The Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas) Serial Property Nomination File Submission to the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO by the United Arab Emirates January 2010 2 Table of Contents of the Nomination File Executive Summary (separate volume) 1. Identification of the Property ...........................................................................................................6 1.a Country ........................................................................................................................................6 1.b State, Province or Region ...........................................................................................................6 1.c Name of Property ........................................................................................................................6 1.d Geographical coordinates to the nearest second .........................................................................6 1.e Maps and plans, showing the boundaries of the nominated property and buffer zone ...............6 1.f Area of nominated property (ha.) and proposed buffer zone (ha.) ..............................................7 2. Description ....................................................................................................................................... 10 2.a Description of Property ............................................................................................................. 10 2.b History and Development ......................................................................................................... 34 3. Justification for Inscription ............................................................................................................ 48 3.a Criteria under which inscription is proposed (and justification for inscription under these criteria) ............................................................................................................................................ 48 3.b Proposed Statement of Outstanding Universal Value ............................................................... 52 3.c Comparative analysis (including state of conservation of similar properties) .......................... 54 3.d Integrity and/or Authenticity ..................................................................................................... 58 4. State of Conservation and factors affecting the Property ............................................................ 61 4.a Present state of conservation ..................................................................................................... 61 4.b Factors affecting the property ................................................................................................... 75 (i) Development Pressures (e.g., encroachment, adaptation, agriculture, mining) ................................. 75 (ii) Environmental pressures (e.g., pollution, climate change, desertification) ...................................... 79 (iii) Natural disasters and risk preparedness (earthquakes, floods, fires, etc.)........................................ 81 (iv) Visitor/tourism pressures ................................................................................................................. 81 (v) Number of inhabitants within the property and the buffer zone ....................................................... 87 5. Protection and Management of the Property ................................................................................ 88 5.a Ownership ................................................................................................................................. 88 3 5.b Protective designation ............................................................................................................... 89 5.b.i Legal .............................................................................................................................................. 89 5.b.ii Regulatory ..................................................................................................................................... 91 5.b.iii Planning ....................................................................................................................................... 92 5.b.iv Institutional .................................................................................................................................. 93 5.c Means of implementing protective measures ............................................................................ 94 5.d Existing plans related to municipality and region in which the proposed property is located (e.g., regional or local plan, conservation plan, tourism development plan) ...................... 96 5.e Property management plan or other management system ....................................................... 100 5.f Sources and levels of finance .................................................................................................. 116 5.g Sources of expertise and training in conservation and management techniques .................... 116 5.h Visitor facilities and statistics ................................................................................................. 118 5.i Policies and programmes related to the presentation and promotion of the property .............. 120 5.j Staffing levels (professional, technical, maintenance)............................................................. 121 6. Monitoring ..................................................................................................................................... 122 6.a Key indicators for measuring state of conservation ................................................................ 122 6.b Administrative arrangements for monitoring property ........................................................... 126 6.c Results of previous reporting exercises ................................................................................... 126 7. Documentation ............................................................................................................................... 126 7.a Photographs, slides, image inventory and authorization table and other audiovisual materials ........................................................................................................................................ 126 7.b Texts relating to protective designation, copies of property management plans or documented management systems and extracts of other plans relevant to the property ............... 135 7.c Form and date of most recent records or inventory of property .............................................. 135 7.d Address where inventory, records and archives are held ........................................................ 135 7.e Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 135 8. Contact Information of responsible authorities .......................................................................... 147 8.a Preparer ................................................................................................................................... 147 8.b Official Local Institution/Agency ........................................................................................... 148 8.c Other Local Institutions ........................................................................................................... 148 4 8.d Official Web address ............................................................................................................... 148 9. Signature on behalf of the State Party ......................................................................................... 150 Annexes (separate volumes) - Annex 1: Maps of Nominated Property - Annex 2: Geographical Coordinates and Area of the Component Sites and Buffer Zones - Annex 3: Abu Dhabi Cultural Heritage Management Strategy, 2005 - Annex 4: Al Ain Oases Law of 2004 - Annex 5: Law No.38 of 2005 on Preservation of Palm Oases, Al Ain - Annex 6: Abu Dhabi Law No.28 of 2005 for the Establishment of ADACH - Annex 7: Al Ain Oasis Cultural Quarter Master Plan (AAOMP) Documents - Annex 8: Plan of Hili Archaeological Park - Annex 9: Report on the Conservation of Earthen Sites of Al Ain, 2007 - Annex 10: Image Inventory - Annex 11: Index of Images and Image Files 5 1. Identification of the Property 1.a Country United Arab Emirates 1.b State, Province or Region Abu Dhabi 1.c Name of Property The Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas) 1.d Geographical coordinates to the Please see table below. For the full list of component nearest second and buffer zones boundary coordinates, please refer to Annex 2: Geographical Coordinates and Area of the Component Sites and Buffer Zones Table 1.1: Summary of components of the Cultural Sites of Al Ain, Serial Property: SITE NO. COMPONENT COMPONENT NAME COORD. COORD. CODE EAST NORTH Component Group 1 Hafit Assemblage 001 Component 1.1 Jebel Hafit Desert Park 378679 2662265 002 Component 1.2 Jebel Hafit North Tombs 374030 2672186 003 Component 1.3 Al Ain Wildlife Park Tombs 373000 2674623 004 Component 1.4 West Ridge Hafit Tombs 372846 2675984 005 Component 1.5 Al Naqfa Ridge 374951 2678315 Component Group 2 Hili Assemblage 006 Component 2.1 Hili Archaeological Park 377195 2687187 007 Component 2.2 Hili 2 376128 2686986 008 Component 2.3 Hili North Tomb A 377134 2688791 009 Component 2.4