The Sousse medina, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988, remains on the list after being threatened with inscription. This news has just been confirmed by the World Heritage Committee in its latest report (draft decision: 45 COM 7B.150), which notes the progress made in the conservation of this medina, typical of cities from the first centuries of Islam in the Maghreb. In a previous report for its 44th extended session in 2021, the Committee had warned of the risk of deterioration of this important heritage, inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1988. At the beginning of 2023, the municipality of Sousse, in collaboration with the Institut National du Patrimoine (INP), launched a Programme for the Regeneration and Enhancement of Old Town Centres (PRCA) (2022-2025). The PSMV for the Sousse medina, which should be completed by the end of 2024, was launched as part of the Integrated Urban Development Project II (PDUI-II), with technical and financial support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Its aim is to reinforce the cultural, economic and tourist appeal of the property, and create greater synergies with the modern city. The plan is to work three main axes of the medina, where twenty housing units, public spaces and historic monuments will be restored and rehabilitated, façades upgraded, the ground paved, and signage put in place. In a recent official report at the end of its 45th extended session on the state of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, the World Heritage Committee “welcomed the measures taken by Tunisia to improve cooperation in the management of the medina of Sousse, to draw up a plan for the protection and presentation of the property (PSMV) and to seek funds to mitigate the threats to the outstanding universal value (OUV) of this property” and called on it “to intensify its efforts”. The UNESCO body had previously “noted with concern the potential threats to the old town of Sousse due to the absence of a PSMV, the lack of coordination, the absence of a framework for concerted action, urban pressure and densification, social and economic factors, and the visual impact on the integrity of the property, the loss of traditional skills and the deterioration of building elements and materials.” It reported that the joint World Heritage Centre (JHC) and the World Heritage Committee (WHC) had “agreed to the establishment of a PSMV and to the search for funds to address the threats to the outstanding universal value of the property.’ It indicated that the joint advisory mission of the World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM in January 2023 noted that “cooperation for the management of the property has improved, the preparation of the PSMV has progressed with the appointment of a consultancy firm, and the main features of the OUV appear to be in a good overall state of conservation”. According to the conclusions of this joint advisory mission, Tunisia has taken significant steps to follow up on the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee. Indeed, as reported by the Tunisian Government and confirmed by the joint mission, cooperation between the INP and the Municipality has improved, in particular through the creation of a joint unit to monitor urban activities and the signing of an agreement to work together on the PSMV, the “commencement of which is welcomed”, the report states. The World Heritage Committee noted that the second phase of the PDUI-II represents a significant step forward in the implementation of sustainable development objectives in the city of Sousse. Among other things, the UNESCO body called for rigorous monitoring of urban activities to reduce the risk of violations, for the preparation of the PSMV to be used to set up a joint management mechanism for the medina, including representatives of the local community and greater involvement of civil society in the conservation, enhancement and management of the property, and for a pilot project reflecting the provisions of the PSMV to be carried out in one block of the medina. The World Heritage Committee has requested that an updated report on the state of conservation of the Sousse medina and the implementation of the recommendations made be submitted by December 1, 2024 for consideration at its 47th session.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse