KVPT’s Patan Darbar Earthquake Response Campaign - Work to Date - September 2016

Appendix II
Basic Guidelines for the Preservation and Rebuilding
of Monuments
Damaged by the Earthquake, 2072 (2016)
Issued by the Government of Nepal
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
Department of Archaeology
March 2016
Translated from Nepali by Hikmat Khadka with the
Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust
May 2016
(KVPT note: The committee that drafted this document
included Bhim Nepal, retired archaeologist, and Rohit Ranjitkar,
Nepal Program Director for KVPT. This information did not
appear in the original or in KVPT’s translation as issued for
general use.)
Preamble
The 7.6 Magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on April
25, 2015 and the several aftershocks that followed caused
great damage to life and property in various parts of
Central Nepal. This devastating earthquake claimed the
lives of almost 8,900 people and injured about 22,000.
Likewise, hundreds of thousands of private and public
structures have been fully damaged, while hundreds of
thousands of structures have sustained partial damage.
The devastating earthquake also caused great damage to
many of our historical and cultural heritage sites. According
to the Department of Archaeology’s damage assessment
report, over a thousand monuments, including
those in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur,
Nuwakot, and Gorkha, have been damaged. Among
them, the monuments in the Kathmandu Valley, which
are listed as World Heritage Sites, sustained the most
damage. About 90 per cent of the monuments in the
Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square either fully or partly
collapsed, while some are fully cracked. About 140 monuments,
including Kasthamandap and Dharahara, which
hold special significance, fully collapsed. The earthquake
caused irreparable damage to many monuments that
were built by our ancestors and stood as symbols of Nepal’s
pride. At the same time, it had a huge impact on
the tourism industry, the backbone of Nepal’s economy.
Therefore, it is not only necessary but also mandatory
to restore and reconstruct such damaged monuments in
their original appearance, size, and type.
The rebuilding and restoration of historical monuments
differs from other new and modern construction, and it
is of a specific nature. Such monuments must be restored
and reconstructed on the basis of established national
and international principles, norms, values, and philosophy
relating to the preservation of historical monuments.
Additionally, as most of the damaged monuments are
classified as Cultural World Heritage Sites, the World
Heritage Convention and the provisions of its implementation
guidelines cannot be undermined. Neither
can rebuilding and restoration occur by undermining
the qualities and special features that prove the unparalleled
significance of such monuments and monument
sites and their authenticity. However, it is important to
bear in mind that Nepal is a seismically vulnerable zone,
where there will be frequent earthquakes. At the same
time, it is also true that our historical heritage is living
cultural heritage. Daily worship takes place at our temples,
where devotees throng, and thousands of pilgrims
gather there during fairs and festivals. Temples such as
the Pashupati Nath receive hundreds of thousands of
devotees during festivals. Likewise, several of our historical
structures host the offices and museums belonging to
the Government of Nepal.
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