UNESCO World Heritage Committee wants a report on the state of conservation of Dambulla Golden Temple

The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO at its recently-concluded 40^th session in Istanbul, Turkey, has expressed “serious concern” about, among other things, the lack of implementation of an agreed management plan for the Golden Temple of Dambulla.

It has asked Sri Lanka to submit to the World Heritage Centre by December 1, 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the Golden Temple and of the implementation of prescribed recommendations. The report will be examined by the World Heritage Committee at its 42^nd session in 2018. Similar reports were studied at its sessions in 2014 and July 2016.

The World Heritage Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List. It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and asks States Parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed. It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Golden Temple of Dambulla is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but has been under scrutiny for several years because of modern developments taking place in close proximity to the ancient caves.

The Sunday Times obtained a copy of the World Heritage Committee’s decision adopted last month. It draws attention to a monitoring mission made to the Golden Temple last year by ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites. It has urged Sri Lanka, referred to as the “State Party”, to implement the mission’s recommendations as appropriate.

The World Heritage Committee decision “expresses serious concern about the lack of clear management structures and clear lines of responsibilities, and in particular the lack of implementation of the Management Plan which increases the problematic [sic] of conservation/visitor management of the property...”

It has, therefore, called on the State Party to “establish a site management committee as a matter of priority, including representatives of the government, Temple authorities and the local community, as well as experts”.

It has advised the State Party to “revise and update the Management Plan based on clearly defied governance and communication structures while incorporating traditional management systems, that sets out the interface between the State and Temple authorities, setting short-, mid- and long-term strategies for both conservation and pilgrim/visitor management, as well as budget planning, and to provide the draft to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies”.

It has also called for the development of a “Conservation Strategy”, as part of the revised Management Plan, to address the conversation needs, develop a pilgrim/visitor management strategy to control the number of pilgrims/visitors allowed into each cave, as well as a policy prohibiting flash photography within the caves.

Text and pictures by Namini Wijedasa

Picture shows modern developments in the 'buffer zone' of the Golden Temple