Management Of World Heritage Sites Research Articles

Buffering for conservation at Angkor: questioning the spatial regulation of a World Heritage property

Since the early 1970s, the proliferation of World Heritage (WH) properties across the globe has strengthened the conservation and protection of natural and cultural heritage. As the listing of the 1000th WH property approaches, it is timely to review how the ideals of protection expressed in international agreements such as the World Heritage Convention transfer to land use planning regimes at the local, property-specific, level. Conservation, in practice, sees the enactment of rules that become spatially expressed, oftentimes, in the form of zoned planning overlays. Buffer zones, in particular, are a favoured tool in WH site management to protect the core property, yet there is a lack of data about the evolution, use and effectiveness of this approach. This paper considers the core-and-buffer-zone principle in the protection of the WH property at Angkor, Cambodia. Reflecting on the circumstances of Angkor’s listing, this paper argues, first, that while the core-and-buffer-zones approach remains a useful tool in land use planning, far more research and reflection should be required before zone design is determined and applied; and second, that diverse site circumstances dictate that a standardised core-and-buffering approach may not always be the best solution.

Heritage interpretation and human rights: documenting diversity, expressing identity, or establishing universal principles?

This article highlights the central role of public interpretation in helping to integrate human rights concerns in the evaluation and management of World Heritage sites. Beginning with a brief survey of the relationship of cultural heritage to human rights in the United Nations (UN) system, it will then analyse the evolving concepts of culture in UN and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization policy. The paper will identify three distinct culture concepts and associated interpretive approaches that are of potential relevance to rights-based heritage management: (1) interpretation as the accurate, objective documentation of heritage sites; (2) interpretation as an expression of collective identity; and (3) interpretation as promotion of the universal value of cultural diversity. The paper will conclude with an assessment of how the systematic integration of all three approaches may serve to enhance current heritage practice with a concern for human rights.

Chinese Research on World Heritage Tourism

This paper reviews and assesses the Chinese academic literature on World Heritage Sites. Management structure, lack of financial resources, impacts on the World Heritage Sites and heritage education are themes that are commonly addressed. Research opportunities are identified. In particular, the need for more detailed case studies on a greater variety of sites is required. Such studies should be informed by clear concepts and appropriate theoretical frameworks if knowledge is to be cumulative and lead to the enhanced management of World Heritage Sites.

A Framework for Sustainable Heritage Management: A Study of UK Industrial Heritage Sites

In 2002, the World Heritage Committee declared heritage to be ‘an instrument for the sustainable development of all societies’. The term ‘sustainable development’, however, is inscribed with a complex economic, environmental and social agenda that challenges contemporary World Heritage management practice. This paper draws on a content analysis of six industrial UK World Heritage Site management plans. The analysis focuses on the extent that each plan integrates four key sustainability dimensions. Findings indicate that the planning frameworks and collaboration processes in operation at each site ensure conservation of the historical physical fabric but limit the development of a sustainable local cultural economy. A sustainable heritage management framework is presented based on the adoption of a long‐term strategic orientation and extensive local community participation in decision making. The framework is relevant to other complex heritage sites such as historic towns and cultural landscapes.

Management of World Heritage Sites

The protection of a World Heritage Site is a complex and demanding task for its coordinating body. In 2005 the UNESCO made it mandatory for state parties to include management plans in the nomination documents for prospective World Heritage Sites in order to aid their proper safeguarding. In 'Management of World Heritage Sites', Thomas H. Karpati argues that the documents that have been created since often - for various reasons - appear as not being as effective as they should be. Considering the fact that over 800 sites, which have been inscribed on the World Heritage List before 2005, eventually will need management plans in the future, he proposes a rethinking of present strategies for the creation of these documents. The author evaluates the management of several international heritage sites and critically points out strengths and weaknesses. He gives an overview of what future management plans should include and proposes an integrated structuring of documents in order to make them effective tools for the safeguarding of the world's heritage. Including a thorough introduction to the topic, this publication is aimed at interested laymen, students and experts in the field alike.

Stonehenge — a final solution?

Stonehenge is one of the world's iconic prehistoric sites and was inscribed as part of a wider prehistoric landscape as the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites in 1986. However, the landscape is dissected by two roads that cutthrough this part of the World Heritage Site and pass within metres of the stone circle. Over the last twenty years some fifty different options for the upgrading and/or removal of these roads have been discussed. The UK Government is on the verge of making a final decision about the roads that will affect the site for ever. Some argue that this decision will be made without taking either the wider responsibilities enshrined in the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage or the full economic implications of the decision into full consideration.Stonehenge is the finest achievement of megalithic architecture in England … Together with the associated sites and monuments, the Stones contribute to a wider archaeological landscape without parallel in the world. (Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management Plan, English Heritage, 2000a: Part 2:5, my emphasis)

Stonehenge — a final solution?

Stonehenge is one of the world's iconic prehistoric sites and was inscribed as part of a wider prehistoric landscape as the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites in 1986. However, the landscape is dissected by two roads that cutthrough this part of the World Heritage Site and pass within metres of the stone circle. Over the last twenty years some fifty different options for the upgrading and/or removal of these roads have been discussed. The UK Government is on the verge of making a final decision about the roads that will affect the site for ever. Some argue that this decision will be made without taking either the wider responsibilities enshrined in the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage or the full economic implications of the decision into full consideration.Stonehenge is the finest achievement of megalithic architecture in England … Together with the associated sites and monuments, the Stones contribute to a wider archaeological landscape without parallel in the world. (Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management Plan, English Heritage, 2000a: Part 2:5, my emphasis)

A review of the Global Strategy for a balanced, representative and credible World Heritage List 1994–2004

A critical analysis is given of the decade of implementation of the ‘Global Strategy for a Balanced, Representative and Credible World Heritage List’, adopted by the World Heritage Committee in 1994, to highlight its successes but also its problems and pitfalls. This paper is structured around two key themes of the 1994 report on the Global Strategy. First, the need to rectify some apparent thematic, geographic and chronological imbalances and discrepancies on the World Heritage List is discussed. This first part demonstrates that some of these imbalances have not been rectified. It also puts forward reasons for this ongoing situation. The second part of the paper is concerned with the recommendation of the 1994 expert meeting on the Global Strategy to consider sites of (potential) outstanding universal value in their broad social and anthropological context. This part considers, in particular, efforts to encourage the participation and involvement of local and/or indigenous communities in the nomination, conservation and management of World Heritage sites. The paper concludes with some suggestions for a more successful implementation of the Global Strategy.

Developing Partnerships: Tools for Interpretation and Management of World Heritage Sites

Many natural and cultural tourist attractions have been given World Heritage Site (WHS) status. This designation, however, has not always resulted in numbers of visitors increasing as this is often influenced by other factors like marketing and accessibility. Equally, there remain few world heritage sites that have been placed on the danger list as a result of over-visitation, which suggests that visitation is still at levels where management can address and alleviate problems. One method that offers potential in maintaining popular tourist sites is the development of partnerships. This paper proposes a model of partnership for WHS and presents a discussion, using British and North American examples. Partnerships are examined for protected and mixed-use settings, where the scale involved ranges from local/regional to international. Emphasis is directed at assessing partnerships as a tool to assist site interpretation and general site management, visitor management in particular. It is suggested that partnerships need to be broad-based, encouraging empowerment of, and cooperation between, stakeholders, accepting that they will range from agency-led to grassroots initiatives and result in public-private co-operative arrangements. It is also argued that partnerships should not just exist at the management level alone. Rather, they should filter down to the visitors and be reflected in how they view and respect the site through their understanding of its qualities.

The management of World Heritage sites in remote areas: The Sierra de San Francisco, Baja California, Mexico

AbstractThe long-term management of sites that are far removed from population centres taxes the resources of heritage agencies. The Sierra de San Francisco in the Baja California peninsula of northwest Mexico is a remote area containing outstanding rock art sites that are inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Through a collaboration between four Federal, State and nonprofit organizations, a new management plan for the sites has been implemented, using a participatory model involving all interest groups. The paper summarizes the background to the plan, the problems that made it necessary and the process used to develop it. It describes the new visitor management strategies now in force and the role of the Sierra's resident population in contributing to the success of the plan.