News

On 23 June during the 35th session at the Headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, the World Heritage Committee took decisions on the state of conservation of the World Heritage Sites in Lithuania: Vilnius Historic Center and the Curonian Spit.

The decision of the World Heritage Committee on the state of the Vilnius Historic Center emphasizes that a special supervision committee should start regular work as soon as possible.  It should identify conservation procedures for the historical center of Vilnius and define the decision-taking process to strengthen the protection of this heritage site of outstanding universal value.

The Committee also urged Lithuania to provide information about the construction of high-rise buildings in buffer protection areas, because that could have a negative impact on the outstanding universal value and visual integrity of the historical center of Vilnius.

When considering the state of the Curonian Spit, which is a joint Lithuanian-Russian property, the World Heritage Committee expressed deep concern over the economic development zone in the Kaliningrad region and the planned construction of major leisure centers in the Curonian Spit. The World Heritage Committee believes that such constructions are likely to cause serious damage to the fragile landscape of the Curonian Spit and would jeopardize the integrity of this valuable site. The Committee called on Russia to immediately drop the construction plans and review the issue of the economic development zone.

The Committee also called on both countries to develop a joint inventory of the outstanding universal value of the Curonian Spit that would ensure the application of a bilateral coordination mechanism for management, protection and development of the site. Lithuania has already submitted its draft project to the World Heritage Committee. Moreover, Lithuania and Russia are encouraged to immediately draw up a tourism strategy that would estimate the volumes of transport and visitors.

The decision of the Committee regarding the Curonian Spit is also based on the recommendations of the international experts’ mission that visited the area in December 2010.

Among other recommendations, the international mission noted that in case of a failure to eliminate threats to the outstanding universal value of the site, it may be included into the List of World Heritage in Danger. Experts identify such threats as a lack of an overall management plan that was recommended by the mission, the recommendations of an advisory mission of 2009 regarding the preservation of the buildings are disregarded, and tourism and its development are out of control, and damaging to the outstanding universal value of the site.

The World Heritage Committee committed Lithuania and Russia by 1 February 2012 to submit an updated report on the state of conservation of the value, which would incorporate the recommendations of the international expert mission of 2010. This report will be considered in 2012 at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee.

Lithuania is currently not a member of the World Heritage Committee; therefore, the country is participating in the session as an observer.

The List of the World Heritage includes four sites in Lithuania: Vilnius Historic Centre, the Curonian Spit, Kernavė Archaeological Site (Cultural Reserve of Kernavė) and Struve Geodetic Arc.