Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá

• Severe deterioration of historic buildings
• Conflicting interests of different stakeholders with regard to the use, management and conservation of the historic centre
• Limited capacity for the rehabilitation and maintenance of historic structures
• Deficiencies in the implementation of the legislative framework for protection
• Lack of implementation of clear conservation and management policies for the property
• Demolition of urban ensembles and buildings 
• Forced displacement of occupants and squatters 
• Urban development projects within the protected area (i.e. Cinta Costera)
• Visual impact of the Cinta Costera project Maritime Viaduct
• Inadequate long-term financial sustainability of conservation and management efforts
• Financial resources
• Housing
• Human resources
• Identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community
• Legal framework

N/A

In 2019, the State Party of Panamá submitted a nomination dossier with the aim to transform the “Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá” into a serial property under the name of “Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá”. The World Heritage Committee (Decision 43 COM 8B.40) deferred the request and asked for a resubmission. The Nomination was resubmitted in January 2023, and in March 2023 the World Heritage Centre confirmed the completeness check of the Nomination and sent it to ICOMOS for evaluation.

• In November 2020, the General Law on Culture (Law No. 175) was adopted by the State Party and legal tools and the Law need to be regulated for its implementation. Nationwide consultations for drafting and approval of the regulation of this Law are ongoing. No timeframe is given for the completion of this process. The State Party submitted the text of the Law, without any detailed explanations of its expected impact;
• Results of a 3D viewshed study and visual corridor analysis for Panama Viejo and the Historic District of Panamá are presented as part of the draft Management Plan of the nominated serial property “The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá”;
• Advancement of different planning tools was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the Land Use Plan for the District of Panamá was approved on 30 March 2021, which incorporates the two property components as “special planning zones” and includes height restrictions (between 4 and 8 floors) on new buildings in the buffer zones and wider urban context;
• A draft of the regulation of the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is in the process of internal approval and further consultation in 2023;
• The Municipality of Panamá (MUPA) has developed a Plan of the City Centre, which includes a Mobility Plan for the Historic District of Panamá. The status of the Plan of the City Centre is unclear;
• For the Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo, no new project is reported and existing projects have been stagnant. In the Historic District, three projects are reported as active, the “Hotel Casco Viejo”, the “EDEM Building” and the “P.H. Casco View”, but no further information is supplied. A photo of the completed “Bay View Tower” is included (mentioned in the last report), but no mention is made of its impact on the values of the property;
• The report also offers details on the state of conservation of different buildings in the two component parts of the property and highlights the improvement of the state of conservation of the buildings of the Historic District.

The State Party reports on some important advances, including the approval of the Land Use Plan for the District of Panamá, progress made on the inclusion of the HIA in the planning process, and the improved state of conservation of the buildings of the Historic District. However, some of the points mentioned in the report are not new (e.g., the Plan of the City Centre and the Project for Waste Recycling). Determining the differences between its previously reported state of conservation is difficult. Also, many of the points mentioned either lack detailed information or give only detailed information, without a summary to highlight the relevant points.

On several occasions the report refers to the new Management Plan for the “Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá”, for which the revised Nomination/Significant Boundary Modification was submitted in 2023. This Management Plan will contain sections on Natural Disaster and Risk Management as well as Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation for the entire Transisthmian Route. Parts of this draft document are included in the State Party’s 2022 report. However, it is difficult to judge the impact on the property discussed here, without evaluating the finished document.

A map taken from the Land Use Plan for the District of Panamá mentions a new buffer zone for the Historic District, but the changes to the previous or current buffer zone are not discussed in the state of conservation document. It is also unclear if the height restrictions that the Land Use Plan introduces have a bearing on the ongoing construction projects of the buildings with 12 floors that, as the report states, "may cause visual impacts".

Even though there are, as mentioned above, important advances concerning the legal protection and management of the site, many of these issues are pending final approval or sufficient regulation in order to become operative. It has to be recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic slowed many of these processes down, but it is of great importance to finalize them as soon as possible.

The report makes no mention of how the re-Nomination/Significant Boundary Modification will affect all of the above-mentioned issues, and how it will address the impact on the World Heritage values caused by the maritime viaduct that encircles the Historic District. It is to be hoped that the significant boundary modification document will refocus the work on this property and show a clear way forward.