Overview of Report from Joint UNESCO Mission to Lamu (2019–2020)

Overview of Report on the Joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS / ICCROM Reactive Monitoring Mission to Lamu Old Town

Mission dates: 29 November to 4 December 2019
Report publication date: 29 June 2020
Link to PDF report: https://whc.unesco.org/document/183905

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Since 2014, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee expressed its concern over the likely negative impacts of LAPSSET on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Lamu Old Town World Heritage property. However, a monitoring mission was unable to visit Lamu due to security concerns until this visit at the end of 2019.

As LAPSSET progressed, and despite the inability to conduct a site visit, the Committee recommended that the State Party [Government of Kenya] review the Management Plan, revise the buffer zone, develop mitigation measures, assess the impact of the planned coal plant, conduct a Heritage Impact Assessment vis a vis Manda airport, and safeguard the Shela sand dunes to ensure water security.

This mission was “to discuss progress of the overall LAPSSET project, to review the progress on the revision of the Management Plan, to examine the effectiveness of the development control, to observe the work at the Manda Airport and the proposed coal fired power plant, and to examine the overall state of conservation of the Lamu Old Town World Heritage property.”

Mission observations:

Built Fabric of Property

“The mission observed the need for urgent conservation measures and the re-enforcement of conservation guidelines to halt the continuing decay of the built fabric of the property and to support the living culture that gave rise to it.” (Physical decay of buildings and buffer zone.)

“Overall, the state of conservation of the built fabric of the Lamu Old Town World Heritage property is, generally speaking, poor and requires urgent intervention.”

The actions of the NMK are very welcome but may prove to be too little too late to maintain the integrity of the property and safeguard its OUV (outstanding universal value).

Financial resources remain a great challenge in improving the state of conservation.

LAPSSET Status and Concerns

The mission team has noted a considerable advance in the LAPSSET project since the last mission visited the property, in particular the construction of the three berths in the new deep-water harbour and the construction of the highway from the new port to the hinterland, which was in process at the time of the mission.

The revision and extension of the scope of the LAPSSET Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), as requested by WHC in 2017, 2018 and 2019, has not been undertaken. This is of great concern seeing as implementation of the LAPSSET project is continuing.

The Committee in 2015 requested, following an SEA, that detailed HIAs be undertaken for individual parts of the overall project… before any irreversible decisions on these projects are made or any execution is undertaken. (And Operational Guidelines state that impact assessments for proposed interventions are essential.)

“Unfortunately, components of the LAPSSET project have been implemented without Heritage Impact Assessments having been submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review.”

The mission further noted:

• the linkages between Old Town and LAPSSET are not clearly addressed in documents outlining safeguarding plans
• there are concerns there will be spillover effects, if there’s no strategy in place to prevent that
• the Management Plan is still not finalized, although the process has been ongoing for a long time
• the new proposed buffer zone for the property is not finalized or validated yet, while new constructions are taking place without clear guidelines
  the new proposed buffer zone for the property is not finalized or validated yet, while new constructions are taking place without clear guidelines
  the solutions proposed to tackle the sanitation problems are still not adequate
• there is a lack of proper funding mechanisms and human resources to support the conservation and management of the Lamu Old Town World Heritage property

“All of the above adds up to extensive challenges facing the property that cumulatively, and in some cases individually, have the potential to impact adversely on the integrity and authenticity of the property, and thus on its OUV, to a degree that could put the property in Danger.”

Recommendations (14 total)

Recommendation 1 — Consideration to requesting inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger

“The mission recommends that the State Party give serious consideration to requesting the World Heritage Committee to include Lamu Old Town on the List of World Heritage in Danger as a means to invite” assistance.

Recommendation 2 — National High-Level delegation

“The mission recommends that the State Party send a high-level delegation to the island to avail itself of the urgency and range of challenges faced at the property.”

Recommendation 3 — Establishment of a Heritage Task Team

The mission recommends that the government work jointly with other stakeholders to “build the capacity of LAPSSET Corridor towns to manage urban growth resulting from LAPSSET Corridor investments” and also establish a Heritage Task Team for Old Town.

Recommendation 4 — Financial resources

“The mission recommends the County Government assess and implement the proposal to dedicate 2% of its annual budget to the maintenance of Lamu Old Town.”

Recommendation 5 — Property boundaries and buffer zone

“The mission recommends that the recommended Heritage Task Team [refer to Recommendation 3], with the utmost urgency, finalize the buffer zone boundary proposals, put forward regulations and development controls to cover this new buffer zone, and submit the minor boundary modification to the World Heritage Committee at its next session, and not later than 2021.

“The buffer zone should, at the very least, incorporate all of Lamu Island, a significant part of Manda Island including areas directly across from Lamu, the Takwa ruins, and any other parts of Manda where development might have an impact on the OUV of the property.

“The mangrove belts adjacent to Lamu should also be included. Following the adoption of the minor boundary modification by the World Heritage Committee, the by-laws should be published as required by the provisions of Kenyan law.”

Recommendation 6 — MAB Biosphere Reserve KIST-Con project

“The mission recommends that the draft Management Plan be amended to accommodate the provisions of the MAB Biosphere Reserve and the values contained in its designation as well as the aims of the KIST-Con project.”

This refers to the Kiunga Marine Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO-designated “Man and the Biosphere” reserve and the Kenya Integrated Sea Turtle Conservation (KIST-Con) Program, operated by World Wildlife Fund Kenya.

The UNESCO Reactive Monitoring Mission to Lamu in 2011 (the visit prior to 2019’s) had expressed concerns about threats to this reserve and program in its report (link goes to Save Lamu website, as the report is missing from UNESCO’s directory of documents on Lamu Old Town)

Recommendation 7 — Stakeholder partnerships

“The mission recommends that a programme of structured community and stakeholder engagement be designed and implemented as part of the Management Plan for the property.”

Recommendation 8 — LAPSSET

“The mission recommends that the State Party [Kenyan government], as a priority, revise the draft SEA for the entire LAPSSET project… and not to implement any further phases of the project until the requested revision of the SEA for entire LAPSSET project has been completed and submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies; failure to give consideration to potential impact on OUV at this stage would indicate unwillingness to find optimal solutions to ensure the future protection of the OUV of the Lamu Old Town World Heritage property, and to safeguard its OUV from cumulative, ascertained and potential dangers.”

Recommendation 9 — LAPSSET

The mission recommends that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the NMK and the LCDA be urgently submitted for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies.

The LCDA, in the execution of its mandate, should facilitate the creation of a stakeholder and community forum for Lamu Island specific to the LAPSSET project to serve as continuous vehicle for stakeholder and community engagement.

Recommendation 10 — LAPSSET

The mission recommends that the State Party, the Government of Kenya, as the main shareholder of the LCDA, and concurrently the custodian of the Lamu Old Town World Heritage property, establish as a core corporate social responsibility of the LCDA the provision of significant financial support for the conservation and maintenance of the OUV of the property under its mandate to build the capacity of LAPSSET Corridor towns to manage urban growth resulting from LAPSSET Corridor investments. It should ensure that the LCDA develops significant funding mechanisms for conservation and maintenance work to address physical conservation issues and to support social and cultural issues that relate to the sustenance of traditional livelihoods in the property;

Recommendation 11 — Water security and sanitation

The mission recommends that, as the challenge of water security and sanitation remains critical and requires urgent attention, the State Party engage the various UNESCO programme sectors through its National Commission to explore possibilities for collaboration in water and sanitation challenges, including engaging the World Heritage Centre to explore the opportunities to invite a World Heritage Centre Advisory mission or a mission by another competent authority to update the 2005 Water and Sanitation Assessment and develop overall strategies to address the problem of water security and sanitation in the property and its buffer zone. The LCDA should, as mandated, contribute to the Heritage Task Team to ensure that the water and sanitation capacity of Lamu Island can accommodate the urban growth resulting from the LAPSSET Corridor investments.

Recommendation 12 — Coal fired power station (included in full)

The mission recommends that the State Party not proceed with the proposed Lamu Coal Fired Power Station (Lamu Coal project) as the project will have negative impacts on the OUV of the Lamu Old Town World Heritage property, including also on the livelihoods and culture of its people. Should alternative proposals, including utilising other energy sources such as gas, solar, or wind, be investigated — and there is any indication that this may have any impact on the OUV of the Lamu Old Town World Heritage property –, such proposals should be assessed through Environmental and Heritage Impact Assessments conformant to Paragraphs 110 and 118bis of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Such assessments should address, at minimum, direct and indirect, immediate and cumulative impacts on the OUV of the Lamu Old Town World Heritage property and include assessment of impacts on culture and livelihoods, also considering the potential impact on marine environments, taking into account the status of the Kiunga and Kiwaiyu MAB Biosphere Reserves. Such assessments should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before the assessments are finalised and their recommendations implemented.

Recommendation 13 — Manda Airport

- A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for the recent Manda Airport extension is no longer required.
- Reconstruction of Manda Airport air-side apron will not impact the OUV of Lamu Old Town
- The mission recommends that the Kenya Airports Authority inform and invite comments from the National Monuments of Kenya of any plans to further expand the airport or its runways before any irreversible decisions are made or any project implemented. And an Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) should be done for future plans.

Recommendation 14 — Future Reactive Monitoring mission

The mission recommends that the World Heritage Committee request the State Party to invite a Reactive Monitoring mission to visit the property in 2023.