UNESCO vs la cinta costera en el Casco

Detengan las imprentas. El Comité del Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO, reunido en Brasilia la semana pasada, no está contento con la extensión de la cinta costera hacia el Casco Antiguo. En el acta WHC.10/34.COM/7B.Add, una adenda con el estado de conservación de los sitios que no entregaron a tiempo para entrar al informe principal, se resumen lo discutido sobre el tema:

The Cinta Costera project is a coastal freeway being executed at the seaside area of Terraplan that is projected to continue along the border of the Historic Centre with plans for a tunnel beneath the Centre’s core. At the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee, the State Party was requested to, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guideline, to submit to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, a final report, including the analysis and monitoring of the potential impacts of this project.

The Mission in 2010 realised that the State Party had commenced the execution of this project. No additional information could be procured regarding the social impacts, conservation requirements, impact assessments, etc. of this project. The Mission was therefore left to conclude that these assessments were not undertaken.

Lo que pasa en el resto del Casco tampoco pinta bien:

With regards to the Historic Centre, information on planned and ongoing projects, including the structural changes at the Hotel Central and the impacts of the PH Plaza Independencia condominium, was not included. […]

Various buildings have been rehabilitated and many others are currently being restored, however there are a significant number of neglected buildings at risk of collapse. It also noted that real estate speculation and interests continue to pervade decision-making processes, leading to detrimental interventions at the property. […]

To conclude, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies consider that the received information does not provide a definite and precise course of action to address the current threats to the property that have been highlighted in the 2009 reactive monitoring mission and in Decisions made by the World Heritage Committee. There are no clear schedules or comprehensive technical information about how critical issues, including social housing and its derived conflicts, the impacts of the Cinta Costera and the alternative route for the Avenida Cincuentenario will be addressed. The document does not evidence how the highest level of authority will commit to the conservation of the property or the definition of a clear policy for the preservation and development of the historic area.

Concluyen en un Draft Decision 34 COM 7B.113

The World Heritage Committee, […]

4. Requests the State Party to halt the Cinta Costera Project and to submit, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, the necessary technical studies and impact assessments for consideration and review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies prior to approval and implementation;

5. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/Advisory Bodies reactive monitoring mission in 2010 to assess the state of interventions at the historic monuments, current management arrangements, planned development projects and the state of conservation of the property;

6. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2011, a report on this issue above-mentioned, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session in 2011, with a view to considering, in the absence of substantial progress, the inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

La trama se complica.