without going through the Board first. When the Ministry of Culture revised this Decree, it was submitted directly to the Council of Ministers without consulting the Board. The Ministry of the Environment did not agree with this procedure and reclaimed. Therefore, the tasks of the Office should be clearly defined, as should be the distribution of tasks between the Board and the Office, and the relation between the Administration and Coordination Office and the Regional Office of the Institute of Monuments, both in Saranda. The function description of the Director of the National Park, who is also head of the Butrint Office, should also be better defined.

At the time of the mission, the other staff members of the Office had not been

appointed yet. Recruitment seems to be done on a discretional basis, which might be due to the high level of unemployment in the region and the lack of university-educated local people in the area. However, the mission members understood that (some of) the current guides of the World Heritage site, who have a background in cultural heritage, would be appointed staff of the Office. The Director of the Park and other authorities stressed that lack of professionalism is one of the main threats to the World Heritage site.

The mission feels that the clarification of tasks of the Board and the Office would

strengthen the continuity in management, as would the recruitment of experts through a professional recruitment procedure and training of staff in management issues. The mission suggests also cooperating with ICCROM in the training of the professionals managing the site. In this sense, and related to training and assuring continuity of experience in the conservation of sites, a report prepared for the Getty Conservation Institute was published in June 2002. The report gives training needs assessment for conservation technicians in Albania, including a model of an organisational framework, under general auspices of the Institute of Monuments, to ensure transmittal of ideas and to provide adequate supervision, control and training. The mission strongly encourages the use of the information available in Albania for the development of a long-term conservation policy.

Concerning security, the National Park has a rangers service financed by external

contributions (currently the Butrint Foundation). The above-mentioned Decree gives a description of the duties of the Board members but does not foresee in the creation of rangers. These rangers, who have the task to assure the security in the Park and stop hunting activities, do not have this authority from the legal point of view. This has created a problem between the Ministry of Culture and the Directorate General of Forestry. A solution should be found for ensuring the long-term security of the National Park, by the coordination between the two Ministries and their own financing of the needed guards/rangers.

Management plan

A Butrint Management Plan (2000-2005) for the site was prepared by the Butrint

Foundation in cooperation with the Park Office, and described in the mission report of 2001. A Butrint National Park Development Plan (2002-2010) works further on the basis of this plan for ensuring the sustainable development of the Park and its buffer zone, the

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RAMSAR area. The study foresees in visitor’s management, description of the natural and cultural resources of the area, infrastructure, and conservation of built heritage. It also includes development proposals for the medium and the long-term.

Both the Management plan and the Development plan are thorough studies and

give clear orientations for the effective protection of the site on the medium term. The 2001 mission recommended adopting and implementing the Management Plan 2000-2005, which at the time of the current mission had not happened yet. Therefore, the Plan has no official status.

The Albanian authorities argued several reasons for not adopting the Plan. The

Ministry of the Environment stressed that the Law on Protected Areas, like the Butrint National Park, requires that all plans affecting these areas have to be co-adopted by the Ministry of the Environment, and that a Management Committee has to be created for the Parks. As the Ministry of the Environment did not adopt the plan, it had no value. Furthermore, the Ministry indicated that the GEF granted to the RAMSAR area foresees in the development of a management plan for the RAMSAR site, which includes the National Park. Another reason given for not adopting the plan was lack of transparency in its preparation, and that Albanian experts had not been sufficiently involved. However, the mission understood at the same time from the Albanian authorities that particularly the lack of funds and the lack of available Albanian professionals were main threats to the Park. It was also stated that the Ministry of Culture, the Institute of Monuments and the Institute of Archaeology had recognised the plan.

The development of a management plan for the RAMSAR site seems to be a good

opportunity to bring together the natural and the cultural stakeholders of the site. The existing plans and studies can therefore be used as a sound basis for the development of an integrated management plan. The mission believes that the development of this integrated plan should be carefully coordinated by the Board of the Butrint National Park, with strong involvement of national and international experts, in particular of those that have closely followed the developments of the World Heritage site and have given important financial and technical contributions to improve its state of conservation and protection.

Many problems related to the conservation of the site and of its structures are strictly due to the lack of an officially adopted management plan by the Albanian authority. Moreover, those problems depend on the possibility of organizing some short and long-term working plans, right on the basis of the conservation strategies deriving from the management plan itself. As a consequence, there are neither any conservation and development strategies, nor control and safeguard policies of the sites, as illustrates the case of Diaporit.

The mission members also feel that the Park boundaries are inadequate for a real

protection of the site and for a sustainable management of it within the nature of the places concerned. The boundaries should be widened in order to include the building areas not subject to the periodical floods deriving from the surface hydrographical system, as at present, most of the Park spreads only on areas including marshes, while different levels of protection are granted to the areas with no marshes at all. The latter should be protected to avoid indiscriminate building, thus enforcing order on them and on

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the existing infrastructure. Right these areas should be integrated in the management plan to ensure the real conservation of the natural environments and the development of sustainable human activities within the marshy environment.

This also means that the environmental sustainability of agriculture within the

marshy areas should be checked. If, as a matter of fact, this activity proves itself to be sustainable on the hills, where it is practised, it is worth remembering that, nowadays, marshes are recognised a high value for the quantity of fish present in them, their water game and, in some protected areas, for such activities as bird-watching, for example. Moreover, the international Regulations are oriented towards the observance of the marshy area peculiarity even when, according to EU Regulation No. 2078/91 and following Regulation No. 1257/99, they provide for contributions for the ‘set aside’. The plastic covers abandoned in the marshes are the evidence of the environmental non-sustainability of the recently performed experiments in agriculture. A new and integrated management plan should in particular aim at the development of really sustainable activities within the natural environments and the socio-economic development of the area.

Financing of the site Despite the increase of revenues from ticket sales, the conservation and protection

of the World Heritage site is still strongly based on international funding, in particular by the Butrint Foundation. The Foundation also plays an important fundraising role by other private and public international organisations.

The overall investment in the site, according to the Director, had been of 800 000

USD during the past year.

The Board of the National Park adopts an Annual Agreement wherein the budget available is being allocated to activities of the different institutions represented in the Board and to the general management of the site. The budget allocated through the Annual Agreement is mostly based on the revenues from ticket sales, which gives the site, according to its Director, financial independence. Ticket revenues are fully re-invested in the National Park, and according to its Director, all the revenues are spend within the year. There were 53 000 visitors to the site during the past year, whereof 16 000 foreigners, who pay 3,5 € entrance instead of 1,5 €.

Ticket money is now used for restoration and conservation projects and for paying

the four part-time guides. The Ministry pays the Director, the driver and the conservation staff. The State also finances the Office expenses with 10 000 USD/year, the Theatre Week that takes place every summer and co-finances a summer camp (voluntary work).

International funding is available for cultural programmes, excavations, research, conservation works and security in the park (rangers project). The Butrint Foundation does an important part of the funding, in particular in the field of archaeological research. The Foundation also finances other works related to the conservation of the fortification walls and the rangers project. The World Bank has approved a Global Environmental Facility of 1 025 000 USD to improve the management and administration of the

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RAMSAR site, whereof 25 000 USD for preparatory work. These funds will also cover the development of the management plan for the RAMSAR area.

These figures illustrate the efforts done by the Ministry of Culture and the Parks Director to raise awareness and attract visitors, which seems to have been strongly improved since the last mission. However, it also shows that national funding is not enough yet to assure professionalism, continuity in conservation works and good working conditions for the staff. The mission members felt that the funding priorities were also a reason of disagreement between the institutions represented in the Board and between the Director and the Butrint Foundation. For example, representatives from the Institute of Monuments complained about the lack of attention given to built-heritage in Butrint, as opposed to the archaeological excavations, and the Director of the Park expressed concern about the lack of means for conservation of these archaeological sites.

3. State of Conservation

The current report on the state of conservation of the site is based on observations and site visits undertaken during the mission, and on the base of discussions held with the agencies and individuals involved. It was possible during the mission to visit the structures on the Butrint peninsula and the Roman villa at Diaporit. Furthermore it was possible to visit the National Park, which incorporates archeological structures that formed part of the defensive system of Butrint.

The most relevant aspect of the principal site of Butrint is the concentration of structures from different periods, including the town wall and the Venetian Castle and the Tower, the Amphitheater, the Baptistery, other classical and Byzantine buildings. However, special consideration has to be given to its particular character of a fortified site. In the present circumstances the fortification walls are practically unseen when the site is being approached from the roads coming from Saranda and from the village of Xarre south of it, as the whole site is practically taken over by vegetation.

When considering the fortified site and its surroundings, two main problems are

being faced: the understanding and interpretation of the site within its natural context and the state of conservation of the fortifications themselves. It is a mistaken concept of conservation that tangible cultural heritage and its relationship with natural elements are compatible when considering the damage that trees and vegetation cause to the structures themselves. During the visit it was noted that very large trunks are growing on the walls themselves. Invasive vegetation can be noticed all throughout the walls of the fortifications, and the roots are making great damage to the foundations of the structures. It is therefore very clear that in spite of the normal maintenance of the site and restoration interventions, the presence of vegetation and in particular that of the trees is causing irreparable damage to the walls.

Furthermore, mention needs to be made of the area of the fortification wall close to the entrance of the main archaeological site, which was being reconstructed at the time of the visit. The original structure of the wall was composed of uncut stone held together by a natural mortar. The reconstruction of the wall is currently being done with the use of cement obviously by non-professional personnel: this is resulting in a complete lack of

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authenticity and shows disrespect for well known conservation rules. This matter was discussed with the Park Director who explained that the work had to be done with certain haste so that they could create a trail for the visitors visiting the site. This attitude poses the general problem of the conservation and interpretation of the site, which should be unified for the whole area and not subject to specific area interventions without any relation to the rest of the site. This situation can also be verified by the fact that at the lower part of the site the walls are separated to allow the tourists to go straight to the monumental area of the archeological site such as the theater, the Tryconch Palace and the baptistery.

As hardly any restoration work has been undertaken in the past two years, the state of conservation of the site is the same as that seen by previous missions. The structures, already overtaken by moss and vegetation, are drowned in water. Even the much-mentioned mosaics are under water. It has been stated that doing maintenance work under water is not incompatible with conservation. Several sites have been totally excavated, and pumps had to be used to remove water during excavation. However, the whole area is again under water as it is subject to the levels of the swamp around it. The area is subject to biochemical activity that should be controlled but these controls are not being done. There should also be an organic plan for the interpretation of the site. It is clear that the singular projects of conservation do not form part of an integrated system of management and a long-term work plan. The problems relating to the water levels on the structures and mosaics are not dealt with through partial urgent interventions, but is a structured problem related to the natural state of the site itself that, as has been said, is a humid swamp that needs to be tackled through a conservation project. It has already been stated in a previous ICOMOS report that what is very urgent is the restoration and restructuring of the antique drainage system that should be made functional again. Furthermore it is necessary to intervene in an organic way to ensure control over the water levels at the site by reestablishing a report of the structural elements and the natural environment. It is clear that none of this is being done nor is being studied for a future project. When requesting information about plans concerning such an intervention, the generic reply was that these kind of interventions would not be visible and thus of no use to tourism.

The Director had informed the mission members that they are completing the works for the making of a museum in the acropolis area, which has to be opened in a short period. The acropolis area and the tower that dominates it, were subject to reconstruction projects in the early 1900s and the structures, of which also the very large terrace, recently completed, are conserved and maintained with contemporary materials and techniques.

The mission members also visited the Roman villa at Diaporit. It must be noted that access to the site is very difficult among the swamped area. As you approach the site one cannot help but noticing a two stores construction that is only a few meters away from the Butrint Lake and the archaeological site. It is an illegal building but not subject to demolition. On the side of the structure, walking along the edge of the lake, one finds a pathway which is one meter wide and which is full of uncontrolled vegetation and rubbish. This leads to the archaeological site of the villa, which is not enclosed at all, and is not in any way protected or guarded. It is clear that the site has been all excavated but

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there is no conservation work being undertaken at the moment, apart from the shelter covering of some of the rooms that act as some form of temporary protection. The trenches of the excavations are left open and, as has been stated, it is in no way protected or fenced. The situation of the site is such that there is nothing to guarantee that the site does not fill up with material due to rain. The archeologist who, together with the Director, accompanied us during the visit confirmed that once the site was excavated it was abandoned and no work had been done at the site at all. 4. Factors affecting the site

With the creation of the National Park and the RAMSAR site, an important step in the protection of the World Heritage site has been taken, taking into account some of the main concerns expressed by the 2001 assessment mission. Some of these issues, in particular illegal constructions, tourism and infrastructure development, are still affecting the site. The mission members understood that several illegal constructions within the park boundaries had been demolished, and that construction activities on the borders of the park were relatively well under control. Some of these buildings, like the restaurant at the entrance of the site, have been completely demolished, but others, like the construction mentioned above next to Diaporit and within the special archaeological area, have only been partially demolished.

As explained by the representative of the Ministry of the environment, not only the illegal but also the legal constructions are a problem. Legal constructions are those built on land bought from the State. The restaurant next to the entrance of the site was illegal, and could therefore be demolished. The one a bit further away is legal, and could not be demolished. At the same time, the Butrint Office can only intervene to stop or demolish illegal constructions, but both regional and national authorities can give the right to construct when land has been legally bought from the State. Therefore the question rises whether legality is only based on land property and not on construction regulations and territorial/urban planning. In this sense, concessions for the use of existing buildings by individuals as restaurants or other tourism-related services should be carefully regulated. Particular attention deserves in this sense the future use of the Triangular Castle, across the Vivari canal.

Furthermore, the mission was informed about problems related to the claims of restitution of property that was nationalised during the dictatorship.

The mission feels that there should be a clear construction and use policy for the

buildings within the National Park, and those of the buffer zone. Construction activities in the villages bordering the Park have also a major influence on the value of the site. Development in these villages is uncontrolled, and despite investment projects like in Xarre by the European Union, the quality of buildings and the villages’ infrastructure are far beyond minimum standards.

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The bad living conditions in these villages contrasts with the plans for the development of 40 luxury villas on Cape Stillo, on the limit of the RAMSAR site and on the border with Greece. Pagane, Cape Stillo and the islands (500 ha) had been proposed as a Strict Nature Reserve Marine and terrestrial (Category I) protected area, as indicated in the 1999 national report “Biodiversity strategy and Action Plan”, by the National Environmental Agency. The draft project for the development of the Stillo peninsula has been approved by the Regional Council for Urban Planning in Saranda, and seems now to be debated in the National Council for Urban Planning in Tirana. The Ministry of Culture remarked that the project would not be developed further, and that according to article 38 of the Law on Cultural Heritage, the decisions taken by the Regional Council for Urban Planning affecting cultural properties or the area around it are not applicable. This seems to be a good basis for protection, and encourages the effective application of the new Law. Concerning the road from Konispoli to Saranda, financed by the European Union, the mission was assured that it was not being constructed along the boundaries of the National Park. The mission was also assured that the road from Saranda to Vrina, across the Park, will not be upgraded, following the concerns expressed in the 2001 mission. The mission feels that within the framework of the sustainable and regulated development of the National Park, infrastructure in the area needs to be improved in order to increase accessibility and better understanding of the site. 5. Implementation of the World Heritage Emergency Assistance The World Heritage Committee, at its twenty-first session in December 1997, approved and amount of USD 100,000 under Emergency Assistance. The Funds were distributed as follows: USD 47,000 for the implementation of immediate actions defined in the report of the joint mission held in 1997; USD 53,000 for the implementation of Actions in the Middle and Long term to be allocated in consultation with the Chairperson of the Committee. In its 2001 report, the Secretariat expressed its concern about the delays in the implementation of the immediate actions activities by the Albanian authorities, and concluded that it was not possible to proceed with the implementation of activities that had been proposed for the use of the remaining funds as long as the existing contracts had not been concluded. At the date, the contracts for immediate actions have been concluded. The 2003 mission recommends the Albanian authorities to prepare projects for their submission the Chairman of the Committee for approval.

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Section 2: Assessment of the implementation of the actions proposed by the

UNESCO-ICOMOS mission of April 2001

The recommendations made by the mission of April 2001 were based on (1) their analysis of the status of implementation of corrective measures as proposed in 1997 and (2) the status of implementation of the actions on the middle and long term. The information regarding the conclusions and the recommendations of the mission in 2003 can be found below added to the tables used by the 2001 mission.

(1) Analysis of the status of implementation of corrective measures as proposed in 1997 Action 1 Prepare inventory of archaeological objects related to Butrint…

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The mission had a meeting with the Institute of Archaeology (IOA), the responsible agency designated by the Government to implement immediate action nr 1. The IOA presented to the mission the work done since 1997. To this effect, and with the amount of USD 5,000 provided as Emergency Assistance under the World Heritage Fund, the IOA purchased a computer, a printer and a digital camera which have been used to realize, in an electronic format, an inventory of the 300 most important archaeological objects related to Butrint. The equipment will be used to draw up inventories of objects of other archaeological sites in Albania.

No further recommendations.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Done. A digital Intranet database for movable objects has been developed, and a database with non-movable objects is under preparation. The mission was told that it would be all accessible via Internet as from 2005

The mission strongly recommends the continuation of these works and its accessibility through Internet.

Action 2 Reinstall water pumps at the Theatre.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The mission was informed that the water pumps stolen from the Theatre in 1997 have been replaced by movable ones that can be used at different locations, if needed for restoration or maintenance works. Studies have indicated that it is not necessary to keep the theatre and other structures completely free of water, but that it is most important that the

No further recommendations.

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water is kept clean. The mission was informed that the funds allocated for this action were also used to install cables and electricity supply to the site.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Done (water pumps). Regarding the former mission, which held that "studies have indicated that it is not necessary to keep the theatre and other structures completely free of water but that the most important is that the water is kept clean", on examining the water that covers the structures the mission found that it is not clean and that its level is variable and consequently vegetation grows and biochemical processes develop.

The structures of the Theatre are not adequately protected during their use for summer shows and therefore the mission recommends that the itineraries and the infrastructures be modified in order to avoid their being used in ways that are not compatible with the structures. To guarantee their conservation it is important to solve the flooding problem. It is desirable that a survey be carried out to understand the system of the site’s surface waters and carry out works that ensure the safety of these structures.

Action 3 Improve site protection by repairing and extending the protective fence around the site.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 During the visit to the site, the mission noted that the fence which protects the core site had been repaired and that the entrance area had been arranged. Furthermore, the mission also noted that the boundaries of the Park had been indicated by stones and that at the entrance at Ksamili a traditional wall stone is under construction.

No further recommendations.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 The fence is repaired in the area of the main entrance of the core site. The site was extended in 1999, and no boundaries are indicated of this extension, in particular for the area of “special archaeological interest”. The boundaries of the National Park are indicated only from the North entrance, the Ksamili peninsula, including the completion of the stone wall the mission of 2001 referred to. However, the Southern and Western accesses to the park are not indicated. The boundaries with the villages of Xarre and Mursia (a dirt road bordering the villages) are not indicated. Besides, for accessing Diaporit, the entrance to the Park was obstructed with wood and plastic. The site of Diaporit has no fence around it, and is not protected in any way and is not being manged. The excavation trenches were abandoned after the digs. There are no signs showing that one is in a protected area. On the contrary a few metres away there is an illegal construction.

A clear indication of the boundaries of the Park is a must and it is also necessary to ensure that the territory is guarded. The site of Diaporit should be at least fenced in and a serious plan for the protection of the structures should be launched. Its surveillance should include the cleanliness of the approaches to it and the pollution of the areas close to the villages.

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Action 4 Install a temporary office at the entrance. Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001

A temporary office at the entrance of the core site has been constructed for ticketing and access control. Some general information concerning the site (brochures, maps and history books of Butrint) are sold at the office. The funds collected at this office are used for the site. The mission has also noted that another office at the entrance of the Butrint National Park is under construction with the aim to indicate to visitors that they are entering the area of the National Park. This will also give an indication to the Office of the Butrint National Park of how many people are entering the National Park area in specific periods of time.

No further recommendation.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 The temporary office at the entrance, which is a small wooden hut, has not been replaced by a more appropriate and permanent one. This might be related to the intentions of the site manager to lead the visitors in the future among the parallel fortification walls whose ruins are currently being excavated and partially reconstructed. Besides the mission’s doubts about the quality of this restoration, the mission also believes that this plan will adversely affect the correct interpretation of the site. However, the main entrance gate of Butrint is still not known. The office at the entrance of the Park did not exist yet, and as indicated above, the southern entrances of the park are not indicated at all.

It is necessary that the itineraries within the site be respectful of its identity and of its interpretation and presentation. The boundary walls must not be used improperly, and it is recommended that the uniform design of the walls be seen in its unitary character. The rebuilding of parts of the wall without consideration for the restoration criteria must be stopped. Planting of trees along the newly-built avenues should also be stopped, because these disturb the correct interpretation of the site and, in view of the fact that the excavations are still incomplete, these may have negative effects on areas awaiting future excavations. Steps should be taken immediately to show the entrance from the south side and build a proper office next to the entrance.

Action 5 Ensure proper surveillance by police assigned to the site.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 A ranger service was created with the help of the World Bank (Institutional Development Fund) and is responsible for security and access control. Concerning the proper surveillance of the site by the Police – and particularly of the museum within the area – the mission was informed by the Institute of Archaeology that, by decision of the Government, it is envisaged that the police of state which was in charge of the security of all archaeological museums in Albania, would be replaced by a private security company.

The mission is of the opinion that an integrated surveillance system to ensure security within the site should be established as soon as possible.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Only the rangers mentioned above are still in The mission is of the opinion that an integrated

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operation. However, the mission members, when accessing the National Park through its southern entrance, did not see any surveillance at all. The funding of these rangers (whose legal position is being disputed) will end in December 2003. The mission members were informed that solutions were being sought to continue their contracts.

system should urgently be established, in coordination with the Ministries of the Environment and the Directorate of Forestry, to guarantee security in the park.

Action 6 Undertake immediate consultations with the appropriate authorities in order to prevent illegal and/or poorly planned constructions or development in the surrounding areas of Butrint.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The mission was informed and has noticed that development pressure is still very high within and in the surroundings of the Park. Several authorisations have been given for constructions (i.e. tourist facilities) that would represent threats to the site and its vicinity. However, national as well as local authorities reassured the mission that they are giving due attention to this issue. Assurances were given at the meeting with the Butrint National Park Board that project developments that had already been authorized will not be implemented.

The mission feels that the National Park Directorate’s views should be sought for any construction project within the Park and its vicinity. An impact assessment study should be made by the National Park for any developments or changes in the use of the land. Furthermore, all the illegal buildings in the National Park should be removed.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 An important step forwards has been the Decree for the protection areas of the National Park, its buffer zone, and the RAMSAR area. The mission members were assured that all illegal buildings had been demolished, including the bar/restaurant at the entrance of the site. The construction of another building next to the Ksamili entrance of the Park has been stopped. The Prime Minister Fatos Nano had requested the demolition of illegal constructions. However, legally constructed buildings are still there. The term “legally” means, in this sense, simply that the land was officially bought from the State.

Despite the demolition of several constructions, others have only been partially demolished, like the one next to the archaeological site of Diaporit (only the stair leading to the main floor had been destroyed), or still exist and are used (as in the “special archaeological area”, which is also part of the World Heritage site). The mission recommends that the demolition of these buildings continues, and also that the remains of the others be removed. Furthermore, the quality of the constructions and their style in the surrounding areas of the Park should be strictly regulated and controlled, and the open waste landfills cleaned up, especially in view of the natural (water) protection of the area and the management of future visitors. The mission has also noted that only the marshy areas have been included in the Park’s perimeter, while all the other areas, which may be built up in future, are not included in the Park. It is recommended that adequate legislative protection should be given to these areas as well, both regarding the buildings and the human activities that are held in it, as well as pollution.

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Action 7 Prepare and implement a programme of information and awareness among local and regional authorities, agencies and the population.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The project is underway, it includes a schools programme, community information campaign, promotion of the National Park to agencies in Tirana and the rangers’ service equipment and training.

In this context, the mission recommends that an Albanian translation of the Butrint guidebook be produced as soon as possible and that interpretation panels should be installed on the main visited sites. Consideration should be given to the development of guided visits within the World Heritage site and of educational programmes specifically targeted at schools and young people

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 The current status of Butrint as a National Park is seen as a model for other Parks in the country. The Minister stressed her interest in developing a programme for schools to visit Butrint as it existed during the communist regime. Several informative guide-books on Butrint exist, and a revised version of them has been recently translated into English with the support of the Butrint Foundation. The rangers have been working there now for some time, and four part-time guides with a background related to cultural heritage are working at the site. The Information panels have not been installed. The director of the Park informed the mission of his intention to install them soon.

The mission recommends the Albanian authorities to participate in UNESCO’s Associated Schools Programme and the Heritage programme “World Heritage in Young Hands”. Moreover, it is necessary to work harder for a correct interpretation and presentation of the site.

Action 8 Provide expert advice for the implementation of immediate actions and development in detail of the programme of international cooperation for the middle and long term.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 In this context, experts from the UNESCO Secretariat and ICOMOS participated in several workshops and missions

No further recommendations.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Several international studies and missions have focussed on the area of Butrint. The UNESCO Secretariat and ICOMOS participated in several workshops and missions. Projects are being financed by the the World Bank and the European Union, as well as by private organisations like the Butrint Foundation, the Packard Centre and several projects of the World Bank for both cultural and natural heritage.

To improve the efficiency in the implementation of these projects, good coordination of these projects should be sought in order to increase their impact on the site. The results of these projects are only very partially visible. The preparation of the management plan for the RAMSAR area gives a good opportunity to coordinate efforts of national and regional authorities, and of international programmes. A Round Table could be organised to prepare an integrated management plan for the area that supervises the implementation of these projects. Besides, it is important that international coordination be efficient in the phase that follows research and excavations, and that it is aimed at the

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protection of the structures and the excavated remains. It is important that researchers work and establish agreements with the Albanian government and that, on the basis of a detailed work plan, they follow all the phases of the research project, from the excavations to the safe-keeping and presentation of the individual structures that are excavated.

(2) Status of implementation of the actions on the middle and long term The medium and long term actions recommended by the joint mission held in 1997 were:

A) Improve the conditions and presentation of the site B) Review the institutional framework for the management of the site C) Establish a management plan for Butrint D) Incorporate Butrint in Regional and local planning

A) Improve the conditions and presentation of the site Action A1 Undertake hydrological studies and improve drainage systems

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 Hydrological studies have been undertaken confirming the delicate water balance in the region. Studies concluded also that the water level has been relatively high for a long period and that, if well managed, this does not pose a threat to the site.

Continuous monitoring should be undertaken, drainage systems should be well-maintained and measures should be defined that can further improve the water management.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 When interviewed, the representatives of the Albanian government stated that there are no plans concerning the hydrogeological system of the site, nor are there any projects in this sense.

As the previous mission recommended, "continuous monitoring should be undertaken, drainage systems should be well-maintained and measures should be defined that can further improve the water management". It is fundamental that an overall plan be put into effect for the conservation of the structures and the mosaics, and also for the correct management of the marshy sites, concerning the fauna and sustainable activities.

Action A2 Undertake studies for the preservation and presentation of the structure and mosaics of the baptistery as well as other buildings.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 A seminar on the conservation of the baptistery mosaic took place in September 1998.

The mission is of the opinion that all known archaeological sites in the vicinity of Butrint should be monitored on a regular basis and that all proposals affecting known archaeological sites should be approved by the National Park Office. Furthermore, available resources for

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conservation should be concentrated on what is already exposed at risk, skills for the conservation of the site need to be developed and retained. As far as possible, only reversible techniques should be used for conservation of standing masonry. Further studies on the preservation and presentation of the mosaics should be undertaken.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Nothing has been done and, in fact, the situation has deteriorated.

The same recommendations as for 2001.

Action A3 Establish a provisional museum

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 Nothing has been done regarding this action. The museum is under the responsibility of the

Institute of Archaeology. The mission did not have the possibility to visit the museum itself during the visit to the site. However, from a meeting with the Institute of Archaeology, the mission understood that, due to the lack of security equipment (i.e. alarm system), and of security personnel, the museum is still closed. The mission is of the opinion that everything necessary should be done to re-open and ensure security at the museum as soon as possible.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 It has been stated that the museum structures have been completed in Butrint, and that the Museum will reopen in the near future.

A future mission should evaluate the structures and the infrastructure of the museum when it reopens.

B) Review the institutional framework for the management of the site Action B1 Assign one Agency with management authority

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The Butrint Office and the National Park have been set up under the responsibility of the museum of Culture. However, the museum of the site is under the responsibility of the Institute of Archaeology, which is independent of the Ministry of Culture.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 A Board of the National Park has been established. Representatives from different ministries participate in the meetings of the Board.

Effective coordination among the ministries, and within the Board, is encouraged.

Action B2 Establish a decentralised office of the site manager.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The Office of Butrint was created in 1998 and

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is located in Saranda (approximately 20 km from the site)

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Done, but there is no staff yet, no task definition of future staff members or any concrete reference to their legal position.

The mission encourages the appointment of the staff of the office, based on professional recruitment, and with a clear definition of duties.

Action B3 Provide adequate delegation of authority to the office of the manager along with adequate human and financial resources.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The Office of the Butrint National Park is meant to contain staff from local and national authorities working in an integrated manner under the Director of the Butrint National Park. However, full integration of all the responsible representatives on the ground is not effective.

The mission feels that this is not a satisfactory situation and that the Office of Butrint National Park should be given effective legal status and powers to enable it to achieve its objectives, that the government should move towards long term financial self-sufficiency for the National Park and that the management of the museum should be integrated with that of the rest of the National Park. Furthermore, the mission is of the opinion that the Butrint National Park authority urgently needs the powers provided by a new law to prevent all building within the National Park. The mission was informed that this new law is under preparation.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Board should have medium and long term vision, and decision-making, controlling and auditing powers on the implementation of the integrated management plan by the Office. A new law exists; however, demolition has only partially taken place by direct decision of the Prime Minister. There are problems related to the effective enactment of the laws.

An objective recruitment system of professional staff is needed; Conservation and authenticity must necessarily become a priority, while the present view is conditioned by profit. The problem of the annual agreement is serious because the choices are casual and do not take into account the global needs for the conservation of the site. Priorities do not exist.

Action B4 Provide for adequate inter-institutional definition of roles and responsibilities, coordination and cooperation of both at the national and the local/regional level.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The National Park is overseen by the Butrint National Park Board, chaired by the Minister of Culture with representatives of the Institute of Archaeology, the Institute of Monuments, the National Committee for Tourism, the National Committee for the Environment, and Saranda Municipality.

The Butrint National Park should be expanded to include representatives of all government departments with a role in the National Park. Effective participation within the National Park Office of the Institute of Archaeology, the Institute of Monuments, the National Committee for Tourism and the National Committee for the Environment should be achieved as soon as possible. Furthermore, as to the future, it is vital that the planning authorities both at the local and the national levels should take account of the existence of the Butrint National Park.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003

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Done. The mission feels the Board should also be enlarged with representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. It is necessary to establish better coordination, define the roles and powers of the organizations, and give priority to conservation problems. Relations with the local population and its involvement in the Park’s management is also important.

C) Establish a management plan for Butrint Action C1 Prepare an archaeological map of Butrint and its surroundings.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 An archaeological map of Butrint was prepared in the context of the draft management plan.

No further recommendations.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 The map included in the Decree for the creation of the National Park does not include specific archaeological sites, just an “area of special archaeological interest”

A map should be drawn up for the park that would help surveillance of the area and ensure its safety. Smaller scale maps should be prepared with information on the archaeological sites and the structure of the Butrint peninsula.

Action C2 establish and compile a site archive of scientific reports, documentations, photographs etc.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 This action is underway. No further recommendations.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 A database is being developed, not an archive as such.

Establish and compile a site archive of scientific reports, documentations, photographs etc., according to international cataloguing criteria, not only for movable goods but also for immoveable.

Action C3 Review World Heritage values of the site of Butrint, prepare a statement of significance.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 This action was undertaken in the context of the enlargement of the site.

No further recommendations.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 The statement of significance has not been prepared, but should be part of the Albanian Periodic Report to be submitted in 2005. The mission members felt that the universal value of the site was not sufficiently taken into account.

The mission recommends the approval and implementation of a proper management plan, to be implemented by professional staff; conservation and authenticity criteria need to be strictly observed when preparing a long and short term work plan; tourist development taking precedence over authenticity and interpretation and presentation needs to be prevented.

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Action C4 Review in the boundaries of the World Heritage designated area and a surrounding buffer are clearly established and adequate; if required propose changes in boundaries to the World Heritage Committee.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The boundaries of the site have been reviewed. The Butrint National Park was created in 1999 and the extension of the site to include the whole of the park as a World Heritage site is effective since 2000. The area is now covers 29 square km.

No further recommendations.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Despite the beneficial review of the boundaries, the current level of protection with these new boundaries does not seem to be effective, as these new boundaries define the protection of a very fragile area , which cannot be built over because of frequent flooding. However this area is also prone to the effects of the pollution that may be caused by future buildings just outside the Park’s perimeter.

Special legislation is needed for the buffer zone of the world heritage area (the Park), which includes the villages on the limits of the National Park. It would be ideal to include the villages in the Park, albeit on a different level of protection. This is done regularly in other European countries, where the villages are included in the parks so that they are integrated with them and so as to have the instruments for managing them. In any case the institution of the Park without a management plan makes little sense, because in actual fact a policy for its conservation, evaluation and development does not exist. Besides, structures and personnel who are responsible for its protection are lacking. This means that if nobody oversees the park or one of its archaeological sites, like Diaporit, and if due to the lack of control the structures are damaged, no judge or Court can summon those responsible. In practice, the director and the rangers are not accountable for their inefficiency.

Action C5 Prepare a comprehensive management plan for Butrint and its surroundings.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 A draft management plan for Butrint (2000-2005) has been prepared by the Butrint Foundation in cooperation with the Butrint Office. The Plan is based on work by many different people. There has been considerable involvement of all stakeholders, local, national and international, with a series of workshops in Saranda on various aspects of the management of the site.

The Management Plan for Butrint has yet to be formally adopted by the Albanian government as guidance for the management of the National Park itself and also for the activities held in the surroundings which could adversely affect the site. There is an urgent need for this formal adoption by the government. When it is adopted, it needs also to be recognised formally as guidance, conditioning the activities of all the bodies which could affect the conservation and sustainable use of the National Park.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Not adopted. There were complaints about the lack of transparency in the development of the

New integrated management plan should be developed including all stakeholders and strong

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plan, which little participation of Albanians. participation of Albanian authorities (who will be finally responsible for it). The opportunity is given by the need to create a plan for the whole RAMSAR area. Therefore, the existing plans and studies should be integrated in it, remarking water system’s management and sustainable activities.

D) Incorporate Butrint in regional and local planning Action D1 Ensure that the Heritage values, including World Heritage values of Butrint are fully considered in regional and local planning, and that the environment and cultural impact studies are undertaken when appropriate.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The significance of the site has been recognised by the creation of the National Park and by the extension of the World Heritage site to include the whole of the Park, as well as by the creation of the Park Office to manage it. An area of this size (29 sq. km) needs to be conserved in many different ways. While its significance lies in its value as a whole, separate elements require distinct approaches to protect and conserve their individual values and contribution to the whole. The range of potential threats is also very large. In this case, it could include the decay of standing structures, the erosion of standing structures or unexcavated archaeological remains, accidental damage, deliberate damage or vandalism, and theft and looting. Changes of land use, whether through agricultural change or through development of new buildings, are also likely to have an adverse impact both on the overall value of the site as a whole and its settings and on individual archaeological elements.

The mission feels that proposals for road improvements which would adversely affect the character of the National Park should not be permitted. In this context, and concerning the road Albania-Greece finance by the EU, the mission had received confirmation by the representative of the European Commission in Saranda that no support from the EU will be given to a project which could damage or threaten the World Heritage site of Butrint. The mission is also of the opinion that any proposed changes of land use should be subject to environmental impact assessment. Furthermore, the National Park Office should develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) as a basic management tool for the World Heritage site. Archaeological research programmes should be encouraged to improve the basic understanding necessary to manage the site to conserve its significance. A full annual maintenance programme should be developed and maintained and the condition of surveying all standing structures should be completed and prioritised so that it can be used as a basis for planning work programmes for major conservation projects. Finally the mission feels that development and master plans affecting the World Heritage site and its surroundings should be revised so that their policies are in conformity with the provisions of the World Heritage site Management Plan.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 Nothing has been done. The absence of an adopted Management Plan

creates serious problems for evaluation. In fact the judicial instruments of reference are lacking. The same recommendations made by

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the mission of 2001 are still valid. The mission is of the opinion that any proposed changes of land use should be subject to environmental impact assessment. The mission wishes to point out the necessity of considering respect for the marsh’s ecosystems.

Action D2 Collaborate with the World Bank in reviving the “Albanian Coastal Zone Management Plan”.

Status of Implementation 2001 Recommendations 2001 The status of this plan is unknown.

Status of Implementation 2003 Recommendations 2003 The study has been published. The mission feels that it cannot give a clear

opinion on a plan that has not been adopted. However, it has the impression that some aspects of the plan do not correspond with the reality, like the description of Saranda as a tourist’s city with excellent infrastructures and hotels, or the use of sustainable agricultural methods in the Park.

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Section 3: Conclusions and Recommendations The mission came to the following conclusions and recommendations:

The inclusion in the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1997 was motivated by the fact that the property was faced with serious deterioration of materials and important loss of cultural significance, and with a lack of conservation policy, threatening effects of regional planning projects and gradual changes due to environmental factors.

The mission undertaken in 2001 noted considerable progress in terms of preservation, conservation and maintenance of the site, as well as in terms of its legal protection and management. It recommended that this should be consolidated and institutionalised by a strong continued commitment at the local, regional and national level.

In spite of important improvements in the legislative and institutional fields, the steps taken to better protect the area against illegal constructions and damaging regional planning projects, and the strong commitment shown by the Albanian authorities to effectively protect the site, the mission undertaken in October 2003 feels that an effective implementation of these policies is lacking, in particular because of the lack of an official management plan for the whole area and the lack of efficient coordination between the different national and international stakeholders;

Therefore, the mission recommends the World Heritage Committee to retain the site

on the List of World Heritage in Danger and to periodically review the progress made, in order to assess on a later stage whether the property can be removed from this List. The assessment should also be based on the results obtained from the Periodic Reporting exercise, which will be submitted to the World Heritage Committee in 2006.

Besides the specific recommendations given in sections 1 and 2 above, it is strongly recommended:

1. to systematically continue the conservation works, also of architecturally less

impressive archaeological sites, walls and buildings, 2. to pay special attention to the interpretation of the site, which has been

considerably neglected from the point of view of its universal value, 3. to take appropriate measures for the effective protection of the site’s cultural

landscape, including the development of hydrological studies and sustainable agricultural methods,

4. to establish the area between the National Park and RAMSAR borders as a buffer zone of the World Heritage site, including the villages bordering the National Park;

5. to establish an urban development policy for these villages;

It is further recommended to prepare and adopt an integrated management plan in compliance with the existing legislation, which in particular should refer to the ways to

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preserve the universal value of the site. The essentials of this management plan could be defined by a meeting that would gather all the stakeholders (Board members, international public and private organisations, local stakeholders and citizen’s organisations). Such a Round Table should benefit from technical assistance from UNESCO and its Advisory Bodies, which may also be invited to dispatch one or two specialists to Albania in order to moderate the event.

It is recommended that following the Round Table and the adoption of a site

management plan, the tasks and staffing of the managing Office be clearly defined, as should be its relation to the Board of the National Park. The Board should be enlarged to include representatives from Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Defence.

The mission feels that an integrated management vision is needed on the long term,

which should also include the coordination of activities of the different international (funding) organisations involved in the area in order to increase the impact of funding. The decision-making capacity of the Board should be improved, by having a long-term strategy with clearly defined priorities, and by approving in its Annual Agreements the action plans for the implementation of the activities as to be described in the new management plan.

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Annex 1: Itinerary and programme of the mission Sunday 26/10/03

13.00 Arrival at Tirana, meeting with Mr Fation Peni, Secretary General of the Albanian National Commission for UNESCO (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) who accompanied the mission members during all the visits in Tirana

18.00: Meeting with Ms Iris Pojani, Director of the Packard Centre for Albanian Archaeology

Monday 27/10/03

10.00 Meeting with Dr Vasil S. Tole, Director, Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Youths and Sport

11.30 Meeting with Mr Gazmend Muka, General Director of the Institute of Monuments, under the Ministry of Culture. Prof. Dr. Emin Riza, focal point for Periodic Reporting and in charge of the nomination of Gjirokastra, and Prof. Dr. Gjerak Karaiskaj, specialist in the conservation of fortifications who prepared the Butrint nomination, also attended the meeting

13.00 Meeting with Dr Ilirian Gjipali, Deputy Director of the Institute of Archaeology, under the Academy of Science

14.00 Visit to the Archaeological museum of the Institute

18.00 Meeting with Mr Zamir Dedej, Director of Nature Protection within the Ministry of the Environment

Tuesday 28/10/03

07.00 Departure by car provided by the Institute of Monuments to Butrint, accompanied by Prof. Dr. Karaskaij;

15.30 Arrival at Butrint, Meeting with Mr Aaron Tare, Director of the Butrint National Park

19.00 Meeting with Mr Aaron Tare in Saranda

Wednesday 29/10/03

10.00 Visit to the National Park and the archaeological site of Diaporit, with Prof. Dr. Karaskaij and Mr Luan Sejdini, Director of the

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Regional Office of the Institute of Monuments in Saranda

16.00 Arrival in Butrint and visit to the fortified archaeological site, guided by Director Mr Aaron Tare

20.00 Dinner with Prof Karaskaij and Mr Sejdini

Thursday 30/10/03

06.30 Departure by car to Tirana

16.00 Meeting with Mr Artan Lami, Vice-minister of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism and Urban Planning

Friday 31/10/03

9.00 Review with Mr Fation Peni of the current state of projects financed by UNESCO

11.00 Meeting with Ms Arta Dade, Minister of Culture

14.00 Departure to Montenegro

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Annex 2:

UNESCO-ICOMOS Mission to the World Heritage site of Butrint

Albania, October 2003

Terms of Reference Background: The property of Butrint was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992 under criterion C (iii) and extended in 1999. In March 1997 it was reported that the World Heritage Site of Butrint had been looted during the civil unrest in Albania. The Butrint Foundation was able to provide a brief report on the condition of Butrint dated 15 April 1997. An assessment mission by UNESCO, ICOMOS and the Butrint Foundation took place from 20 to 24 October 1997. The mission report was submitted to the Committee at its 21st session (Naples, Italy, December 1997), and its recommendations were endorsed by the Albanian Minister of Culture. The Minister also requested that the site be inscribed on the World Heritage List in Danger. The Committee decided:

- to include Butrint in the List of World Heritage in Danger - to allocate an amount of USD 100,000 from the Emergency Reserve Fund for the

implementation of the programme of corrective action (which was included in the mission report).

In 1999, at the 23rd session of the Committee, ICOMOS expressed its concern that tourism development in a small area on the coast, excluded from the proposed extension of the Butrint, could have a disastrous impact on the site. ICOMOS recommended that the extension of the site should be approved ‘on condition that the State Party withdraws permission for development of the area to the west of the main archaeological remains and includes it within the inscribed site’. The Committee decided to extend the property under the existing criterion (iii) under the condition that the excluded area would be included in the zone of the proposed enlargement. The World Heritage Committee, at its 24th session (26 November to 2 December 2000) examined the state of conservation of the site and decided that UNESCO and ICOMOS should undertake a joint mission in early 2001 for an assessment of the situation and that they should report to the 25th session of the Bureau. The mission took place from 19 to 25 April 2001 and recommended the following actions:

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- Enlargement of the Butrint National Park Board to include, at the national level, all relevant authorities (e.g Ministry of Agriculture, Public Works, ....) and to permit an effective participation of local authorities, in order to ensure a strong and effective co-ordination for the management of the World Heritage site.

- Clear identification of responsibilities between local authorities and the Park Directorate within the World Heritage site and its surroundings.

- Identification of the amount of outstanding conservation work and prioritization and planning its execution.

- Adoption of the Draft Management Plan.

The Bureau also recommended the World Heritage Committee to retain the site on the World Heritage List in Danger and to field another assessment mission to the site in October 2003 in order to allow the World Heritage Committee to review the progress made and in order to assess if the site can be deleted from the World Heritage List in Danger at its 28th session (June 2004). The Committee examined at its 25th session (Helsinki, December 2001) the state of conservation of the site and urged the State Party to submit a report on the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations made by the joint UNESCO- ICOMOS-Butrint Foundation mission by 1 February 2002, for examination at its twenty-sixth session (June 2002). At its 26th session (Budapest, June 2002), the Committee reiterated the recommendations made by the Bureau at its 25th session, notably regarding the enlargement of the Butrint National Park Board to include, at the national and regional level, all relevant authorities to ensure a strong and effective co-ordination of the management of the World Heritage site, and urged the State Party to take all appropriate measures, at the national level, to ensure that the Butrint National Park Law be enacted as soon as possible in order to better protect the site. In 2003, the World Heritage Centre received the following information:

- The Government of Albania decided to nominate the site and the neighbouring area to the RAMSAR List of wetlands.

- A large tourist development project is currently foreseen by the Albanian authorities in the immediate vicinity of the World Heritage site.

- The World Heritage Centre received copies of the translation of two newspaper articles stating that the Albanian Minister of Culture, Ms Arta Dade, is considering the possibility of allowing the construction of tourist resorts in the National Park and to suspend the archaeological excavations carried out by the Butrint Foundation (Koha Jone, 14 March 2003). In another article (Korrieri, February 28 2003), some contradictory information is given about the excavation activities of the passed years in the area by British archaeologists.

- On 27 March 2003 the Centre received a copy of a letter from the World Bank to the Albanian Prime Minister concerning planned construction activities within or close to the World Heritage site of Butrint. In this letter the Bank ‘strongly

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recommends that any residential or commercial developments should be considered only after appropriate land use study and environmental assessment are carried out’, and that the Bank is aware ‘of continuing reported attempts to encroach on the Butrint National Park, or pursue other developments in its immediate vicinity’.

- On 1 April 2003 the Permanent Delegation of Albania to UNESCO sent a report from the Albanian Minister of Culture wherein the Centre is informed about the extension of the members’ composition of the Board of the National Park of Butrint, about the fact that the duties and policies that each of the members of the Board have planned to develop in the Butrint Park are clearly identified in a yearly Agreement between the members of this Board; that the identification, priorities and time schedule of the preservation works to be carried out by the Cultural Monuments Institute are clearly identified in the Agreement and that the Albanian Council of Ministers is discussing a draft decision ‘on the Functioning of the Administration and Coordination Office of the National Park of Butrint; Moreover, the report lists the legal framework that has been developed since 1992 and

o confirms that the Albanian’s Parliament ratified the RAMSAR Convention and designated Butrint in 2003 as a Ramsar site.

o indicates that the new law for cultural heritage has already been adopted by the Council of Ministers

o states that all illegal construction built within the boundaries of the park has been demolished,

o remarks that there is no Decision of the Council of Ministers giving license to build inside the spaces of the National Park.

- In addition to the information above, the Centre was informed on 14 April 2003, that he cultural heritage law of Albania was passed in the Albanian Parliament. This would lead to an important step in the protection of Butrint.

In July 2003 (27th session), the Committee recalled that a mission is foreseen to the site in October 2003 in order to assess if the property can be removed from the World Heritage List in Danger, and requested that a report, taking into account all issues, which led to the inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, be submitted to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2004 for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 28th session in 2004 (see the full text of the Committee’s decision in Annex I). As recommended by the Bureau and recalled by the Committee, an assessment mission is foreseen in October 2003. Proposed dates It is proposed that the mission takes place in the period from 27 to 31 October 2003. The exact schedule and duration of the mission will be decided upon in consultation with the Albanian Government.

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Objectives of the mission: - To assess the implementation of the actions proposed by the UNESCO-ICOMOS

mission of April 2001; - To assess the current situation of the site in terms of legal protection, management

arrangements, planning and state of conservation of the site and its components; - To provide a summary report to the World Heritage Committee on its findings

considering Operational Guidelines paragraphs 81-85; - To formulate a recommendation as to whether the site can be withdrawn from the

List of World Heritage in Danger, considering the procedures provided in paragraphs 86-93 of the Operational Guidelines.

Members of the mission UNESCO F. Brugman (World Heritage Centre, Europe and North America unit) ICOMOS C. Maurano (Park of Cilento, Italy)