A report on the state of conservation of the UNESCO World Heritage Property – Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison ??? has been completed and will soon be discussed.

This disclosure came yesterday from Chief Town Planner and Chair of the Barbados World Heritage Committee, Mark Cummins, during the opening of a joint meeting of the World Heritage Committees for Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison and the Historic Area of Willemstad, Curacao, at the Barbados Museum.

Mr. Cummins said the State of Conservation Report for Barbados was submitted to the World Heritage Committee in January 2014, and it would be examined next month at the 38th Session of the World Heritage Committee Meeting in Qatar.??This is Barbados??? second report.

States Parties have an obligation to regularly prepare reports about the state of conservation and the various protection measures being put in place at their sites. These reports allow the World Heritage Committee to assess the conditions at the sites and, eventually, to decide on the necessity of adopting specific measures to resolve recurrent problems.

Barbados??? World Heritage Committee was formulated by Cabinet in 2010 and it has responsibility for the overall management and protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison. The committee advises Government about policies and programmes for the conservation and management of the property, and monitors and evaluates all matters relating to the protection of the OUV.

Mr. Cummins said the Committee has made very good progress during its three years of existence. ???Some persons are of the view that we have not done enough, I don???t share that view, I think we have done quite a bit ??? [and] should be proud of our achievements. There is [still] a lot of work to be done?????? he stated.

He added that the University of the West Indies, the Barbados Museum and the Ministry of Culture had done outstanding work in their particular areas.
He also spoke highly of the Barbados??? Management Plan for the World Heritage Property, saying it was highly commended by a number of organisations, including the International Council on Monuments and Sites.

The delegation from Curacao is here to review the Management Plan of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison as it prepares to develop its own site Management Plan for the Historic Area of Willemstad.

Mr. Cummins said: ???A Management Plan is a very fundamental tool in terms of ensuring the Outstanding Universal Value of the site is preserved. So, what we will also do during this exchange is to take them [Curacao] through some of the paces that assisted us in the preparation of our Management Plan and share those experiences with them, with the end result of assisting them in the preparation of theirs.???

sharon.austingill-moore@barbados.gov.bb

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