National 5 (Spotlight Weekly)

Wanted: Urgent Action

Will the decision to term Kathmandu Valley as heritage site in danger spur action to preserve and protect them?

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

When a sudden fire gutted the ancient Pratappur temple, built some 300 years ago by King Pratap Malla, in the Swayambhunath area last week, it further exposed the vulnerabilities of the Kathmandu Valley's heritage sites.

A month ago, the marathon meeting of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of the UNESCO in Paris decided to put the heritage sites on danger list jolting the Nepalese government, which had been sitting idle despite the repeated warnings by the UN body to act to save the ancient monuments of the Kathmandu valley.

Taken aback by the haphazard urbanization of areas in and around the heritage sites in Kathmandu, the UNESCO had been cautioning the Nepalese government time and again, but apparently to no avail. It had even sent 55-point guidelines to the government in 1998.

Kathmandu Durbar Square : Neighboring threats

The seven monument zones within the Kathmandu Valley, which are listed as World Heritage Sites have been threatened by the concrete jungle developing in their close proximity. Despite different legal provisions that restrict the building of modern houses in the immediate areas around the monuments, the lack of strict monitoring has resulted in big buildings that have compromised the beauty and existence of ancient heritages.

On July 4, WHC, which had been holding its 27th session since June 30, decided to inscribe Kathmandu Valley on the list of World Heritage in Danger together with the Walled City of Baku in Azerbaijan and ComoÈ National Park in CÙte d'Ivoire.

The move has also send shockwaves to the tourism industry of the Himalayan Kingdom. "We sell these heritage sites to attract tourists. It is too bad that the government has been unable to maintain these places. Surely, the latest UNESCO move could negatively affect our prospects," said Hariman Lama, chief executive of Incentive tours and a member of Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN).

The UNESCO move has caught the government flat footed. "This is a terrible embarrassment to the government, which is responsible for looking after the sites listed by the UN body," said Dr. Saphalya Amatya, former director general of the Department of Archaeology and a renowned culture expert who has written several books on Nepal's heritage sites. "It exposed our lackadaisical nature."

With no damage control mechanisms functioning in sight, the spokesperson of the Ministry Binod Gyawali had only this to say, "The government has seriously taken note of the UNESCO decision. We will now take immediate steps to follow their guidelines so that Kathmandu valley is removed from the danger list. Otherwise, we are aware that we could be finally de-listed from the prestigious world heritage list."

Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979. It is composed of seven zones with monuments surrounded by traditional buildings. The seven sites include Pashupatinath temple — one of the holiest shrines of Lord Shiva for Hindus all over the world built around 4th or 5th century, Changu Narayan temple — the temple of Lord Vishnu built during 5th century, Swayambhunath Stupa and Bouddhanath Stupa — sacred Buddhist shrines built around 5th and 10th centuries respectively and three ancient royal city centers called Durbar Squares in three cities of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur built around 15th to 17th centuries.

"The sites have been put in the danger list because the Nepalese government failed to abide by certain guidelines," said Hema Gurung, officer-in-charge of the UNESCO Nepal office.

In fact, it is not the monument themselves, but the areas in the vicinity that has deteriorated compelling the UN body to put it on notice.

Interestingly, the haphazard construction of the concrete buildings around the monument zones have been found to increase whenever there is political instability. "During the transition from active monarchy to constitutional monarchy in 1990s, there was a lot of instability and people took advantage of the situation where the government had its guards lowered and rapidly constructed haphazardly. Same thing happens these days as the attention of the government is clearly divided," Dr. Amatya said.

Last week, during his visit to Kathmandu Dr. Richard A. Engelhardt, regional advisor for culture, Asia and Pacific UNESCO office, urged all stake-holders — the central and local government, community, tourism entrepreneurs — to start taking steps towards taking off the Kathmandu Valley world heritage sites from the list of danger. "The decision to put them in that list should come as an opportunity to stir up attention and action," he said. According to him, apart from Bhaktapur durbar square, all other six monument zones are in jeopardy because of growing concrete jungle in the buffer zones. "The monuments themselves are in proper condition. But the problem lies in the houses and shops that have cropped up in the vicinity," he said.