newssubscriptionlinks
Location
Description
heritage values
The imprint of man
Management plan
Implications/FAQ
Legal frameworkPhoto galleryInstitutionsBibliographyCatalà
homeEmail

The presentation of an application for addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List is an exclusive prerogative of states parties to the Convention on World Heritage which Andorra signed in 1996. The application for the inclusion of the Madriu Valley-Perafita-Claror to the World Heritage List was a joint initiative by the Government of Andorra, the Comuns of Encamp, Andorra la Vella, Sant Julià de Lòria and Escaldes-Engordany, the Andorran National Commision for UNESCO (CNAU) and the Andorran National Committee for ICOMOS, with the participation of the various agents with interests in the valley and that of the collective groups using the zone.

After the idea arose in the Andorran National Committee for ICOMOS and was presented to the Ministry of Culture for the first time in 2001, the ensuing actions can be summed up as follows:
  • December 2001: Presentation of the Christmas Document, drawn up by ICOMOS Andorra, which justified the feasibility of the application project.
  • July 2002: Inclusion by Andorra of the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley in UNESCO's Tentative List, a required first step to enable an application to be made for addition to the world heritage list.
  • June-December 2002: Drawing up of the projected application by a team of multidisciplinary specialists directed and co-ordinated by ICOMOS Andorra and the Andorran National UNESCO Commission.

  • January 2003: Signature of the "Charter for the protection, use and management of the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley" by the ministers of Culture and Agriculture and the Environment representing the government and the mayors of Encamp, Andorra la Vella, Sant Julià de Lòria and Escaldes-Engordany representing the Comuns of the four parishes involved in the project.
  • January 2003: Andorra through its ambassador at UNESCO files the projected application with UNESCO's World Heritage seat in Paris.
  • March 2003: The World Heritage Committee formally notifies admission of Andorra's application and the procedure of evaluating the proposal is begun.
  • October 2003: Visit of the ICOMOS International and UICN (UNESCO's assessment bodies) inspectors who go to the most relevant parts of the valley and interview representatives of all the institutions and agents linked to the zone.
  • 1 July 2004: The World Heritage Committee at its 28th meeting held in Suzhou (China) approves the inclusion of the Madriu Valley-Perafita-Claror to the World Heritage List in the cultural assets category (cultural landscape).