Terms of reference for a UNV/ Cultural Heritage Specialist
1. Background
The Yemeni historic town of Zabid, whose religious, military and political past is important in the context of South-Arabic and Islamic civilisations, is rapidly giving way to modern construction. Since the time of its inscription on the World Heritage List in 1993, 35% of the town's urban texture has disappeared or has been replaced by modern buildings. Twenty per cent of the old houses have been abandoned by their former inhabitants and are falling apart at every rainy season, while the city suq is badly damaged and almost completely empty. Zabid has been inscribed on the List of the World Heritage in Danger in December 2000.
On the 20th of June 2001, the Government of Yemen decided to order the immediate stop of all constructions in Zabid and asked the minister of Culture to take all the necessary steps with the concerned authorities, in order to immediately enforce this decision.
2. Actions by the UNESCO-World Heritage Centre
In September 2001, experts of the World Heritage Centre undertook a mission to Zabid focussing on an assessment -a Quick Scan- of the urban heritage and subsequent priority actions to be undertaken by the Yemeni authorities to reverse the downward trend of deterioration and loss of authenticity. Following that mission, the World Heritage Centre requested the Yemeni Government to implement without delay, seven urgent intervention measures in the town :
1) Urgent launching of a campaign for awareness raising and systematic information targeted at the local population.
2) Creation of a 1 km wide buffer zone from Madrassa Al-Bayshia, situated east of the town, including a perimeter of 225° in a clockwise direction up to the North entrance of the town.
3) Creation of protection zones of a minimum width of 50m around the mosques and medersas (numbering 83) in the town.
4) Strengthen and physically protect the historic residential ensembles of the town that are in danger of falling into ruin or collapsing (about 200 houses).
5) Revitalisation of the Suq by undertaking effective measures to stimulate the economy.
6) Include in the urban extension of the town, the area situated north/north-east of the historic town, in the framework of the new urban plan under preparation.
7) Start immediate production by the brick oven and build others to be able to respond to the new demands.
In February 2002, an architect restorer stressed the urgent need to rapidly finalise an urban conservation plan and the need to define the regulations in order to proceed with the conservation/rehabilitation operations of the historic tissue, the modalities for the use of public space and in particular the standards concerning control of demolitions, reconstructions and the management of existing buildings. The mission recommended :
1) the immediate dispatch of experts to the site by the World Heritage Centre to formulate a preliminary urban conservation plan to serve as a basis for the final urban conservation plan and to define regulations and preliminary orientations for the Historic Town;
2) the immediate exploitation, after control of the material, of the existing brick oven and the construction of two other ovens to be financed by UCHMP (Dutch project), to respond to the needs of rehabilitation activities which should recommence as soon as possible.
Concerning the institutional framework, the delay incurred in the implementation process stem from internal difficulties at the administration in charge of the preservation of the city, GOPHCY (General Organisation for the Preservation of Historic Cities in Yemen). The work of this Organization was interrupted for several months by transfer of high-level personnel and established teams, impairing its capabilities in carrying out its role as relay for the World Heritage Centre and coordinator responsible for operations at site.
In June 2002, after an attempt from the World Heritage Centre to bring together all the partners involved in the safeguarding of Zabid and define with them modalities to coordinate actions and the division of tasks and draw up a clear timetable for the implementation of the activities; a UNESCO team prepared the preliminary study of the urban conservation plan and specific regulations for the historic town. This plan is foreseeing the immediate implementation of the first reconstruction activities prior to the commencement of the other planned works.
In December 2002, the World Heritage Centre submitted to the authorities the Preliminary Urban Conservation Plan of Zabid and the regulations. Consequently, the national administrations i.e. GOPHCY and the Ministry of Public Works and Urban Planning worked in coordination with the Dutch UCHMP Programme and the World Heritage Centre, in order to produce the final Urban Conservation Plan based on the principles developed and agreed upon, in the Preliminary Plan and Regulations.
At the same time, an Action Plan has been studied and submitted for a better efficiency and coordination of all the actions, in accordance with the recommendations and priorities defined in the Preliminary Urban Conservation Plan.
3. The Heritage House of Zabid
Today, the economic role of the Historic Town of Zabid has vanished and the city has consequently lost its function of being the centre of its region. This is why, in order to safeguard the city as a whole, it is necessary to target on the revitalisation of its economic infrastructures, by allowing Zabid to provide modern services to its region. On another hand, it would be necessary to bring back to Zabid the Institute of Theology, which has been moved to Al Hudaydah some years ago and/or to create a new university of the southern Tihama in the city. Also, the seven urgent measures recommended by the UNESCO/WHC mission of September 2001 has not yet been implemented, even though the works of the sewage project are ongoing. This is mainly due to the lack of capacities of the GOPHCY, to handle the overall operations in the city. Finally, the local population is not convinced of the necessity of safeguarding the city and is continuously trying to turn the ban on construction and in general, hardly cooperate in the restoration of the historic dwellings.
In view of the above, it is now urgent to implement the preliminary urban conservation plan, launch an awareness campaign in the City and undertake the economic revitalisation through the launching of a weekly market and the historic suq restoration. This is why, it has been decided to create a " Heritage House " in Zabid, form a special unit and undertake the capacity building and training of the designated staff.
OBJECTIVES
1. To restore the traditional roles played during centuries by the Historic Town, being a religious and university centre, principal town and major economic pole of the Southern Tihama;
2. To restore the authenticity and the integrity of the Historic Town of Zabid in accordance with the criteria of inscription of the city in the World Heritage List;
3. To safeguard in a sustainable manner, the urban and architectural characters, including the overall characteristics, scheme and context of the historic town, the monuments, the historic dwellings, etc.
ACTIVITIES
The purpose is to create a "Heritage House" in Zabid and to install a specialised unit for the operation and the follow-up on projects, able to handle and control the future development of the Historic Town in a sustainable manner. This Unit should be able to implement, follow-up, design, guide and have intensive cooperation with the inhabitants of Zabid.
In order to give this unit a better chance of success, a supervision committee for the "Heritage House" of Zabid" is foreseen, comprising representatives of the highest concerned authorities, at both the local and national levels, the stakeholders, the donors and the local NGOs; this committee being the place for the coordination of the actions and the resolution of conflicts between all the parties.
In order to install the above mentioned unit, "Heritage House of Zabid", the following activities should be undertaken :
1. The "Heritage House" should be located inside the citadel, in the new restored wing, financed by the SFD. The Unit will be in charge of the maintenance of the premises so that it could be used in the future as a museum for arts and traditions;
2. Equipment of the office including the technical equipments (computers, software, drawing tables and instruments, documentation, etc.), the training equipment, the required furniture, etc.;
3. Provision of funds for the functioning of the Unit;
4. Terms of reference for the recruitment of the technical staff;
5. Recruitment by UNDP/UNESCO of a UN Volunteer for one year. This volunteer will be in charge of the operations of the "House of the Heritage" and of the coordination of the staff training and capacity building.
6. Recruitment in coordination with the national and local authorities of the Unit's technical staff - a team of Architects and Engineers (5 to 6 persons);
7. Capacity building and training of the staff on : management, administrative procedures, legal aspects, follow-up procedures, inventory and documentation, construction/restoration design, urban design, implementation of the urban conservation plan, implementation of the specific guidelines and regulations in Zabid, modalities of launching awareness campaigns, construction/restoration permits procedures, reactive conservation, follow-up on operations and modalities of providing guidance and technical support to the inhabitants for the restoration of the historic dwellings, etc.
EXPECTED RESULTS
1. Effective launching of a weekly market;
2. An awareness campaign is launched, regular follow-up meetings are undertaken and the inhabitant are participating to the preservation of their city;
3. Follow-up on the works and operations undertaken by all the project's stakeholders (restoration projects by SFD, sewage project by KFW, etc.);
4. All the surveys on the Historic town are completed and updated (housing typology, land use, tenure ship, etc.);
5. Effective help and guidance to the inhabitants for any construction, restoration or rehabilitation works to be undertaken for the safeguarding of the historic dwellings ;
6. Effective implementation of the preliminary urban conservation plan ;
7. Resolution of conflicts during the implementation process ;
8. Effective application of the regulations and restoration procedures ;
9. The issuing of the construction or restoration permits in accordance with the preliminary urban conservation plan and the regulations adopted for the city.
Role and tasks of the UN Volunteer
Under the guidance of the designated UNESCO consultant in charge of the follow-up the implementation of the National Cultural Strategy project and the assistance of UNESCO-UNDP Yemen, the volunteer shall undertake the following activities:
1. Field work: to assure the implementation in Zabid (Yemen), of the Urban Conservation Plan and the regulations prepared in 2002 by the UNESCO consultants and submitted to the authorities in December 2002, together with the coordination and the follow-up on projects prepared by the stakeholders of the Zabid project;
2. In this framework, he shall guide and train his Yemeni counterpart (the local designated manager), on the day-to-day work: setting-up of a field team, cooperation with the local authorities and NGOs, procedures for the daily work, documentation, reporting duties, follow-up on sectoral studies and projects' implementation, etc.);
3. Supervise the installation of the office of the foreseen Special Unit (the Heritage House of Zabid), including the technical equipments, the training equipment and the required furniture);
4. Supervise the recruitment in coordination with the local authorities and installation of the Unit's staff - a team of Architects and Engineers (5 to 6 persons) and field workers staff (8 persons);
5. Contribute to the organisation of the training of the staff on : management, administrative procedures, legal aspects, follow-up procedures, inventory and documentation, construction/restoration design, urban design, implementation of the urban conservation plan, implementation of the specific guidelines and regulations in Zabid, modalities of launching awareness campaigns, construction/restoration permits procedures, modalities of the follow-up on operations and modalities of providing guidance and technical support to the inhabitants for the restoration of the historic dwellings, etc.;
6. Develop and study one restoration project to be agreed upon by UNESCO/UNDP, to be submitted to potential donors;
7. Assist the Heritage House in developing an awareness campaign targeting the inhabitants and the local authorities;
8. Assist in the preparation and organisation of a stakeholders meeting and preparation of final proceedings.
According to the circumstances and depending the request of the Yemeni authorities, the volunteer, could undertake a similar activity in the framework of a Heritage House in Sana'a.
DURATION AND DUTY STATION
The volunteer will perform his duties in principle in Zabid (Yemen), for a period of 12 consecutive months.
Also, the volunteer could be asked to perform the same task in Sana'a at mid-term, for a period of 6 months.
PERSONAL PROFILE
1. Educational background
Architect restorer, with urban conservation experience and planning capacities.
2. Experience
At least 5 years of proved experience in management of Urban Conservation and Urban planning in a European Historic City context (Having a working experience in an Arabic country is an asset).
3. Languages
Easy communication and excellent skill in English writing and reading. Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.
