Historical Centre of the City of Arequipa

• Deliberate destruction of heritage (deliberate demolition of historic buildings)
• Ground transport infrastructure
• Planned and ongoing development projects
• Management systems/ management plan (lack of a Risk Preparedness Plan)
• Lack of management plan (issue resolved)
• Housing -(uncontrolled urban development)

N/A

On 12 December 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report. An executive summary of this report is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1016/documents/. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in those reports, as follows:

• The Municipality of Arequipa, in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) prepared a new Master Plan 2022-2032 for the Historic Centre of Arequipa and Buffer Zone. This Plan is included in the annexes of the State Party report. The process of public consultation and review by the Ministry of Culture was expected to be completed by the end of 2022. Following this process, the Master Plan is ready to be approved by the Municipal Council;
• The Metropolitan Development Plan 2022-2042 that is still under review, will establish a framework for the city as a whole, in accordance with the proposed Master Plan;
• Upon approval of the Master Plan, a minor boundary modification will be prepared and processed for approval by municipal ordinance and review by the Ministry of Culture. This process will be completed during 2023;
• The Master Plan foresees eight zones within the buffer zone, each with specific landscape, agricultural and tourism-related characteristics. The Plan includes guidelines for the recovery of the urban basin of the Chili River Valley and its integration into the historic centre;
• Awareness-raising activities have continued and expanded to sensitize the local community regarding cultural values and potential for sustainable development;
• As part of the process of having the Cultural and Archaeological Landscape of the Chili River Valley and Las Rocas Ecological Park declared as national cultural heritage, the final report of the archaeological evaluation is being evaluated by the Ministry of Culture. The archaeological evaluation reports for the Archaeological Landscape of the Lari-Lari-Los Tucos Ravine and the Archaeological Cultural Landscape of Toccrahuasi and Carmen Alto are pending presentation by the Regional Government of Arequipa;
• A project to partially enclose the edges of the Chilina Bridge is proposed to increase public safety;
• A pedestrian circulation project designed for the Plaza Mayor and the Salaverry-Malecón Socobaya Viaduct was rejected by the municipality of Arequipa.

It is noted that the State Party did not proceed with the approval of the previously submitted Master Plan 2019-2029 nor the submission of a minor boundary modification, both of which were foreseen in 2020. Alternatively, a new Master Plan 2022-2032 was prepared and it is now pending public consultation and approval by the Ministry of Culture and the Municipal Council.

The Master Plan 2022-2032 covers the areas that will be included in the future buffer zone. The plan defines seven strategies (Lineas Estrategicas) that include cultural promotion, housing and living conditions, mobility, rehabilitation of public areas, preservation of La Campina and the Chilli River Valley, preservation of the cultural heritage and governance and management. In addition to these, it also includes a zoning plan consisting of 14 sectors (Sectores de Tratamientos). It is recommended that the State Party be urged to approve the Master Plan 2022-2032 but to keep the World Heritage Centre informed in case any modifications would be introduced during the approval process of the Metropolitan Development Plan 2022-2042. It is also recommended that the State Party be urged to proceed with the minor boundary modification as early as possible.

It is reiterated that the mitigation measures proposed in the 2017 Heritage Impact Assessment of the Chilina Bridge and the Via Truncal Interconectadora project and the recommendations of the 2014 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission report are essential for the preservation of the future buffer zone. These include the declaration as national heritage of the Archaeological Landscape of the Lari-Lari-Los Tucos Ravine, the Archaeological Cultural Landscape of Toccrahuasi and Carmen Alto and the Cultural and Archaeological Landscape of the Chilina River Valley and Las Rocas Ecological Park.

It is welcomed that the project for pedestrian circulation at the Plaza Mayor and Salaverry-Malecón Socobaya Viaduct has been rejected.

The approval of the new Master Plan 2022-2032 and the submission of a minor boundary modification are critical elements for the adequate management and protection of the property as proposed in the 2014 mission report and subsequent decisions of the World Heritage Committee. It is noted with satisfaction that regulations for the implementation of the Master Plan (Reglamento del Plan Maestro) are attached to the plan, and that they foresee in Article 131 the creation of an inter-institutional body (Superintendencia del Centro Histórico) that will oversee the management of the historic centre. This body will appoint a technical secretariat that will be responsible for making proposals for the management of the historic centre and the implementation of the Master Plan. This secretariat will need to be allocated sufficient human and financial resources for its operations.