La Buena Noticia del Día™

Dice La Prensa:

El parque nacional Camino de Cruces, el Camino Real y el Palacio Bolívar –antiguo convento de San Francisco– serán propuestos por el Instituto Nacional de Cultura (Inac) para que sea incluidos en la lista del Patrimonio Mundial.

La iniciativa pretende ser presentada en junio próximo ante el Comité de Patrimonio Mundial de la Organización de Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (Unesco). Esto cuando el organismo se reúna en Qatar, explicó el Inac en una nota de prensa.

Eso para que vean que aquí en Panamá hay patrimonio pa rato, y sí hay gente cuidando esos menesteres, y a ver si esa gente se deja de andar quejándose de todo. Jo.

Antes que se sorprendan por lo voluntariosos y trabajositos que están nuestros funcionarios precisamente en estas postrimerías de la incertidumbre pre-elecciones, los referimos a La Prensa del lunes:

La Organización de Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (Unesco) publicó un informe técnico en el que recomienda excluir al Casco Antiguo del conjunto monumental, que integra junto al sitio arqueológico Panamá Viejo.

La sugerencia es la conclusión de una misión de expertos del Comité de Patrimonio Mundial del organismo, que en noviembre pasado visitó Panamá.

El grupo valoró que el viaducto marino de la cinta costera tres, inaugurado el pasado 9 de abril, tiene un impacto negativo en el valor universal del sitio. No obstante, resalta que varias áreas podrían continuar formando parte del conjunto monumental.

Como dijo Newton, Actioni contrariam semper et æqualem esse reactionem. Digo, hay que ir poniendo repuestos para los patrimonios que nos quitan, ¿no?

Pero ojeemos el documento WHC.14/38.COM de Unesco: Report of the joint WHC-ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring Mission of the World Heritage property “Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá”, Panama, 25 – 28 November 2013, que presumiendo que ustedes son gente muy ocupada procedemos a resumir ipsofactamente. Y dice:

The mission acknowledges gratefully the warm welcome of the authorities of Panama, the site managers of the different components of the World Heritage property of the Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá […]

The state of conservation of the property was examined by the Committee at its 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th and 37th sessions in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. Main concerns were related to the presence of the Via Cincuentenario in Panama Viejo, a road that crossed the archaeological site, and the overall poor state of conservation of the Historic District, especially with regard to historic residential buildings.

Léase, llevamos una eternidad en esta vaina.

In 2009 a joint UNESCO ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property noted potential impacts of the Cinta Costera project, a coastal freeway that would link different parts of the city and facilitate vehicular traffic. Since the Historic District is located in a small peninsula and next to Ancón Hill, alternatives for the Cinta Costera Phase III included the construction of a tunnel and a maritime viaduct that would surround the peninsula. Reactive monitoring mission reports in 2009 and 2010 focused on the impact that Cinta Costera Phase III could cause on the integrity of the Historic District, especially with regard to the relationship between the property and its surrounding seascape. In 2012, the State Party announced that they considered that the only alternative for consideration was the maritime viaduct. Although the State Party was requested to halt the construction of the maritime viaduct and to study alternatives that would not disturb views from and to the Historic District, the construction was launched and was almost finished when this mission visited the site in November 2013.

Eso después que, recordemos, nuestra delegación asegurara en San Petersburgo que los rellenos de Barraza eran solo unos parques, nada conectados con el proyecto en cuestión. But I digress. ¿En qué  fue que quedaron el año pasado, cuando gracias al hábil cabildeo de nuestra delegación nos salvamos raspandito de que nos declararan patrimonio en peligro?

At its 37th session (Phnom Penh, June 2013), the World Heritage Committee adopted Decision 37 COM 7B.100, by which the State Party is requested to submit by 1 February 2015 a significant modification to the boundaries that excluded the Cinta Costera freeway to allow it to justify a revision of the Outstanding Universal Value of the property and to invite as soon as possible a high-level World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring Mission, guided by the World Heritage Centre, to discuss the different possibilities of this modification.

Y de esa visita, que se dio en noviembre, es que sale este reporte.

The mission recommends that the authorities carefully consider the following options:

1. Submission of a significant boundary change to focus the site only on Panama Viejo based on the original extension dossier of 2002, to also include the new buffer zone by law 91/2007 and review the statement of Outstanding Universal Value.
2. Submission of option I with an addition of a reduced area in the Historic District where the attributes that convey the contribution of this component to the Outstanding Universal Value of the serial property are present.

Nótese ahora que el Palacio Bolívar que ahora está proponiendo proponer el Inac bien podría ser esa área reducida del Casco que mantiene su carácter histórico. Misión Cumplida. ¿De dónde habrá salido esa idea?

The mission also noted the importance of the Salon Bolivar hosting a small museum with documents about the 1826 multinational Congress; while issues remain concerning the authenticity of the building itself, the associative values are important not only for Panama, but for Latin America and the world; the mission strongly recommends that the documents exposed at Salon Bolivar be brought forward for the UNESCO Programme “Memory of the World”; this could be a joint proposal for the registry by the authorities of Brazil and Panama.

Casi oigo al Inac. “¿Que les prestemos unas actas? ¡Man, declaremos la sala; qué, EL PALACIO COMPLETO como patrimonio mundial!” El Arquitecto Murillo debe estar que brinca en un pie. Pero hay una tercera opción:

3. Submission of a (phased) approach by 1 February 2015 in which an overall new vision is included regarding components of the property as parts of a broader territorial system related to interoceanic and intercontinental commerce over five centuries. This option would imply a re-nomination of the property.

Y de ahí lo del Camino Real y Camino de Cruces. Súper obedientitos estamos.

Pero eso fue el resumen del resumen ejecutivo. Si tienen tiempo, seguimos. Semblanza histórica de los hechos, que está clara como el agua:

Concerning the Cinta Costera project, the 2009 reactive monitoring mission informed that the Phase II of the Cinta Costera project had been constructed without carrying out heritage impact assessments, and without informing the World Heritage Committee. The same mission also informed that the Phase III project could have an impact on the property; Therefore the World Heritage Committee at its 33rd session in 2009 requested the State Party to provide reports on both, the analysis and monitoring of the impacts derived from the construction of the Cinta Costera Phase II and the potential impacts on the property from the continuation of Phase III. In 2010 the World Heritage Committee was informed that Phase III of Cinta Costera was expected to continue at the time with a tunnel that would cross approximately 1 km. of the Historic District or by surrounding the Peninsula of the Historic District. The 2010 reactive monitoring mission noted that the proposal of Cinta Costera Phase III to surround the Peninsula where the Historic District is located could have a serious impact on important views and view sheds to and from the Historic District, thus impacting on the conditions of authenticity and integrity of the property. The Committee noted that no other alternatives for the continuation of the project at Phase III had been sufficiently explored. In Decision 34 COM 7B.113, the World Heritage Committee requested the State Party to halt the Cinta Costera Project and to submit the necessary technical studies and impact assessments prior to approval and implementation, as well as to explore and submit other alternative proposals to address the traffic concerns effectively. At its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011) the World Heritage Committee noted the commitment made by the State Party at the Committee session to submit all projects, studies and proposals related to alternatives for future works of the Cinta Costera Phase III for evaluation, including technical specifications and heritage impact assessments. The Committee also requested that the construction of Phase III of the Cinta Costera be discontinued, as it would potentially have an adverse impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property.

In 2012, the State Party presented a definitive proposal to construct a Maritime Viaduct, Phase III of the Cinta Costera, which was examined by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in June 2012. The Committee noted, based on the evaluation of the Heritage Impact Assessment, that the project posed a potential threat to the integrity and authenticity of the property as it would transform the Historic District’s traditional form, its appearance on the coastline and would irreversibly compromise the existing relationship between the Historic Centre and the sea and particularly impact the setting of the property in the peninsula and the singularity of the fortified precinct. The World Heritage Committee requested, in Decision 36 COM 7.B103, that impact studies on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property be carried out and also requested the State Party to implement a series of measures to comprehensively address the precarious state of conservation of the property. In January 2013 the State Party provided a report “Solution for the future traffic demand of Panama City” explaining the rapid growth of Panama City and detailing increasing traffic problems as reason for the construction of the Maritime Viaduct. The working document presented to the World Heritage Committee in June 2013 noted:

“The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies underscore the negative visual impacts of the Maritime Viaduct that will adversely impact on and transform the setting of the Historic Centre. They further note that the Maritime Viaduct is a structure of a very strong shape with a high visual impact which does not integrate harmoniously with the Historic District and establishes an undesirable contrast with regard to its maritime context. They consider that the ability of the property to convey its Outstanding Universal Value, as a fortified settlement in a Peninsula and as a testimony to the nature of the early settlements, with a layout and urban design adapted to a particular context, are being adversely compromised. The urban layout and scale and the relationship between the city and its setting, attributes crucial to the understanding of the evolution of the property, will also be adversely impacted. The Maritime Viaduct, which, when complete in a few months’ time, will closely encircle the coastline that has been the edge of the Historic District since its foundation in the 17th century, will alter view sheds to and from the Historic Centre. Furthermore, the work already carried out on this large-scale infrastructure is impacting significantly and adversely on the integrity and the authenticity of the property, in terms of the way it conveys its historic strategic and defensive location on the Central American isthmus, a crucial attribute of its Outstanding Universal Value. Given the current degree and extent of the adverse impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property derived from the construction of the Maritime Viaduct and the state of conservation of the built fabric, the World Heritage and the Advisory Bodies note that the World Heritage Committee might wish to inscribe this property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.”

The Committee considering the analysis, did not inscribe the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, but came up with Decision 37 COM 7B.100 that provided as a solution to the problem identified, a significant boundary modification.

The mission informs that the project of the Maritime Viaduct is in its final construction phase and surrounds the coastline of the Historic Peninsula at a close distance. It further notes, especially to avoid any misunderstanding, that the Viaduct during the construction phase is a dyke structure, but that the dyke will be removed on completion to allow water to flow. The photos in the Annex provide an overview of the current situation as of November 2013.

Bla bla bla, conclusiones y recomendaciones:

The mission noted that the Cinta Costera Phase III is in its final construction phase and surrounds as a maritime viaduct the historic centre as anticipated by the World Heritage Committee, which had requested halting the project to prevent impacts on the integrity and Outstanding Universal Value of the property.