RECONSTRUCTION

AND RECOVERY
Bamiyan Buddhas
7,50€ US$9 £6 ¥850

Afghanistan

Syrian heritage
Mostar Bridge
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
World Heritage No. 86 • January 2018

Timbuktu
Mali

New technologies

ISSN 1020-4202

3 059630 101868
INGUAT
 Adventure
in the Maya World
Located in the north of Guatemala, the Heartland the
Maya World has several population centres where different
languages are spoken such as Itzá, Lacandón, Mopán,
Q’eqchi’ and Ixil. Flores is the departmental capital and
starting point to visit its tourist attractions. A small island
located on Lake Petén Itzá where you can find picturesque
shops, restaurants, hotels and street-food markets where
visitors can enjoy typical dishes.
ONE OF THE PLANET’S LUNGS
Considered one of the planet’s lungs due to its vegetation,
it has different protected areas, such as the Maya Biosphere
Reserve, it also has significant historical value due to its
archaeological richness. Known as the Maya Walk, it provides
an opportunity to penetrate the jungle, practice horseriding
or ride a canoe along one of the lakes or rivers such as San
Juan, Azul, El Subín, Mopán o Chiquibul. An ideal spot to
relax, get to know and learn about its archaeological scenes,
including Tikal National Park, Yaxhá, Ceibal, Aguateca, San
Bartolo, El Mirador or Uaxactún. It should be noted that this
region has not been tinkered with, whereby everything is
original — it has not been rebuilt or imitated as opposed to
other archaeological sites.
TIKAL NATIONAL PARK
The word means “Place of Voices” and it is one of the
largest Maya cities known so far, with a surface area of
576 km². It was listed as a national park in 1955 and as a
UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo
www.inguat.gob.gt
Visitors will find and appreciate a huge imprint of what
this site used to be, with more than 3,000 archaeological
exhibits, a city inhabited between the preclassic and
classic periods.
Amongst more notable temples and squares are the
Plaza Mayor, heart of the Tikal Archaeological Park,
which is flanked by Temple I (Temple of the Great Jaguar)
and Temple II (Temple of the Masks), North Acropolis
and Central Acropolis. There is also the Square of the
Great Pyramid or Lost World, A grouping of Tikal’s oldest
monuments and the Palace of Windows, with its many
interconnected rooms.
Temple III or “Temple of the Jaguar Priest” has different
carvings on its lintels. Temple IV or “Temple of the Two
Headed Snake” is the tallest in Tikal, over 70 m high, from
where visitors can enjoy one of the most spectacular views
of the park. And Temple VI or “Temple of the Inscriptions”,
named for the covering of hieroglyphs all over its roof
comb.
A visit to this park shows the importance of Maya
culture and its contributions to humanity in many aspects.
Because the way they marked time and their knowledge
of astronomy allow us to understand how advanced the
civilisation was.
To stand beside these temples also shows us their
considerable knowledge of architecture and its close
symbolism to the gods and nature, infusing this place with
magic and mysticism, which well deserves a visit.
Tikal National Park
inscribed on the World HeritageList
in 1979
 UNESCO
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France • www.unesco.org/publishing
E-mail: publishing.promotion@unesco.org

Protection of Cultural Property

Military manual
n Recent conflicts in Iraq,
Syria, Libya, Yemen and Mali,
along with a range of ongoing
military occupations, have
again highlighted the need
to translate into practice the
rules of international law for
the protection of cultural
property in armed conflict.

n This manual serves

as a practical guide to
the implementation by
military forces of these
rules. It combines a military-
focused account of the
international legal obligations
of states and individuals with
examples of best practices.

92 pages, paperback
168 x 240 mm, 2016
ISBN 978-92-3-100184-0

Available on unesdoc.unesco.org
WH 86
 WORLD HERITAGE No. 86

W
WH Cover 86.qxp_Mise en page 1 18/12/2017 16:07 Page1

hile conflicts continue to inflict damage – much of it intentional – on heritage sites,

editorial
reconstruction becomes a critical topic for discussion. The recovery, rehabilitation
and reconstruction of damaged sites are complex. They involve questions that go
beyond authenticity and integrity. As the architect Jad Tabet says in his introductory article to
this issue of World Heritage, “No one could have imagined that the coming century would, in
its early years, witness a new cycle of violence that would spread from Afghanistan and Iraq
RECONSTRUCTION
to Mali, Libya, Syria and Yemen and lead the world to this state of generalized latent warfare
AND RECOVERY
Bamiyan Buddhas
that we know today.”
7,50€ US$9 £6 ¥850

Afghanistan

Syrian heritage
Mostar Bridge
The formulation of sound guidance is urgently required on issues related to recovery, taking
Bosnia and

into account the need to support the affected local communities. To this end, expert meetings
Herzegovina
World Heritage No. 86 • January 2018

Timbuktu
Mali

have been convened by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ICCROM and ICOMOS, and
New technologies

ISSN 1020-4202

3 059630 101868
Cover: Site of Palmyra (Syrian Arab
Republic). Before and after the attacks.
seminars are being held at universities to develop plans for thoughtful and effective action.
UNESCO is also currently preparing a ‘White Paper’ in partnership with the World Bank on the
reconstruction of cities following a conflict or major natural disaster.
Reconstruction projects at World Heritage sites also need to address the Outstanding
Universal Value (OUV) of each site – the reason for which it was inscribed on the World
Heritage List – but within the context of a larger vision for recovery that addresses socio-
economic questions as well as the needs of the local communities. Solutions must be sensitive
to questions of reconciliation and cannot rewrite history.
In this issue, we look at the cases of intentional destruction of sites in Syria and of the
Buddhas in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan. We take into account the devastating impact
on local communities and their identities, as well as the implications of different approaches
to reconstruction. We look at the inspiring cases of Timbuktu (Mali), where the mausoleums
were rebuilt after their destruction in 2012, and the Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
(Bosnia and Herzegovina), where the rebuilt bridge has become a symbol of perseverance
and unity among communities. We are also pleased to present an interview with heritage
expert Christina Cameron, who explains the concept of reconstruction in the framework of
the World Heritage Convention and considers the emotional and psychological consequences
for the related communities.
As we move forward, the World Heritage Committee will continue to support the
preparation and dissemination of guidance on reconstruction, which includes facing the
multifaceted challenges it brings. The Committee will continue as well to offer other options
– such as exhibits, or virtual projections – that can satisfy the needs of communities to
preserve and express their identities without marring the authenticity of what remains. New
questions must also be addressed in the future. They include commemoration of the loss, and
remembrance of community members and site managers who have given their lives to defend
our shared World Heritage.
I would like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank Francesco Bandarin, Assistant
Director-General for Culture, who is leaving UNESCO after 15 years of service and who
contributed greatly to safeguarding World Heritage around the world. I would also like to
express my gratitude to Vesna Vujicic-Lugassy, our Managing Editor from the inception of
this magazine in May 1996 to the present, for her personal engagement to make the Review
globally known.

Mechtild Rössler
Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre
 Co nte nt s
Quarterly magazine published jointly in English,
French and Spanish, by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), Paris, France and Publishing For
Development Ltd., London, United Kingdom.
Editorial Director
Mechtild Rössler
Director, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Managing Editor
Vesna Vujicic-Lugassy In Focus
Editors
World Heritage
12
Helen Aprile, Gina Doubleday

Publisher and reconstruction

Richard Forster

Production Editor In Focus 8

Caroline Fort
Reconstructing in the age of globalization 8
Copy Editors
Cathy Nolan (English), Chantal Lyard The traditional concept of urban heritage, which
(French), Luisa Futoransky (Spanish) focuses mainly on the physical, architectural and urban
aspects, no longer allows adequate conservation
Editorial Board
strategies to be implemented. New approaches need
ICCROM: Joseph King, ICOMOS: Regina Durighello,
IUCN: Tim Badman, UNESCO World Heritage to integrate notions of the socio-economic context
Centre: Nada Al Hassan, Guy Debonnet,
Lazare Eloundou-Assomo, Feng Jing,
Edmond Moukala, Mauro Rosi, Petya Totcharova,
Isabelle Anatole Gabriel Vinson,
23 and sustainable development as well as factors related
to social and cultural representations and intangible
heritage.
UNESCO Publishing: Ian Denison
Reconstruction of the Old Bridge in Mostar 20
Editorial Assistant The destruction of the Old Bridge in Mostar (Bosnia
Barbara Blanchard and Herzegovina), on 9 November 1993, represented
Advertising the beginning of a new era in the approach to heritage.
Efrén Calatrava, Fernando Ortiz,

30
Fadela Seddini, Peter Warren Reconstruction of Syrian heritage:
Rethinking the past and the future 30
Cover
Photo: Main image: UNESCO/R. Van Oers The postwar reconstruction of the affected historic
Inset: UNESCO/C. Menegazzi monuments and sites necessitates enormous
Design: Recto Verso preparatory reflections in systematic and theoretically
stimulating ways.
Editorial Staff
World Heritage Centre, UNESCO
7, Place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris The Bamiyan Buddhas
Tel. (33.1) 45 68 16 60 – Fax (33.1) 45 68 55 70 Issues of reconstruction 40
E-mail: g.doubleday@unesco.org

42
There has been much debate, both at the national and
INTERNET: http://whc.unesco.org
international levels, about any potential reconstruction
Advertisements, production of the destroyed Bamiyan Buddha statues (Afghanistan).
PFD Publications Ltd
Chester House, Fulham Green
81-83 Fulham High Street, London SW6 3JA Reconstruction of the mausoleums in Timbuktu:
Tel: +44 2032 866610 - Fax:+44 2075 262173 The role of local communities 48
E-mail: info@pfdmedia.com The experience of rebuilding the mausoleums
Subscriptions destroyed in Timbuktu (Mali) is a textbook case, in that
DL Services sprl, Jean De Lannoy it placed local ownership at the heart of the process –
c/o Entrepôts Michot - Bergense steenweg 77 the crucial and indispensable principle to consider in
B 1600 St Pieters Leeuw - Belgium any project to reconstruct a destroyed World Heritage

50
Tel: +32 477 455 329
site, and also to ensure its effective and sustainable
E-mail: subscriptions@dl-servi.com
conservation after reconstruction.
The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts
contained in the articles and for the opinions expressed therein, which are
not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. The
designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this
publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part
of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or
of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Published by Publishing for Development Ltd., London, United Kingdom. ISSN:
1020-4202. Printed in Spain © UNESCO – Publishing for Development Ltd. 2017
 WORLD HERITAGE No. 86
Close-Up 54

Reconstruction, a good option for conserving earthen architecture? 54

The reconstruction of a building can have many advantages, provided there is sufficient
documentation and human, material and financial resources to embark on such an
operation.

New technologies – the future of reconstruction? 58

The new technologies around 3D modelling and printing63 are increasingly hailed for their
potential in preserving, if not the actual cultural sites, monuments and objects affected
by armed conflicts and natural disasters, at least their memory for the benefit of present
and future generations.

Forum 63
58
Interview 64
Interview with Christina Cameron, Professor and Chairholder of the Canada Research
Chair on Built Heritage, University of Montreal.

Advisory Bodies 69
How ICOMOS fuels discussion on reconstruction as a dynamic process.

Conventions 73
64 cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities NetworkReserves; Liaison Group of Biodiversity-
related Convention (BLG) gathers to discuss ways to join forces.
82
News 77

Preservation 79–86
Calls for stronger cooperation in address to Blue Shield General Assembly; Georgian
experts invited by UNESCO; Anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous

89
Peoples; Capacity-building for implementing the Convention in the Maghreb; Eastern
Tropical Pacific marine site managers meet; IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2 charts
prospects for natural sites; Fighting illegal trafficking of totoaba and vaquita; Reactive
Monitoring mission to Wrangel Island; Pavlopetri Watch Day; Safeguarding Heritage in
the Pacific.

In Danger 88–89
Experts’ meeting in Aleppo; Restoration completed on Lion of Al-lāt statue from
ancient city of Palmyra, damaged by ISIS.

93
Outreach 91–94
‘World Heritage Coral Reefs’ exhibit opens in Paris; Youth from Caribbean SIDS and Central
American countries develop travel guides for Coiba National Park in Panama; UNESCO and
partners stand against cultural cleansing and violent extremism; UNESCO partners with
Seabourn; UNESCO and Principality of Monaco sign partnership for Marine World Heritage. Download the World
Heritage app
Available for iPad, Android
In Print and Online 96 and Kindle Fire tablets.
With the app, not only can
Calendar 97 you read exclusive articles written by experts
on the ground, but you can see videos of the
Subscription Form 101 world’s most spectacular sites.
Download the World Heritage magazine app
Next Issue 103 from iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.
NIO MUN
MO D
RI
T

IA
PA

World Heritage extends its gratitude

L
•

NDIAL •
WORLD H

to Nada Al Hassan, Chief of the Arab

MO
E

IT
E
R

AG I
N

States Unit at the UNESCO World

E •
PATRIM

United Nations World

Heritage Centre, for her contribution Educational, Scientific and Heritage
UNESCO Publishing Cultural Organization
to the preparation of this issue. Convention
In Focus Reconstructing in the age of globalization

Reconstructing
in the age of
globalization

Jad Tabet, architect

Representative of Lebanon on the World Heritage Committee (2013-2017)
President of the Order of Engineers and Architects of Beirut

During the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, more than 85% of Warsaw’s historic centre was destroyed by Nazi troops. After the war, a five- year reconstruction
campaign by its citizens resulted in today’s meticulous restoration of the Old Town, with its churches, palaces and market-place. Inscribed on the World Heritage List
as “Historic Centre of Warsaw” (Poland) in 1980, it is an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century.
© Ourplace – The World Heritage Collection

8 World Heritage No. 86

 In Focus

World Heritage No. 86 9

T
In Focus Reconstructing in the age of globalization
wenty years ago, almost to the
day, the International Union
of Architects organized an
international symposium in
Beirut on the reconstruction
of cities after wars, in collaboration with
the Order of Engineers and Architects of
Beirut. The Lebanon war had just ended,
and the reconstruction of Beirut was still in
its infancy. The angel of war had moved on
to the countries of the former Yugoslavia,
and the Dayton Accord that had just been
signed could have given the impression we
had finally managed to find viable solutions
to put an end to ethnic and community
conflicts.
At the time it was thought these conflicts
were only the last expression of a century
that had endured so many tragedies,
like the tail of a comet that would soon
disappear into the oblivion of history. No
one could have imagined that the coming
century would, in its early years, witness
a new cycle of violence that would spread
from Afghanistan and Iraq to Mali, Libya,
Syria and Yemen, and lead the world into
this state of simmering global warfare we
are experiencing today.
The symposium we organized was
structured around many themes expressed
as conceptual pairs: modernity and heritage;
continuity and changes; long-term and
short-term, that is to say the question of
the different time scales of reconstruction;
globalization and particular identities; and
transfer of local technologies and know-
how.
Twenty years later, I have the impression
these same themes could still be used
today to apprehend the question of the
reconstruction of cities after wars.
Modernity and heritage
The first of these recurring themes, which
seems to reappear as a leitmotiv in all the
debates on the reconstruction of cities
destroyed by wars, concerns the question
of the relationship between modernity and
heritage.
The first question is whether to
construct or reconstruct. In other words,
is it necessary to reconstruct in the spirit of
an ‘identical’ restoration of the destroyed
city or, on the contrary, ‘to build a better
environment’, designed on completely
new bases?
10 World Heritage No. 86
The reconstruction of the centre of
Warsaw, Poland after the Second World War
appears to be a particularly interesting case
to us in this respect. In August 1944, during
the Warsaw Uprising, more than 85 per cent
of the city’s historic centre was destroyed
by Nazi troops. The reconstruction of the
Old Town was implemented from a project
based on the idea that all structures dating
from the 14th to the 18th century should
be reconstituted on the basis of archival
documents as well as the expertise of art
historians, architects and curators.
Building reconstruction in Beirut (Lebanon) in 2005.
© Mary Madigan
But, at the same time, important changes
were made in order to highlight significant
elements for the site’s identity. For example,
some urban blocks were deliberately not
reconstructed in order to enhance the city
walls and the view of the city from the
banks of the Vistula river, and to leave open
public spaces for the inhabitants.
The reconstruction of the French city of Le
Havre, located at the edge of the Channel
in Normandy, which was heavily bombed
during the Second World War, is another
example of urban reconstruction. Contrary
to the example seen in Warsaw, the
approach adopted for the reconstruction
of Le Havre did not propose to reconstitute
the old city, but rather to build a new city, a
symbol of a reborn France. This experiment
is a remarkable example of post-war
architecture and planning, based on the
systematic use of a modular grid, the use of
heavy prefabrication and the innovative use
of concrete to its fullest potential.
But at the same time, although the Le
Havre reconstruction plan was based on
the application of right angle and grid
principles, and constitutes a pioneering
implementation of modern urbanism
development, this plan nevertheless
integrates the city’s previous layout and
its historical structures, respecting the
direction of the main pre-existing axes and
connecting the reconstructed city to the
surrounding area.
The rebuilt cities of Warsaw and Le Havre
are both inscribed on the World Heritage
List. While these two examples are based
on strikingly opposite approaches, they
nevertheless represent two different ways
of responding to the same problem, namely
the necessary modernization of the urban
setting while respecting heritage.
Continuity or changes
The second theme emerges from the
previous one and involves continuity as
opposed to changes. Is the reconstruction
a simple reconstitution, a restarting of the
society that preceded the disaster, a return
to square one?
Reconstruction, of course, intends to
respond to the victims’ urgent needs, to limit
the effects of the traumas produced by the
violence and to preserve the benchmarks
that ensure a minimum of social cohesion. In
the case of civil wars, reconstruction is also
intended to ensure a form of reconciliation
between belligerents, which allows conflict
to be regulated in terms that do not call
coexistence into question.
The old city of Mostar in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, which symbolized tolerance
and Muslims, Christians and Jews living
together, was largely destroyed during the
1990 conflict. The reconstruction of the old
town and its old bridge in 2004 with the help
of the International Scientific Committee
established by UNESCO was a symbol of
reconciliation, international cooperation
and the coexistence of different cultural,
ethnic and religious communities.
 In Focus

The city of Le Havre (France) was severely bombed during the Second World War. The destroyed area was rebuilt
according to the plan of a team headed by Auguste Perret, from 1945 to 1964.
© Ourplace – The World Heritage Collection

World Heritage No. 86 11

In Focus Reconstructing in the age of globalization

The Old City of Sana’a (Yemen) sustained serious damage due to armed conflict in the country. It is on the World Heritage List in Danger since 2015.
© Yeowatzup

12 World Heritage No. 86


This brings us to the question of local
residents’ participation in the development
of reconstruction projects. The fact is, all
over the world, this participation is now
considered a must for any development.
Because the participation of citizens and
local authorities is the touchstone of a
democratic practice in public life. Is it not
through this participation that a state of
discord, which feeds on the rejection of
differences, transforms into the mutual
recognition of the other’s values, and to
the reciprocity of individual and collective
rights?
The mobilization of Malian communities
and their participation in the reconstruction
of destroyed mausoleums and mosques,
which were badly damaged during the
conflict that took place in the country
between 2012 and 2013, testify to the
importance of heritage to restore social
bonds and safeguard the history and
identity of different communities.
Reconstruction time scales
The third theme we need to address is
the different time scales of reconstruction.
Because they are by their nature prospective,
reconstruction plans surpass the time of
the human generation concerned by the
changes, to reach another scale, that of the
long-term history of societies.
Most of the reconstruction experiences
throughout history have been the work of
a generation that has devoted all its energy
to them. These experiences have mobilized
the efforts of society as a whole for years,
sometimes even decades. We can therefore
understand that they have been marked
by a common aspiration to transcend
an immediate response to the specific
problems caused by the destruction, to
propose more holistic solutions. The theme
of ‘the opportunity finally offered’ is a
recurring theme of all reconstructions.
The key issue arising in this context is
that of defining priorities. It is through
this issue that many strategic options and,
more profoundly, the orientation we intend
to imprint on the evolution of society
are unveiled. In fact, all reconstruction
experiences have had to find answers to
reconcile the necessity of providing urgent
responses to the people’s needs, and
implementing a prospective project that
gives the reconstructed cities a historic
depth. As an effective instrument for
controlling the reconstruction process,
defining priorities appears as a key issue that
ultimately determines the evolution of this
process and, to a great extent, determines
the achievement of its main objectives.
This issue is likely to become one
of the major problems facing the
historic cities of Syria, Iraq and Yemen
Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
© Richard Mortel
as soon as the reconstruction process
begins. Reconstructing infrastructures,
restoring water and sanitation pipes,
decontaminating ‘hot spots’ to reduce the
risk of epidemics linked to the accumulation
of waste, as well as a scientific evaluation
of the sites affected by chemical weapons
are among the priority tasks to ensure
returning refugees have the necessary living
conditions to create an environment for a
gradual return of economic and industrial
activity. But in the case of some historic
cities on the World Heritage List, such as
the ancient city of Sana’a or the old city of
Aleppo in Syria, almost entirely destroyed by
the fighting, the question of taking heritage
into account is raised as a matter of priority,
as the main issue of reconstruction.
Globalization and identity
In Focus
The fourth theme we wish to address
is that of the relationship between
globalization and local character.
Addressed in various ways since the
industrial revolution and the introduction
of mechanization, this question is raised in
new terms with the emergence of the global
market and technological developments
that are transforming production conditions
as well as mechanisms of distribution and
consumption on a global scale.
This phenomenon has seen rapid
growth over the last two decades, with
the development of new communication
strategies, the emergence of advanced
technologies and the growth of new
communication and transport channels.
The rapid growth of this phenomenon is
taking place in parallel with the world’s
transformation into a single market, across
borders and nations. The reduction in
production costs and increase in production
of new commodities generalize consumption
patterns that cover the global market, level
products and create new needs.
Paradoxically, however, technological
developments run the risk of becoming
divisive, exacerbating the danger of
exclusion and marginalization of part of
the world’s population. Unable to cope
with the influx of innovations, traditional
societies are subject to a violent shock that
results in a dramatic break in the continuity
of their history.
This raises the question of the role of
international aid in a disaster situation. While
some forms of aid may appear inadequate
because they do not take into account the
reality of situations on the ground, they can
also have a negative impact by preventing
the establishment and development of local
initiatives. In the absence of a particular
sensitivity to the problems of ‘receiving
societies’, this aid risks developing perverse
processes whereby the forced introduction
of imported technologies and the unilateral
definition of priorities by the ‘donors’
are transformed into a technological and
cultural ‘airdropping’ that may accentuate
social fractures. The debate over the
reconstruction project of the Buddhas of
Bamiyan in Afghanistan, destroyed in 2001,
clearly illustrates the complex relationship
between international initiatives and local
sensitivities.
World Heritage No. 86 13
In Focus Reconstructing in the age of globalization

For international aid to become a

development factor, it is necessary to direct
this aid towards strengthening stability
and integration in society, and to organize
reconstruction as a coherent process based
on existing potential. The reconstruction of
the mausoleums of Timbuktu in Mali, by
local masons using traditional techniques
under the technical supervision of national
and international experts mandated by the
Ministry of Culture of Mali and UNESCO,
is an example of successful international
cooperation.

A new vision of urban heritage

The fifth and final theme concerns the
question of transforming the notion of
heritage in the age of globalization. In recent
decades, the globalization of markets and the
pre-eminence of the lines of action traced by
large-scale equipment networks have led to a
process of trivialization and homogenization
that tends to undermine cities’ distinctiveness,
standardize territories and introduce new
cultural and social fractures.
This process results in an accelerated
transformation of urban territories. These
transformations affect the urban structure,
the historical fabric, the relationship of cities
to their suburbs, practices and conventions,
and the significance of the places and
identity of the populations.
In response to this process, a dual
phenomenon is emerging. On the one hand,
an identity reaction that devotes a sterile
cult to an ossified cultural heritage and
delights in the myth of a golden age. And,
on the other hand, with the development
of mass tourism, a phenomenon of heritage
inflation that tends to turn heritage into a
cultural consumer object.
We are thus faced with a paradox: we have
never talked so much about urban heritage
and, at the same time, this heritage has
never been so threatened. This paradox is in
itself revealing. It warns us that traditional
concepts of heritage conservation and
related practices are now totally outdated in
the magnitude of the transformations that
have affected our cities in recent decades.
In November 2011, UNESCO’s General
Conference adopted the Recommendation
on the Historic Urban Landscape. This
recommendation attempts to introduce a
new vision of urban heritage that aims to
include strategies for the conservation of
Local mason working on the mausoleums reconstruction in Timbuktu (Mali).
© MINUSMA/Harandane
The reconstruction of the mausoleums of
Timbuktu in Mali, by local masons using traditional
techniques under the technical supervision of
national and international experts, is an example
of successful international cooperation.
this heritage in a context of integration into aspects, is now outdated and no longer
contemporary life. allows adequate conservation strategies to
The historical urban landscape is be implemented. We must now devise new
understood as the result of a historical approaches that integrate notions of the
layering of cultural and natural values and socio-economic context and sustainable
attributes, going beyond the notions of development as well as factors related to
‘historic centre’ or ‘historic area’, to include social and cultural representations and
the wider urban context as well as its intangible heritage.
geographical environment. These new approaches are just as
This context includes natural features, interested in spaces, forms and material
the built environment (both historical traces as they are in processes, activities,
and contemporary), spatial organization images, representations, rhythms and
and urban morphology, perceptions and timeframes. It is through such an approach
visual relations, but also social and cultural that we must address the question of
practices and values, contemporary artistic reconstructing cities in a globalized world
expressions, economic processes and today. This approach emphasizes the
intangible values of heritage as a vector of attention paid to collective memory, the
diversity and identity. foundation of social groups’ identities, the
The UNESCO General Conference’s consideration of historical layering in post-
adoption of this recommendation is a form conflict reconstruction processes and the
of recognition that the traditional concept recognition of shared heritage, to allow
of urban heritage, which focuses mainly for the renewal of social bonds, diversity,
on the physical, architectural and urban mediation and reconciliation.

14 World Heritage No. 86

In Focus Reconstructing in the age of globalization
UNESCO-World Bank partnership to formulate policies for a sustainable urban future
Urbanization, climate change and
conflict are three of the main forces
shaping our urban world today. Cities will
accommodate some 2.5  billion new urban
residents by 2050, at which stage two-
thirds of the world’s population will be
living in urban areas. In fact, cities today are
receiving an additional 60-75 million new
urban residents each year. The increasing
frequency and severity of disasters from
natural hazards is causing an estimated
$314 billion in global average annual losses.
Most of these losses are in urban areas,
which concentrate people and assets. In
fact, two-thirds of urban settlements with
more than 5 million inhabitants live in low-
elevation coastal zones, which means some
2 billion people live in flood-prone areas
today. Finally, conflicts have resulted in
nearly 65 million internally displaced people
in 2016; of those, 21 million are refugees
and over 60% of them have settled in cities,
stretching their capacity to plan for growth
and deliver services, jobs and livelihoods to
such major influxes of population.
Climate and conflict in particular –
together with unplanned urbanization – are
taking a severe toll on historic cities and
Bukchon Hanok Village (Republic of Korea).
© Republic of Korea
16 World Heritage No. 86
cultural heritage, which are threatened with
flooding, sea level rise, wars, protracted
conflict, urban crime and violence,
informal development and unplanned
encroachments. A World Bank publication
entitled Climate Change Risks for World
Heritage Cities (2014) has assessed the
multi-risk exposure of World Heritage cities
to a variety of risks including landslide,
flooding, earthquakes and cyclones and
ranks the most vulnerable cities.
What if a historic downtown is washed
away in a flood, destroyed by an earthquake
or by a war? Such a tragic outcome would
not only trigger major implications in terms
of the loss of identity and livelihoods for the
affected population, but it would also give
rise to major challenges when it comes to the
post-conflict, post-disaster reconstruction
and recovery process. Cities’ recovery
from post-disaster and post-conflict
situations offers a daunting challenge
in terms of planning, implementation,
coordination and finance, but also in terms
of heritage preservation. This is because
city reconstruction and recovery afford a
unique opportunity to build again better,
fix mistakes of the past, strengthen the
resilience of the cities, and incorporate
improved land use planning, infrastructure
and service delivery standards. At the same
time, it is critical to restore and strengthen
the resilience of cultural heritage and
ensure that culture, and cultural heritage
in particular, serves as a foundation for city
recovery, which – especially in the case of
post-conflict – is critical to underpin the
reconciliation process, restore identity and
strengthen social cohesion.
Experience shows that culture,
encompassing both heritage (tangible and
intangible) and creative industries, is a major
resource for the resilience and recovery
of cities in the aftermath of severe shocks
and stresses. Culture is a vital foundation
of cities, integral to their identity and
underpinning their dynamism as hubs of
liveability, inclusion, sustainability and
prosperity.
Conserving and adaptively reusing the
historic urban fabric contributes to the
quality of life of citizens by strengthening
their sense of belonging and social cohesion,
providing a liveable environment, mitigating
the risk of unplanned urbanization,
promoting tourism and investment,
 In Focus
and creating jobs. Cultural and creative
industries are also an essential factor of
urban revitalization, as they bolster a city’s
image and contribute to its socio-economic
development, thus improving the living
standards of the inhabitants.
Given the importance of this topic, the
World Bank and UNESCO launched in July
2017 the preparation of a white paper
on ‘culture, reconstruction and recovery:
policies for a sustainable urban future’.
The objective of the white paper is to
propose a framework for mainstreaming
culture as a driver and enabler of post-
conflict, post-disaster city reconstruction
and recovery. The framework will leverage
existing frameworks including the 3P
(People, Place, and Policies) and reflect
the project preparation cycle (planning,
financing and implementing) in the aim of
enabling the building of green, inclusive,
Plaza Botero, Medellin (Colombia).
resilient and productive cities. The white
© Santiago Vazquez
paper will also expand the view on
recovery to accommodate both shocks
and acute stresses (and thus including versus preservation). Case studies from others – will help inform the white paper,
disasters, conflicts, but also urban decay diverse cities that have undergone post- with a focus on institutions, regulations,
and crime and violence, for instance). disaster and/or post-conflict rebuilding citizen engagement, finances, structural
The paper will be positioned against a and recovery and/or urban revitalization and non-structural interventions, and
background of oft-used dichotomies of – including Beirut, Timbuktu, Sarajevo, implementation considerations. The draft
modernity versus tradition (rebuilding Seoul, Tokyo and Medellin, among paper will be presented at the 9th Session
of the World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur
in February 2018 for consultation and the
final joint white paper will be published
and disseminated in June 2018.
This joint white paper is being developed
within the framework of the Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) signed on 13 July
2017 between UNESCO and the World
Bank, to reaffirm the two institutions’
joint commitment to advance sustainable
development by investing in culture,
urban development, and resilience in an
integrated manner. The MoU grew out
of a mutual desire to collaborate in joint
initiatives furthering the understanding
and the promotion of cultural, social and
natural heritage towards the achievement
of the Sustainable Development Goals, in
particular the protection of cultural heritage
and city reconstruction, in post-disaster and
post-conflict situations.
Old City of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
© Erin Johnson

Sameh Wahba
Global Director for Urban and Territorial Development, Disaster Risk Management and Resilience at
the World Bank Group’s Social, Rural, Urban and Resilience Global Practice, based in Washington D.C.

World Heritage No. 86 17

 Rock Art of the
Mediterranean
SPONSORED STATEMENT
Basin on the Iberian
Peninsula
Great deer in naturalistic style (Cañaica del Calar, Murcia)© Miguel San Nicolás
Spain has the property on the World Heritage List with the largest
number of prehistoric rock-art depictions of all the similar listed sites.
It was listed in 1998 following lengthy interdisciplinary work between
researchers from different academic and government institutions
of the six regional governments that joined forces in this huge
undertaking.
Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula is
the largest group of rock-art sites in continental Europe, depicting on
its walls an exceptional image of human life in a significant phase of
human development, graphism full of life that is unique in style and
theme.
Prehistoric Levantine rock-art sites are found in the coastal
mountains and in the hinterland of the Mediterranean Basin of the
Iberian Peninsula along 1,000 km of Mediterranean coastline, from
Catalonia to Andalusia. There are 758 registered sites scattered
across the administrative regions of Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-
La Mancha, Catalonia, Murcia and Valencia, in sparsely populated rural
territories with high ecological and landscape values.
The paintings are located in shallow open-air shelters, on facing
walls and sometimes on ceilings. They exhibit a series of regional
variations. Hence, the northern area has naturalist zoomorphic
figures, mainly individual and interesting stylised human figures. The
areas of Maestrazgo and Lower Ebro include depictions of dynamic
hunting and battle scenes. The areas of the mountains of Cuenca and
Albarracín have paintings of large bovine animals in red and white,
whilst the basin of the River Júcar and the neighbouring mountain area
Praying figures macroschematics (Pla de Petracos, Alicante)©Generalitat Valenciana
Set of bulls in white (Prado del Nevazo, Teruel)©Miguel San Nicolás
have depictions of action-packed hunting scenes. The paintings in the
Safor and La Marina (Valencia and Alicante) regions depict hunting
and social scenes, but not combat, whilst animals are predominant in
the basin of the River Segura (Albacete and Murcia). Finally, in Eastern
Andalusia, the region of Los Vélez and the foothills of the Sierra
Morena, paintings mainly include zoomorphic motifs.
Depicted figures are simple silhouettes more or less filled in with a
pigment. Predominant colours are red, black and, to a lesser degree,
white. Their fine lines, 1 to 3 mm thick, were drawn using feathers
and/or vegetation items. In other cases, the motifs were filled in using
flat colours.
The depicted scenes can be considered to be the very first
narrations of Europe’s Prehistory, and provide us with significant
information on individual and group activities involving the search for,
capture and chasing of wounded animals. And of harvesting, such as
honey, an exceptional historic reference to beekeeping, and the very
first evidence of organized military confrontations with battles and
executions. There are plenty of scenes of daily life, which provide us
information on their clothing and personal adornments that highlight
social differences during Prehistory; funeral rites and scenes of rituals;
witch doctors, feminine divinity, and figures that combine human and
animal characteristics (among human figures, archers are the most
common, and women and children); zoomorphic figures, individual
objects and abstract motifs.
Similarly, continuity of native fauna imbues these areas with an
exceptional quality of a timeless landscape, because these places are

Deer head (Solana de las Covachas, Albacete)©Miguel San Nicolás
Mediterranean landscape with rock shelters
(Parque del Río Vero, Huesca)©Miguel San Nicolás
the last reserves of certain endangered animal species in Europe, such
as the golden eagle, Bonelli’s eagle or the peregrine falcon. Also, the
rarest of European mammals are still present, such as the Iberian lynx
or the Spanish ibex.
Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula is an
exceptional historical document due to its broad range, and provides
rare artistic and documentary evidence of the social realities of
Prehistory. It is exclusive to the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian
Peninsula, due to the complexity of cultural processes in the region
during prehistory and factors relating to conservation processes, such
as the nature of environmental and specific rock conditions, and the
range of themes depicted and techniques employed.
The property was inscribed using criteria (iii) because it is
considered to be a body of prehistoric parietal paintings of the
Mediterranean Basin, in eastern Spain, with the largest group of rock
art sites anywhere in Europe, and it presents an exceptional image
of human life during a key period in humankind’s cultural evolution,
principally Neolithic.
It is safe to say that this asset has all the necessary elements to
convey its Outstanding Universal Value. Most of the shelters and
paintings themselves, and the natural surroundings, are in good
condition. The good physical condition of these paintings is largely
due to the quality of the substrate rock and the weather conditions that
contribute to their outdoor conservation.
Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula
maintains a high degree of authenticity. A study of the history of its
Anthropomorphs of schematic rock art (Cueva
de Los Letreros, Almería) ©Julián Martínez
Hunting scene (Ermita de la Pietat, Tarragona)
©Miguel San Nicolás
discovery and conservation reveals that there have been no attempts
to restore the different paintings, whereby their authenticity is
irrefutable.
Protection of rock-art sites through specific legal documents (for
instance, the Land Act, heritage and environmental legislation) falls
to the respective Regional Government. Territorial and city planning
includes these areas in its protection lists, so they are actively
integrated in planning of territorial resources. Similarly, public access
is assured at most of the sites.
The Regional Governments have established management plans
to preserve and enhance the value of their rock art sites. Sites that
have both natural and cultural heritage, which are inseparable from
their surroundings, are mainly managed by government agencies
(for instance, plans run by Natural Spaces, Archaeological Parks or
Cultural Parks.
www.arterupestre.es
Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin
on the Iberian Peninsula
inscribed on the World HeritageList
in 1998
In Focus Mostar

Reconstruction
of the Old Bridge
in Mostar
Amra Hadzimuhamedovic
International University of Sarajevo
Center for Cultural Heritage, International Forum Bosnia,Director
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo

Mounir Bouchenaki
Former Assistant Director General for Culture at UNESCO

The historic town of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), spanning a deep valley of the Neretva River, developed in the 15th and
16th centuries as an Ottoman frontier town and during the Austro-Hungarian period in the 19th and 20th centuries.
© Dom Crossley

20 World Heritage No. 86

 In Focus

World Heritage No. 86 21

In Focus Mostar
Most of the historic town and the Old Bridge, designed by the renowned architect Sinan, was destroyed in the 1990s conflict.
© Jan Furstenborg
ostar indeed is more than a
beautiful urban landscape.
It has set a precedent in
peace building strategies,
in the way we think about
peace and reconciliation today, in how we
can mobilize our shared heritage to foster
social cohesion, inclusion, ownership,
citizenship, participation. Irina Bokova,
Director-General of UNESCO, 2015
The destruction of the Old Bridge in
Mostar, on 9 November 1993, represented
the beginning of a new era in the approach
to heritage. The image of the bridge,
its fragments cascading into the river,
encapsulated the destruction of thousands
of buildings, towns and villages in Bosnia
and the wider region. More even than that,
it became an informal, universal symbol
for all the destruction of heritage that has
marked the contemporary age. It is now
a mandatory point of reference for any
discussion of the role of the reconstruction
of damaged or destroyed heritage in
22 World Heritage No. 86
The destruction of the Old Bridge in Mostar, on
9 November 1993, represented the beginning
of a new era in the approach to heritage.
processes of transitional justice. What
has made the Old Bridge such a powerful
argument for the world community’s global
responsibility for protecting cultural heritage
during armed conflict?
Suleiman’s command
The order to build it was given in 1557
directly by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent,
whose Master of the Imperial Buildings
at the time was Sinan the architect. This
fact indicates the historical significance of
the structure, even before it was erected.
The sultan’s command specified the form
and span of the bridge and put Sinan’s
pupil Hajrudin in charge of the works. It is
possible Hajrudin was of Bosnian origin and
his knowledge of the local language eased
the building process. Construction was
completed in the year of Sultan Suleiman’s
death, nine years after its inception, at the
location where a hanging wooden bridge
had connected the medieval towers from
the 15th century (Čar-Drnda, 2008).
The Old Bridge is the central node
within the historic townscape of Mostar
and formative of the city’s identity. Both a
point of passage over the river and a public
square, it is simultaneously a civil and a
sacred building. A specially-placed stone at
the highest point of its arch serves for the
call to prayer in the mosque built on its left
flank. The placement of the bridge’s arch
above the river, flowing below untouched
by the bridge that rests on the canyon’s
rocky sides, and the stone complexes of the

The bridge was flanked by two fortified towers, the Halebija Tower on the right bank and the Tara Tower on the left bank, both dating from the 17th century.
© Roger Nelson
Tara and Herceguša tower on its left and the
Halebija on its right flank complete what is
surely one of the most harmonious cultural
vistas in the history of architecture.
The sultan’s order included the detail
that the banks of the Neretva were to be
joined by a single-arched stone bridge
at the point where the span measured
46  arşın or Ottoman yards, presumably on
the basis of the known span between the
supporting walls of the old 15th-century
wooden bridge being replaced by the Old
Bridge. On this basis, Ž. Peković (2006) has
conjectured that Hajrudin must have been
using an arşın of 75.77 cm as his basic unit
of measurement (Özdural, 1998). It was on
this assumption that Peković developed his
study of the fascinating geometry of the Old
Bridge, including his claim that the arch is
a regular transection of a circle 39 arşın in
diameter. The striking point is 4 arşın lower
than the springing line of the arch. Most of
the stone elements of the bridge, including
the vault, were cut from a local oolitic
limestone rock of high porosity, which is
resistant to compressive strengths of about
20 MPa (Čolak, 2013).
Symbolic significance
From the moment it was first built, the
expert deployment of materials, the authentic
and yet unique approach to construction,
its architectural and aesthetic value, and
its meaning for the historic townscape all
contributed to making the Old Bridge an
immediately recognizable, even universal
symbol of human potential and achievement,
as represented within Bosnian heritage.
But it was only after its destruction – and
the global process it prompted of raising
awareness of heritage’s significance both
in and after war – that the symbolic value
of connecting difference, and of linking
sundered banks and communities in
conflict, came to be read into the bridge.
Since then, this ruined and reconstructed
bridge has become the most frequently
cited example of a building whose reading
In Focus
has been transformed by its historic and
social context, as new layers of meaning
have been added that transcend the values
previously recognized in it.
The destruction of the Old Bridge was
an imminent threat for more than a year
of constant attack. It nonetheless shocked
both the local and the international public
and was immediately charged with strong
symbolic meaning. Two days after the event,
the UNESCO Director General, Federico
Mayor, declared:
(…) By destroying it, the perpetrators of
this disgraceful act are trying to eradicate
the history of a country and its people.
They are thereby also destroying the
bridges of mutual understanding built by
people of different origins, religions and
beliefs, who had learned to live together
in harmony.
Statements of shock and condemnation
were recorded from all over the region – in
Mostar, all over Bosnia, even in Belgrade
and Zagreb. Its destruction prompted the
World Heritage No. 86 23
In Focus Mostar

immediate expression of solidarity with the

values the bridge had embodied.
The Trial Chamber of the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) passed its first instance judgement
in the case against Prlić et al. on 2 May
2013, listing among the war crimes ‘the
planned military offensive against the old
town of Mostar, including the assault on 8
November 1993 which led to the destruction
of the Mostar Bridge’. Analyzing this case,
however, J. Petrović has commented that
‘The importance of cultural property and the
extent of its destruction point to the need
to give cultural property a more prominent
place’ in the ICTY Statutes.

The question of reconstruction

The principle of reconstruction was
immediately mooted as a tool of transitional
justice, with the UNESCO Appeal on 10
March 1994 for ‘Reconstruction of the Stari
Work on the foundations has started in June 2001, and work on the reconstruction, Most’. The then Bosnian Prime Minister,
in line with 16th century building methods, has been finalized in 2002. Haris Silajdžić, said he ‘hoped the launching
© Jan Furstenborg
of the Campaign would be a new step
towards peace in the region’.
It was only after its destruction that the The question of reconstruction of the
symbolic value of connecting difference, and bridge became the subject of a number of
of linking sundered banks and communities in consultations between the UNESCO Division
conflict, came to be read into the bridge. of Cultural Heritage and Bosnian experts.
The broad range of interpretive
possibilities allowed by the Venice Charter,
the most commonly cited programmatic
text, raises, in the context of the rebuilding
of the Old Bridge, a number of points for
discussion, for example:
• Do the provisions relating to
archaeological sites apply directly in the case
of cultural goods damaged or destroyed
during the war, given that article 15 of the
Venice Charter rules out any reconstruction
of excavated archaeological sites other
than anastylosis (reassembly using original
architectural and material elements)?
• Can the rebuilding of a monument
damaged or destroyed during armed
conflict be considered to meet the definition
of restoration under article 9 of the Venice
Charter, as long as it is ‘based on respect for
the original material and documents and if
it stops where conjecture begins’?
• Given the debate on authenticity
that always follows any attempt at
reconstruction, article 13 of the Nara
Document offers a method for responding
It consisted of a humpbacked arch with an opening of 27 m, and was 4 m wide and
30 m long. It stood 20 m above the maximum water level in summer. to the demand for authenticity, as it affirms
© Jan Furstenborg

24 World Heritage No. 86


The Old Bridge enhanced the town’s development and prosperity.
© Ronan Shenhav
the relative and contextual authenticity of
each property.
These discussions are nicely summed up
in the following quotation from André de
Naeyer (1982):
The study of projects born from
reconstruction and the controversies
they have raised shows that in the area
of the conservation of monuments,
like in politics, it is often necessary to
look for a compromise between what is
desirable, what is acceptable, and what
is achievable.
The proposals that arose from these
expert discussions ranged from conserving
and preserving the ruins as a memorial,
through replicating the form of the bridge
in contemporary materials, to creating a
close or perfect replica of the Old Bridge.
As M. Armaly, C. Blasi, and L. Hannah
(2004) point out, ‘the design objective
of the reconstruction was to build new
structures similar to the destroyed bridge’.
Andrea Bruno offered the following
explanation for his proposal:
I proposed not to rebuild the bridge as it
was, but only to keep the remaining parts
as an example to show that we cannot just
destroy heritage. I followed the original
shape with a metallic structure. I also kept
the small bridge they had built immediately
after the destruction to still be able to cross
the river. This means that we could see at
the same time the three different phases:
the original bridge that was destroyed,
the preliminary crossing, and finally, the
proposed metallic structure of the project.
It would be a testimony of the things that
should not be done (T. Rigauts and M.
Rochez, 2015).
The people of Mostar and the Bosnian
public more generally, however, insisted
upon a full rebuilding of the bridge on the
spot where it had stood, in the form it had,
and from the same materials as originally
used... For them, this form of reconstruction
symbolized the re-establishment of
desecrated values.
Rebuilding and restoring
The monumental project to rebuild the
Old Bridge and restore the surrounding
structures, as well as the historic
neighbourhoods, was launched in Paris
In Focus
on 30 July 1998, with the announcement
of a partnership between UNESCO, the
World Bank and the City of Mostar. A
UNESCO-backed Scientific Committee, a
Project Implementation Unit employing
local officials and financed by the World
Bank, and a Multi-Donor Trust Fund were
set up under the International Stari Most
Foundation, which was established for the
purpose. Works began in 1999 and were
largely completed by early 2004.
The Scientific Committee was chaired by
the late Leon Pressouyre and met every six
months between 2001 and 2004 to oversee
the design and reconstruction works.
The reconstruction of the Old Bridge and
its surroundings was based on extensive
research and high-quality documentation
prepared by the General Engineering
Work Group from Florence (the authors
of the reconstruction project) and Omega
Engineering from Dubrovnik (the contracted
supervisors).
The stone blocks were cut from the same
local quarry that was used half a millennium
before. The fact that the building had been
destroyed made it possible to carry out
World Heritage No. 86 25
In Focus Mostar

The streets of Old Town Mostar overlook the Neretva.

© Tony Bowden

archeological research, including on the
structural detail and anatomy of the original
bridge. All the findings were published. An
excavated layer of medieval structures and
the fragments of the destroyed bridge were
put on display, to preserve the complex and
multilayered memory of the site.
The Old Bridge Area of the Old City
of Mostar was inscribed on the World
Heritage List in July 2005, ‘underlining the
unlimited efforts of human solidarity for
peace and powerful cooperation in the
face of overwhelming catastrophes’ (World
Heritage Committee, Decision 29 COM
8B.49).

Sources
Bokova, Irina. 3 July 2015. Address on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the inscription of the Old Bridge of Mostar on the
World Heritage List. Mostar. UNESCO DG/2015/132
Čar-Drnda, Hatidža. 2008. Stari most u Mostaru. Znakovi vremena, 41/42 (11), Sarajevo, pp 204-216.
Özdural, Alpay. 1998. Sinan’s Arsin. A Survey of Ottoman Architectural Metrology. Muqarnas XV: An Annual on the Visual Culture of
the Islamic World. Gülru Necipoglu, ed. Leiden, E.J. Brill, pp 101-115.
Peković, Željko. 2006. Geometrija Starog mosta u Mostaru i mjerni sustav u kojem je građen. Prostor: znanstveni časopis za arhitekturu
i urbanizam, 14 (1(31)). pp 35-41. Hrcak.srce.hr/10713
Čolak, Ivan. June 2013. Kratki prikaz revitalizacije lokaliteta Starog mosta. Electronic collection of papers of the Faculty of Civil
Engineering. Issue 5, Mostar, pp 24-32.
Petrović, Jadranka. 2012. The Old Bridge of Mostar and Increasing Respect for Cultural Property in Armed Conflict. Leiden-Boston,
Martinus Nijhof Publishers, p. 244.
De Naeyer, André. 1982. La Reconstruction des Monuments et des Sites en Belgique après la Première Guerre Mondiale. ICOMOS/
Monumentum 21, 22, 23. pp 167-187.
Armaly, Maha; Blasi,Carlo; Hannah,Lawrence. 2004. Stari Most: rebuilding more than a historic bridge in Mostar. Museum international
LVI, 4/224, pp 6-17.
Rigauts, Thomas and Rochez, Maud. Interview with Andrea Bruno, November 10th, 2014. RLICC Newsletter. Issue 15. spring
2015. p. 40.
General Engineering Work Group, Stari most. Rehabilitation design of the Old Bridge in Mostar, http://www.mostarbridge.org/
starimost/00_main/main.html

26 World Heritage No. 86

 THE D-DAY BEACHES
SPONSORED STATEMENT
NormandY, 1944
As the 75th anniversary of the landings and the Battle of
Normandy draws near, the cultural landscape Les Plages
du Débarquement, Normandie, 1944 (The D-Day Beaches,
Normandy 1944) has been put forward as a candidate to join
the list of World Heritage Sites.
The D-Day beaches were the stage for Operation Neptune,
the first phase of Operation Overlord, and which took place
on 6 June 1944 on the coasts of Normandy. The goal was to
open up a new front in Western Europe against the troops of
the Third Reich; it eventually led to the liberation of Western
Europe and the end of the Second World War in Europe.
The D-Day Beaches, Normandy 1944 safeguard the traces
of this decisive historical episode and have become a place
for remembering and gathering around a universal message:
the struggle for freedom and peace. The site put forward
is also a relict cultural landscape, in the sense that it bears
witness to the D-Day landings, and an associative cultural
landscape, in the sense of the exceptional symbolic values
that are associated with the site.
The D-Day Beaches include the whole coastline of the
English Channel on which the landing operations took place
from 6 June 1944 onwards: a continuous shoreline of about 80
kilometres. More precisely, the site includes a vast maritime
space, proposed as an underwater archaeological zone, and
eight zones on the land adjacent to the maritime area – from
east to west Utah Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, the
Longues-sur-Mer battery, the artificial harbour known as
Mulberry B, Gold Beach, Juno Beach and Sword Beach.
These sites possess numerous material attributes:
• The remains of the defensive system built up under
the name of the “Atlantic Wall”
• The remains of the preparations for the offensive,
especially the unique works of the artificial harbour known as
Mulberry B
• Underwater remains
• Other marks left on the landscape by the
confrontation
• Memorial elements, especially the military cemeteries.
Artificial harbor - Arromanches-Les-Bains - © Région Normandie - Manuel de Rugy

They also possess immaterial features: they have become
a place for worldwide gatherings in honour of an event
unanimously acknowledged by all as one which enabled
the return of freedom and announced a lasting peace,
strengthened by reconciliation between old enemies.
Symbolic sites of freedom and peace
All these attributes taken as a whole are, according to the
nomination proposal submitted, the vehicle for the exceptional
universal value of the site proposed, in accordance with two
main focal points. Firstly, the site is an excellent example of
confrontation between two systems, defensive and offensive.
The D-Day Beaches landscape also holds, with the presence
of the remains preserved, military cemeteries and memorial
Event supporting the nomination proposal – Juno Beach - © O Vidéo Studio
monuments, the immediate will to transmit the significance
of the event. Secondly, the D-Day Beaches are the site of an
attack that the occupied peoples had been long awaiting,
launched on behalf of the ideals of freedom and peace. The
impact of the landings was immediately seen as immensely
important, and understood in those places of oppression, the
concentration camps. The event aroused such hope that it
became the symbol of freedom on the march. Furthermore,
it shows how the alliance of nations, united in a struggle that
none of them could have won by themselves, can give rise to
lasting peace.
This file, presented by France, was drawn up by the Region
of Normandy. It is the result of a partnership which has
brought together numerous players from the area in question.
In Focus Syrian heritage

Reconstruction of
Syrian heritage
Rethinking the past
and the future
Anas Soufan
Architect and Art Historian
Advisor to ICOMOS

The courtyard of the Great Mosque of Aleppo in January 2017.

© UNESCO

30 World Heritage No. 86

 In Focus

World Heritage No. 86 31

In Focus Syrian heritage
T
Umayyad Mosque in Damascus 2010.
© Magnus Halsnes
he present period is burdened
with the responsibility of
rewriting and rethinking
the past and future. This
article considers that the
emergence of the term ‘heritage’ in the
Syrian literature during the second half of
the 19th century can be attributed to the
political circumstances of the Ottoman
Empire. Through the diffusion of this term,
the pioneers of the an-Nahda era – the
Arab Renaissance – intended to confirm
the Arabic or Syrian identity of their
homeland(s) facing the rise of Ottomanism.
Accordingly, the splendour of the Arab
civilization shaped a main theoretical pillar
of most sociopolitical movements in Syria
from the mid-19th century until today.
However, the division of Syrians over the
definition of the ‘right’ society produced
several understandings of heritage, and
consequently, multiple readings of the
extent, priorities and objectives of its current
postwar reconstruction. This situation
changes when an enduring spiritual union
takes place that surpasses the religious and
ethnic identities. .
32 World Heritage No. 86
The evolution of heritage
While the sociopolitical divisiveness
intensified during the current crisis,
the vision of heritage as produced by
the interaction of reason, memory and
imagination became more controversial.
Since 2011, Syrian heritage has been subject
to different kinds of annihilation based on
practical and ideological underpinnings. At
the same time, monuments, artefacts and
archaeological sites have been protected
by the Syrian government and popular
organizations related to most sociopolitical
tendencies. Furthermore, a reconstruction
process managed by the Syrian government
is taking place.
Which reconstruction of the historic
monuments and sites are Syrians looking
for? Which reconstruction are they able
to undertake and can they tolerate the
consequences? These questions generate a
multifaceted debate focusing on four main
approaches: legal-etymological, contextual,
philosophical, and human-cultural. Many
dilemmas pertaining to this debate will
remain unresolved. Consequently, the
reconstruction of the damaged Syrian
heritage will not live up to the expectations
of all Syrians.
The present paper attempts to fill gaps
and address topics pertaining to this debate.
It provides a theoretical framework to be
used and developed by the policy-makers
recognizing the difficulty of approaching
the intangible aspect of heritage within the
debate’s limited lines.
Approaches to the
reconstruction debate
Post-war recovery involves extensive
reconstruction. Motivating factors can
be political reasons, practical necessity,
defiance against aggressors, or the
maintenance of continuity with a pre-
conflict time. This process may be built
upon four main approaches:
The first approach is normative and
etymological related to the appellations,
forms, limits and legal definition of the
reconstruction of historic properties.
Indeed, reconstruction has been
continuously practiced in peace time, to
different degrees, within the conservation

View from Aleppo Citadel in 2010.
© Anas Soufan
works, under other appellations especially
of rehabilitation and restoration. The
definition of the postwar reconstruction
has come under intense scrutiny and should
be carried out on a global scope, taking
into account the Outstanding Universal
Value of the monuments, districts and sites
in question. It should handle primarily the
legal repositioning of the reconstructed
properties and how they could stay/be
eligible for World Heritage listing. Obviously,
the correlated international documents did
not respond to aspects of this interrogation
regarding the Syrian and Middle Eastern
cases due to their novelty.
The Venice Charter did not address
reconstruction on a massive urban scale,
maybe because of the period of relative
peace in which the declaration was discussed
and promulgated. Its Article 12 talks about
the ‘replacement of missing parts’ but it
does not clarify whether the ‘parts’ are
of a monument or a whole site. The Riga
Charter proposed a direct definition of
the reconstruction, highlighting that
‘Reconstruction is evocation, interpretation,
restoration or replication of a previous form’.
Other documents included reconstruction
in a larger scope associated with the process
of conservation. According to the Nara
Document, conservation is ‘all operations
designed to understand a property, know
its history and meaning, ensure its material
safeguard, and, if required, its restoration
and enhancement’. In this framework, the
Nara Document showed how acceptable
levels of authenticity can shift over time
depending on events, community needs or
collective memory. As for the Operational
Guidelines for the Implementation of the
World Heritage Convention (Article  86),
‘Reconstruction is acceptable only on
the basis of complete and detailed
documentation and to no extent on
conjecture’. The Operational Guidelines
do not specify which temporal framework
of the intended documentation should be
used nor do they list the standards to assess
the credibility of the ‘Information sources’
indicated in Article 81.
These examples illustrate the necessity to
reconsider the applicability of certain terms
and notions in the documents cited above.
Otherwise, as we proposed in 2015, there
In Focus
is a need to constitute a new international
document – a Charter – aiming to determine
standards in concordance with the
challenges of heritage in the 21st century.
At this point, it is relevant to ask how the
new Syrian Law of Antiquities will deal with
the international normative issues.
The second approach to the
reconstruction debate is contextual,
regarding the priorities of reconstructions
as well as the forms and design of the
reconstructed heritage: which past do
Syrians want to recover? What is valuable
to be remembered and what is not? Who
has the legitimacy to decide and according
to which standards? In fact, the priorities
of reconstructions may be determined
according to three main factors.
The first factor is the degree of loss. Are
the technicalities of the reconstruction
of monuments that have been reduced
to rubble comparable to those of the
ones whose remains still exist in situ? The
second is the superposition with another
archaeological layer or several. The large-
scale urban archaeological project of
World Heritage No. 86 33
In Focus Syrian heritage

Beirut in the 1990s springs to mind. As

Nasser Rabbat has underscored, Beirut’s
excavations offered not only remarkable
archaeological finds, but also intellectual
and procedural challenges and guidance for
future studies and analyses.
The third topic is the memorialization
utility of the conserved heritage. Rodney
Harrison highlighted ‘the process of
forgetting is in fact integral to remembering
– that one cannot properly form new
memories and attach value to them without
also selecting some things to forget.’ Adrian
Forty and Suzan Kuchler underscored that
the materiality of monuments can produce
a particular collective mode of remembering
that shapes the consumption of the past as
a shared cultural form of memory. Caroline
Nagel regrets that the rebuilt downtown of
Beirut does not present a public memorial
to the civil war or to its victims. If historic
monuments and sites are seen primarily
as places for bringing back collective
memory of what is more imagination
than truth, which form of memorialization
would Syrians invoke in the case of heavily
damaged or completely annihilated
monuments or sites? Is it the materiality
of monuments, the metaphysical symbol,
virtual technique, emptiness, conservation
of building fragments, a tabula rasa
approach or other solutions?
Undoubtedly, the forms and design, as
well as the offsetting relationship of the
reconstructed historic monument or district
with the wide urban environment, play a
major role in the acceptance or rejection by
Syrians. Within this setting, it is meaningful
to underline noteworthy concepts like the
ethical role of architecture as elaborated
by Karsten Harries, or the inextricably
intertwined linkage of the social and
physical forms of reconstruction described
by Hashim Sarkis and Peter Rowe (illustrating
Beirut reconstruction during the 1990s).
The third approach to the reconstruction
debate is philosophical, referring to
the dilemma of reconstruction versus
authenticity, or the original as opposed
to a copy. Jukka Jokilehto describes three
factors as ‘tests of authenticity’ for historic
architecture: genuine quality of human
creativity; true representation of cultural
tradition or representative type; and
verifiable association with an interchange of
Damage to the Crac des Chevaliers, March 2014.
© DGAM
Post-war recovery involves extensive
reconstruction. Motivating factors can be
political reasons, practical necessity, defiance
against aggressors, or the maintenance
of continuity with a pre-conflict time.
values or ideas. Afīf Bahnasi underlines that of the historic monuments and sites will
authenticity is a principle and conviction influence their interpretation with far-
based on nationalist thinking that attests to reaching implications for relevance and
Arabic identity and legitimizes the work of memorialization.
an artist as engaged in the nation’s interests.
On the other hand, Aziz al-Azmah likened The last approach to the reconstruction
the authenticity principle to Orientalism debate is human and cultural, pertaining to
or even to semi-Salafism, distrusting the local communities, users, observers and
the feasibility and meaningfulness of heritage professionals and to their cultural
recuperating historic forms, part of the frameworks. In this context, how may the
past, in the present. cultural authenticity of a historic district be
In the field of conservation, an ongoing preserved, taking into account its human
development of a monument or district component can never be recovered after
results from the use of what would now thousands of people have been killed and
be considered to be inappropriate materials displaced? Perhaps the reconstruction of
as part of regular maintenance activities the Bab Touma quarter in Damascus after
over long periods of time. The insertion the incidents of 1860 demonstrates how the
of industrialized materials and techniques tragic collective memory vanishes thanks
of construction in Syria since the 1860s to the time factor and the participation of
enhanced this phenomenon. Henry Cleere people in the reconstruction works. Samir
questions whether such ‘intrusions’ Khalaf underlined the necessity for citizens
could be seen as having a historical to be involved in safeguarding, repairing
significance of their own. Here also, the and enriching their space. Moreover, he
question of the recognition of the natural portrayed these tasks as ‘basic human
organic development of a building or site rights, almost universal needs’.
shapes a wide discussion. Anyway, after Thus, in a world that is increasingly
reconstruction, the ‘revised authenticities’ subject to the forces of globalization and

34 World Heritage No. 86

 In Focus

Bosra amphitheatre, 2009. Insert: Damage to the courtyard adjacent to the amphitheatre, December 2015.
© NeferTiyi / © DGAM

World Heritage No. 86 35

In Focus Syrian heritage
homogenization, what is the linkage
between the authenticity sought and
the identity of the professionals of
reconstruction? The answer to this question
relies particularly on cultural concerns. For
instance, the cultural value of a district is
expressed through the form and design;
materials and substance; use and function;
traditions, techniques; management;
location and setting; language, forms of
intangible heritage; spirit and feeling; and
other internal and external factors.
Undoubtedly, the years of crisis affected,
or rather devastated, the balance of these
elements in some Syrian areas. Should
the reconstruction of the historic districts
recover this balance or constitute a different
one in concordance with the postwar
context? Bearing in mind, on the one
hand, the history of an artwork (including
buildings) is linked as much to that work’s
definition as to its creation and its creators’
initial intentions, and on the other, our
Crac des Chevaliers in September 2010.
© Yeowatzup
36 World Heritage No. 86
perception of objects allocates them certain
values, then reconstructed heritage would
have a role in either enhancing or reducing
the cultural value of the properties. The
strategies of reconstruction will decide
which option will prevail.
Authenticity versus significance
The postwar reconstruction of the
affected historic monuments and sites
necessitates enormous preparatory
reflections in systematic and theoretically
stimulating ways. The Syrian government
should organize these initiatives in order
to produce an in-depth global plan of
reconstruction accepted by Syrians.
These multidisciplinary efforts should be
coordinated with and benefit from the
related international organizations.
The reconstruction of Syrian heritage
is an eternal and continuous process that
cannot be achieved in one fell swoop. It
was affected by certain ruptures like the
current crisis. During the first half of the
20th century, the heritage-making process
consolidated the building of the Syrian
state. Moreover, it contributed to the
development of a specific local architecture
that supported the cultural reconciliation
among Syrian sociopolitical rivals.
The reconstruction of the affected
historic areas will be a reviving force of the
Syrian post-war economy. It highlights the
creative role of destruction, releasing new
energies through which Syrians portray
their creativity by not only rethinking their
urban and architectural environment but
also reshaping their future on the basis of
how they understand their past.
Although reconstruction is an
opportunity to develop the Syrian urban
and architectural environment, it is not
always the recommendable or best solution.
Reconstruction may not be at odds with
authenticity but it may be with heritage
significance.
 In Focus
South façade of the Church of St Simeon, part of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria World Heritage site, in 2008 (prior to the conflict).
© Thomas Stellmach

Sources
Abdulkarim, M. Inaugural talk, Heritage & Conflict: Syria’s Battle to Protect its Past. World Monuments Fund conference. London, 18
November 2015.
Al-Azmah, A. 1990. al-Turath bayn as-sultan wal tarikh (Heritage between the Sultan and the history). Dar at-tali’ah, Beirut.
Bahnassi, A. 1979. Jamāliyyat al-fan al-‘arabi. ‘Ālam al-ma’rifah, Kuwait.
Cleer, H. The evaluation of authenticity in the context of the World Heritage Convention. Nara Conference on Authenticity, Proceedings.
Larsen, K.E., ed. WHC and others.
Declaration of the foundation of the Syrian State, 7 March 1920; Mandate Declaration on Syria and Lebanon in 1920; Introduction to
the Constitution of 1950; 1973 and of 2012.
Forty, A. and Kuchler. S. 2001. The Art of Forgetting. Bloomsbury Academic.
Harries, K. 1997. The Ethical Function of Architecture. MIT Press.
Harrison, R. 2013. Forgetting to remember, remembering to forget: late modern heritage practices, sustainability and the ‘crisis’ of
accumulation of the past. International Journal of Heritage Studies, Vol. 19, No. 6.
Jokilehto, J. 1995. Viewpoints: The Debate on Authenticity. ICCROM Newsletter 21
Jokilehto, J. and King, J. 2000. Authenticity & Integrity: Summary of ICCROM Position Paper, UNESCO. http://whc.unesco.org/en/
events/443
Nagel, C. 2002. Reconstructing space, re-creating memory: sectarian politics and urban development in post-war Beirut. Political
Geography, 21.
Rowe, P. and Sarkis, H. (eds). 1998, Projecting Beirut, Episodes in the Construction and Reconstruction of a Modern City, Prestel.
Soufan, A. 2015. Historiographical Overview on the Post Conflict Reconstruction in Syria: From the mid-19th Century to the 2011
Crisis, WHC.
Thomson, R.G. 2008. Authenticity and the post-conflict reconstruction of historic sites. CRM: The Journal of Heritage Stewardship.
US National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/crmjournal/Winter2008/article4.html

World Heritage No. 86 37

SPONSORED STATEMENT
LUGO
Prisons are known for rehabilitating inmates yet what
about rehabilitating and reinventing the building that
holds them? That is what the city of Lugo in north western
Spain has done, transforming the O Vello Cárcere prison
into a new social and cultural centre.
Designed by Nemesio Cobreros in 1878, the building
incorporates a circular panopticon design that was
typical of prisons at the time. It allowed a single watchman
to observe the prisoners – from a central circular space –
without the inmates knowing if they were being watched.
The prison was originally built to house 180 inmates. This
number rose dramatically to 1,000 at the beginning of the
Franco dictatorship in the late 1930s. Many were political
Ground floor First floor
FROM PRISON TO
CULTURAL CENTRE
prisoners who were tortured and kept in inhumane and
unhygienic conditions. A cell of 30 metres would typically
hold up to 45 men.
Closed as a prison in 1981, it underwent multiple changes
of use as well as transformations that culminated in the
occupation and compartmentalization of its exterior
patios.
In 2009, however, after winning a contest, architects
CREUSeCARRASCO, began an extensive refurbishment
of the building, incorporating archaeological excavations
and repairing damaged structures. The new centre
opened in 2017.
Second floor
 Emplacement and location
The architects wanted the building to be the protagonist,
using its fantastic interior space and returning it to the
city as a street where you walk and meet, talk and show.
Their aim was to bring new life to the building, to generate
activity and empathy around it, and to transform its
original design of control and security into a unique
communicative and expressive force.
Throughout the careful and detailed refurbishment
process, the team uncovered interesting elements such
as the beautiful Polonceau truss and vaulted structure of
the central area.
In the main entrance, which was the last to be transformed,
a new wooden building has been built, separated from
Third floor
the walls, which incorporates an auditorium, a library
and a cafeteria.
Access has been created to allow all visitors to reach
different parts of the building and at the same time to
provide a degree of separation, not only for each of the
buildings but also for the main collective spaces such as
the auditorium, library, terrace-restaurant, multipurpose
room, seminar rooms or movie theatre; all of them,
somehow, with an outward projection, linking to the city.
To emphasize this link, two new entrances were built
including a porticoed enclosed pedestrian walkway,
connecting the building with surrounding streets, and
in the process creating new public spaces. Overall it has
been a rehabilitation that reflects the dedicated effort of
the team, helping to replace a building of dark memories
and hidden stories with a new cultural space for the
people of Lugo.
CONCELLO DE LUGO
Praza Maior, 1, 27001 Lugo Spain
www.lugo.es
In Focus Bamiyan

The Bamiyan
Buddhas
Issues of
reconstruction
Contributions by
Junhi Han
Programme Specialist, Asia Pacific Unit, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Mohammad Rasoul Bawary

Acting Minister, Ministry of Information and Culture, Afghanistan

Andrea Bruno
Architect and consultant to UNESCO

Bamiyan (Afghanistan), 1975.

© Pierre Le Bigos

40 World Heritage No. 86

 In Focus

World Heritage No. 86 41

I
In Focus Bamiyan

n March 2001, the world watched

with horror as the Taliban regime in
Afghanistan blasted into fragments
the Buddha statues in Bamiyan.
All efforts by the international
community – including UNESCO, which
dispatched a special envoy and a delegation
composed of numerous Islamic religious
leaders and Ulemas (specialists in Islamic
law) to Afghanistan to prevent such
destruction – had unfortunately failed.
UNESCO immediately condemned this
intentional annihilation of the Buddha
statues. Committed to do everything
possible to preserve whatever remained of
the niches that had housed the destroyed
Buddhas, UNESCO called upon the solidarity
of the international community to safeguard
the remains of this outstanding feature
of Afghan cultural heritage. Ever since,
UNESCO, thanks to the UNESCO/Japan
Funds-in-Trust project for safeguarding the
Bamiyan Buddha niches, has been carrying
out much-needed consolidation works at
the Eastern Buddha niche, which was greatly
damaged and destabilized by the explosion.
Germany soon joined UNESCO’s efforts
by funding the conservation activities of the
German ICOMOS at the Bamiyan Buddha
niches. Contributions included the in-kind
donation by the Messerschmitz Foundation
of a set of scaffolding, which the German
Air Force transported from Germany to Eastern Buddha niche.
© UNESCO/Masanori Nagaoka
Bamiyan to be used for the conservation of
the Eastern Buddha niche. The scaffolding
was officially handed over to the Afghan one of the most heated topics of debate in Bamiyan, regardless of whether one favours
Government in December 2016 and is the field of heritage conservation, including or opposes any such project.
now being used at the Western Buddha during the meetings of the Bamiyan Expert First of all, bearing in mind the socio-
niche for ongoing conservation works. The Working Group, which take place every religious characteristics of the Bamiyan
consolidation work at the Eastern Buddha year and involve the Afghan authorities, region, and of Afghanistan as a whole,
niche finally came to an end in 2015, while UNESCO and its experts, as well as donor some fear it is obsolete to rebuild a Buddhist
work at the Western Buddha niche, which countries. statue in an Islamic country. In this respect,
had become increasingly urgent, began in It has been difficult, however, to we must be aware that these two Buddha
2016. discuss any proposal concretely while the statues have long lost their original religious
conservation works are ongoing. Over time, meaning and function, since at least the 11th
A heated debate the local people of Bamiyan have become century AD, when Islam spread throughout
In the meantime, there has been much more vocal about wanting at least one of the region during the Ghazanavid Dynasty
debate, both at the national and international the Buddha statues to be reconstructed; (998-1030). When they lost their religious
levels, about any potential reconstruction yet many heritage professionals have meaning, they gained a local identity and
of the destroyed Bamiyan Buddha statues. remained cautious about supporting such became a true symbol of Bamiyan.
This issue was raised already in 2002, during an approach. The people of Bamiyan adopted and
the first international conference held in integrated these statues into their culture,
Kabul, which concluded that any plan for Aspects to consider even turning them into local folklore: they
the reconstruction of the giant Buddha Several aspects must be taken into became a sort of Romeo and Juliet of the
statues at Bamiyan would require extensive account when contemplating the barren, mountainous Hindu-Kush. The
discussion. This question has since become reconstruction of the Buddha statues in Western Buddha statue was renamed

42 World Heritage No. 86


Western Buddha niche.
© UNESCO/Masanori Nagaoka
‘Salsal’, prince of Bamiyan, and the Eastern
statue ‘Shamama’, a princess from a remote
kingdom. As they could not be united in
this world, they chose to become statues
and stand close to each other for ever. The
generation of Bamiyan inhabitants who
were born after the destruction of the
Buddha statues still enjoy listening to this
tale, but they have lost the tangible cultural
heritage that inspired it and are left with a
void.
One should also remember that several
local residents were killed by the Taliban
because, when ordered to do so, they
refused to carry explosives to the top of
the statues and plant them in holes in the
niches for blasting. This is a tragic illustration
of how the two giant Buddha statues were
no longer mere effigies, but something very
precious to those who call Bamiyan their
home. People were ready to die rather than
be complicit in the destruction of these
Buddha statues, because they had been a
symbol of the pride and identity of Bamiyan
for centuries. One should also recall that
the people of Bamiyan, mainly Hazara, are
Shia Muslims; as a minority, they have been
more severely persecuted by the Taliban
regime. The destruction of the Bamiyan
Buddha statues therefore carries even
deeper meaning for the people of Bamiyan.
Technical issues
If we were to abide by the wishes of part
of the local community, the reconstruction
process would nonetheless pose a number
of significant technical challenges. The
Western Buddha statue was 55 metres
high, and the Eastern one 38 metres; the
statues were carved from porous sandstone
cliffs with the details modeled in clay mixed
with straw, coated with stucco. (Practically
In Focus
all of the coating had worn away long ago,
but the stucco was supposed to have been
painted to accentuate the facial expressions,
hands and folds of the robes.) The experts
from Aachen Technical University and
ICOMOS Germany, who have been working
on documenting and conserving the site
for more than a decade, are still arguing
about how much of the original material of
the Buddha statues remained in the niches.
For the Eastern Buddha statue, Aachen
Technical University reports that only 12
per cent of the original material remains
while the German ICOMOS team claims it is
approximately 48 per cent.
The ICOMOS Germany team has been
conserving rock fragments that fell to the
ground in the blast. In their view, these
large rock pieces could be placed back
in their original locations in the Eastern
Buddha statue after treatment, and the
gap between them could be filled with
artificial material. They call it a partial
reassembling, or anastylosis. We must
acknowledge that so far this represents
the approach most faithful to the Venice
Charter, centring the whole discussion on
the original material. However, its technical
and practical feasibility needs to be further
demonstrated.
In contrast, many professionals still think
the empty niches should be kept as they are,
with the void representing a strong victory
for the monument and the defeat of those
who tried to annihilate the Buddha statues.
The gravity of the issues is placed on the
symbolic rather than the physical value.
Recently this approach was given more
weight with the remarkable evolution
of 21st century technology such as laser
scanning and 3D printing. An increasing
number of experts have thus begun to
speak cautiously of a possible 3D digital
reconstruction, which would make it
possible to produce a faithful image of the
two Buddha statues. The Buddha niches
would thus be kept as they are while
allowing the local communities to regain
the Buddha images in their original setting.
Perspective for the future
In September 2017, UNESCO, together
with the Government of Afghanistan
and Tokyo University of Arts, convened a
three-day technical symposium in Tokyo,
Japan, entitled ‘The Future of the Bamiyan
World Heritage No. 86 43
In Focus Bamiyan

Buddha Statues: Technical Considerations
and Potential Effects on Authenticity and
Outstanding Universal Value’. The event
was funded by the Government of Japan
as part of the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-
Trust for the Safeguarding of the Bamiyan
Buddha niches (Phase V). It aimed to clarify
existing theory and practice regarding
reconstruction of cultural heritage and
restoration ethics, while discussing the
replacement of the Buddha statues and its
impact on the Bamiyan Valley World Heritage
property. The symposium examined four
technical proposals, submitted by different
international teams involved in the work
at the Bamiyan Buddha niches, for the
potential reconstruction of the Eastern
Buddha statue. The Afghan authorities
will now establish a working committee to
review and discuss these proposals and any
new proposal related to reconstruction. A
recommendation (see http://whc.org/en/
news/1773) was unanimously adopted at
the symposium.
There is no doubt that reconstruction
is a process that must go beyond mere
physical reconstruction: one needs to
address it as a multifaceted process, as part
of larger recovery plans. It must encompass
socio-economic questions within an
integrated approach, prioritizing the needs
and cultural rights of local communities
affected by the destruction of their cultural
heritage. Reconstruction must also be a
tool for reconciliation, and mitigate the
risks of reinventing heritage and rewriting
history. The UN Special Rapporteur on
Cultural Rights, in her report to the
General Assembly of the United Nations,
also stressed that, when dealing with the
destruction of heritage, one should also
deal with the destruction of the lives of
people, and that the two are fundamentally
interrelated (A/HRC/31/59 Agenda Item 3).
In light of the conflict situations in Iraq,
Libya, Mali, Syria and Yemen, and bearing in
mind the innumerable events of deliberate
destruction on cultural heritage, whether
on sites or in museums, questions of
reconstruction have become a core topic of
debate among the international community.
For UNESCO, and as recognized by the World
Heritage Committee at its 40th and 41st
sessions, it has become all the more urgent
to develop and further elaborate guidance
on issues pertaining to the recovery of
heritage at large, including reconstruction
at World Heritage properties, but also for
sites on the Tentative Lists of States Parties
to the 1972 World Heritage Convention.

Reconstruction: proposed solutions

The Taliban were not the first to destroy monuments of

the religion of Buddhism. Following the spread of Islam, and
further in the second half of the 17th century, under the rule
of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the legs and the faces of
the great Buddhas were destroyed because they were part of
‘idols’. In the 1990s, during the armed conflict, the area was
further exposed and the archaeological remains damaged.
One proposal made immediately after the destruction of
the Bamiyan Buddha niches by the Taliban in February 2001
was to create a large two-dimensional screen in the empty
Eastern Buddha niche, with an image of the Buddha in actual
size. This project aimed to exorcise as quickly as possible
the emotion of shock the act had produced throughout
the world, and above all for the Bamiyan population, who
regarded the Buddha statues almost as part of the Valley’s
natural landscape. It would be a provisional solution but also a reaction to the Taliban fury that would restore the Bamiyan population’s
view of the Buddha effigy at its usual place in the cliff panorama – the Buddha that had suddenly disappeared inside that niche, which
today is exalted in its absence. This solution, therefore, according to this author, remains the only lawful possibility of ‘rebuilding’ the
missing statue without creating an unacceptable false replica, contrary to any practice to preserve memory, while at the same time
respecting the authenticity of the surviving material. Its absolute reversibility frees it from any criticisms along these lines.
The extraordinary reality of the Buddhas, carved in a cliff-face of the Bamiyan Valley and literally reduced to powder, thus excluding any
possibility of reassembling them, shows how serious and irrevocable this iconoclastic action was.
Various hypotheses of intervention were described in detail during the September 2017 international symposium on ‘The Future of the
Bamiyan Buddha Statues’, held in Tokyo, and also earlier, at the 12th Bamiyan Expert Working Group held in Orvieto, Italy in December
2013.
Regarding the Eastern Buddha, in view of the already initiated reconstruction of its feet, postponing again the decision on how to
intervene qualitatively and quantitatively is no longer tolerable. After destruction, restoration certainly represents the continuation of life.
Enormous technical progress makes this possible.
Andrea Bruno
Architect and consultant to UNESCO

44 World Heritage No. 86

Reconstruction: different points of view
The destruction of the giant
Bamiyan Buddha statues has
been condemned around
the world. In the years that
followed, it was viewed
primarily as an example of
extreme intolerance. And
it accomplished nothing
except to bring blame on
the destroyers. The world
community expressed horror
at the statues’ annihilation,
Chronology of the destruction.
and humanity mourns the loss
of one of its most precious
treasures. The history of Afghanistan has been tumultuous, but the
cultural disasters, particularly the destruction of the giant Buddha
Statues of Bamiyan, represent some of its most tragic episodes.
The giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan Valley were not only
priceless cultural heritage for Afghanistan, but also the largest
examples of ancient cultural heritage in the world. Unfortunately,
Afghanistan and the world are both deprived of the giant statues,
and it is certainly a moment of sadness. Since 2002, the Government
of Afghanistan and UNESCO have been jointly making efforts to
protect the values of the Bamiyan World Heritage site, by addressing
security risks, ensuring the structural stability of the remains of the
two giant Buddha niches, conserving the archaeological remains
and mural paintings, and implementing the Cultural Master Plan.
Keeping these factors in mind, I want to take this opportunity to
provide some essential explanations: first, regarding the opinions
of those who would like to restore and reconstruct the statues, and
second, regarding the opinions of those who oppose the idea of
restoration and reconstruction.
The Bamiyan statues represent ancient historical heritage, and it
is time to discuss what should be done about them.
Advantages and disadvantages
Let me begin by explaining the beneficial aspects of the
reconstruction of the Buddha statues. There is a noble intention
and important reasons behind the motivation to replace these
statues. First, by their reconstruction, we would have giant statues
again in Afghanistan. The site would once more be one of the most
visited by national and international tourists; it would be reopened
for several Buddhist monasteries; the reconstruction would create
jobs for workers; and finally, it would remove the affront to Afghan
culture. There are many other advantages, which promote and
encourage the opinion and priorities of those who advocate the
reconstruction of the statues, and point to the positive role such a
reconstruction can play in fostering nations’ understanding of the
importance of restoring cultural heritage.
It is worth mentioning that currently we have videos, photos and
computerized photos, which can be used in such a project.
But archaeologists who are not in favour of the restoration of
Bamiyan’s giant statues do not perceive their reconstruction and
the revitalization of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage as priorities.
In Focus
According to them, there are many serious obstacles that shouldn’t
be ignored. In their opinion, these impediments are, first of all,
scientific and methodological hurdles; second, financial constraints;
and third, agreements and universal principles.
Obstacles to restoration
True, if the aim is an actual reconstruction of the statues, this
seems to be a pipe dream likely to create many problems. One
of the main challenges of the reconstruction is that less than 50
per cent of the original materials are available. While it would be
possible to collect building material from the Bamiyan cliffs, into
which the original Buddha statues were carved, this would not be
enough and would represent only part of what needs to be done.
In addition, materials are required for the site and environment.
Another main issue is the hiring of competent experts, for instance
an expert on Buddhism, an archaeologist with experience in
Gandahara and Sassanid art, an outstanding historian on that era
of Afghan civilization, a historiographer of the first centuries AD
in Afghanistan, a well-qualified ethnographer capable of finding
scientific descriptions of that period of human culture, and many
more experts in the field. Otherwise, there won’t be any outcomes.
In conclusion, one of the main objectives of the protection
of cultural heritage is to preserve traces of different phases in a
nation’s history. The Bamiyan Buddha statues testified to their time,
and their loss is a ‘dolorous event’. But although the citizens of
Bamiyan and many other people favour the idea of restoring the
statues, we cannot overlook the obstacles: the available financial
and management resources for carrying out the Bamiyan giant
sculpture reconstruction project are inappropriate. Therefore,
further international assistance is still required, especially in
technical and financial terms. Part of the solution to this issue also
lies in the promotion of a positive public discussion to promote inter-
cultural and inter-religious dialogue and to raise awareness of the
potential that such an action has to contribute to the broader goals
of rapprochement, peace-building and economic development in
Afghanistan.
Mohammad Rasoul Bawary
Acting Minister, Ministry of Information
and Culture, Afghanistan
World Heritage No. 86 45
SPONSORED STATEMENT
Elche, A city with three UNESCO designations
The city of Elche can proudly laid claim to
being the only Spanish city with three of its
properties inscribed under the different UNESCO
categories for inscription and protection of
tangible and intangible heritage. The Palmeral
of Elche has been a World Heritage site since
2000. In 2001, when UNESCO produced the first
list of Intangible and Oral Heritage of Humanity
Sites, it had already included the Mystery Play
of Elche. Finally, in December 2009, UNESCO
inscribed the Centre for Traditional Culture -
School Museum of Pusol in the Register of Good
Safeguarding Practices of the Committee for
Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage.
All of this makes Elche a unique city. Citizens
of Elche are proud to share their heritage,
particularly with visitors to their city.
El Palmeral
El Palmeral is a unique area that has survived
for over one thousand years, as it predates the
foundation of the city at its current location by
the Arabs.
The city’s organisation and irrigation system
have survived since Muslim times. The Palmeral’s
first role was agricultural, which survives to this
day with palm growing for Palm Sunday palms
and date production.
Visitors can enjoy a museum and performance
centre with a fully guided visit program to allow
them to learn details of this treasure.
The Mystery Play
Paradigm of religious theatre, the Mystery Play
of Elche is a sung drama of mediaeval origin
that is a perfect example of devotion to the
Virgin of the Assumption, the city’s patron saint.
More information: www.visitelche.com
In two acts, the play is about the final
moments of the earthly life, death
and ascension to the heavens
of the soul of the Virgin Mary
(Vespra) and her burial (Festa).
It is performed annually at
the Basilica of Saint Mary: the
Vespra on 14 August and the
Festa on the 15. In addition,
general rehearsals can be seen
on 11, 12 and 13 August, where
both acts are performed one after
the other. In even years, additional
performances are held on 29 and
30 October and 1 November (matinee
and evening performances).
During the performances of 14
and 15 August and 1 November,
entry to the Basilica is free of
charge, although it is necessary
to arrive several hours early in
order to get in. Tickets need
to be purchased for all other
performances.
Pusol Museum
The Centre for Traditional Culture - School
Museum of Pusol started out as a school
in 1967. The aim was to preserve the
memory of farming skills that were
disappearing. Involvement of the
community, particularly Elche’s
agricultural hamlets, turned
this activity into a key museum
project, where over 70,000
catalogued artefacts immerse
visitors in a journey into the past.
Palmeral of Elche
Inscribed on the World Heritage List
in 2000
In Focus Timbuktu

Reconstruction of
the mausoleums
in Timbuktu
The role of local
communities
Lazare Eloundou
Deputy Director of the Division for Heritage and
the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO

Lassana Cissé
Former National Director of Cultural Heritage of Mali

Reconstructed mausoleum of Alpha Moya.

© UNESCO/Sebastien Rieussec

48 World Heritage No. 86

 In Focus

World Heritage No. 86 49

F
In Focus Timbuktu

rom January to December 2012,

Mali experienced its most serious
crisis since gaining independence
in 1960, plunging it into an
unprecedented political, social,
institutional, security and economic
situation, particularly in the north of the
country. This region, which contains two of
the four Malian sites inscribed on the World
Heritage List (Timbuktu and the Tomb of
Askia), was occupied by armed Islamist
groups (AQIM, MOJWA and Ansar Dine)
that pillaged the entire area to its centre,
reaching as far as the Cliff of Bandiagara
(Land of the Dogons). During this year of
occupation, these armed groups attacked
cultural heritage and cultural expressions,
damaging them intentionally and
methodically. As of May 2012, in view of the
serious threats to the rich cultural heritage
of this occupied region, the Government of
Mali sought support from the international
community through UNESCO. But extremist
armed groups continued their course of
destruction from 30 June to 2 July 2012,
while the 36th session of the World Heritage
Committee was held in Saint Petersburg,
Russia. The international community looked
on with shock and horror as a further nine
mausoleums were destroyed, a loss that
was covered widely in the media.
Mobilization of the
international community
To respond to Mali’s call, UNESCO
initiated the following major actions:
• Mobilization of the international
community by launching an awareness
campaign, consisting of the regular
launch of appeals/news releases by the
Director-General of UNESCO on the
cultural significance of the mausoleums,
as elements justifying Timbuktu’s
Outstanding Universal Value and
structuring the social and religious life of
local communities. A Malian ‘Heritage
Passport’ was also published, showing the
location of all the most important cultural
sites in Timbuktu, and distributed to nearly
8,000 French, Malian and African soldiers.
In addition, briefings were sent regularly to
the United Nations Security Council, which
adopted resolutions strongly condemning
the destruction of cultural and religious
sites in Mali (Resolutions 2056, 2071 and
2085), and recognized the importance of
A man prays at dawn where once was a mausoleum before it was destroyed by jihadist during
the occupation at the Three Saints Cemetery in Timbuktu (Mali), December 2013.
© MINUSMA/Marco Dormino
culture as an issue at stake in the Malian
conflict. These efforts led to the adoption
in April 2013 of Resolution 2100, creating
a peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA) in
Mali having, for the first time in history, a
mandate in collaboration with UNESCO to
protect cultural sites against attacks.
• Inscription by the World Heritage
Committee of the sites of Timbuktu and the
Tomb of Askia on the List of World Heritage
in Danger in July 2012, during its 36th
session in Saint Petersburg.
• Support to the Government of
Mali to finalize its accession in November
2012 to the 1999 Second Protocol to
the Hague Convention of 1954 for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event
of Armed Conflict.
• Visit of the former Director-
General of UNESCO to Timbuktu (2
February 2013) with French President
François Hollande, to see the damage to
cultural heritage.
• Organization of an International
Meeting of Experts (18 February 2013), in
collaboration with the French Ministry of
Culture, for the safeguarding of Malian
cultural heritage. This meeting led to the
adoption of a US$11 million action plan
to restore cultural heritage and safeguard
ancient manuscripts in Mali.
Study the destruction to
plan the reconstruction
Fourteen of the sixteen mausoleums
of the saints of Timbuktu inscribed on
the World Heritage List were completely
destroyed during this period. Furthermore,
4,203 manuscripts were burned and three
mosques were severely damaged.
Clearly, the aim of these acts of
destruction was to provoke fear and
spread an ideology promoting violent
extremism and radicalization among
the population, under the pretext of
practicing a different Islam from that
habitually practised in Timbuktu since the
11th century.
At the end of the conflict, local
communities were the first to solicit
UNESCO’s support for the reconstruction
of their mausoleums, which they described
as the ‘second lung’ of their social life, and
without which a possible reconciliation
would be difficult to imagine. The first
damage assessment mission, conducted in
June 2013 by a team of international and
Malian experts, made it possible to evaluate
the impact of the destruction on community
life. The mission concluded that beyond the
material damage, the psychological damage
was equally important. To mitigate these
impacts, UNESCO, the Malian Ministry
of Culture and their technical partners

50 World Heritage No. 86

 In Focus
A rehabilitation program was implemented by UNESCO and its partners as the Minister of Culture of Mali and MINUSMA. Timbuktu, 15 April 2015.
© MINUSMA/Harandane

Local masons were involved in the reconstruction.

© MINUSMA/Harandane

World Heritage No. 86 51

In Focus Timbuktu
Fourteen of the sixteen mausoleums of the saints of Timbuktu inscribed on the World Heritage List were completely destroyed during this period.
© MINUSMA/Harandane
adopted a painstaking approach in three
stages:
1) First, the damage was documented,
both photographically and planimetrically,
for the record, so that the world would not
forget what had happened in 2012.
2) A great deal of work was then carried
out, including collecting archives, historical
information, architectural surveys and
archaeological excavation records as well
as compiling traditional building practices
and techniques, in consultation with the
guild of Timbuktu masons, who alone
possess the ancestral know-how needed to
undertake this type of reconstruction. The
construction choices that were agreed upon
with them made it possible to restore the
site’s integrity and safeguard its attributes
by reconstructing the mausoleums with
the same traditional techniques, in order to
preserve Timbuktu’s World Heritage status.
3) Thanks to the data collected, the
construction know-how was refined and a
building site methodology was adopted, as
well as a proposal concerning the physical
architectural state to be obtained at the end
of construction. This data was organized
into a reconstruction and restoration
strategy paper, to act as a guide for all
stages of reconstruction.
At the same time, a long and slow
process of strategic planning enabled
raising the necessary initial funds for the
52 World Heritage No. 86
first construction projects launched in
March 2014.
We should also note that before work
began, various equally crucial preparatory
activities were organized to promote
consultation with masons from other
regions of Mali. Thus, in Mopti and
Timbuktu, at the initiative of the National
Directorate of Cultural Heritage, a series
of training workshops were held, with the
main objective of building a platform for the
exchange of technical knowledge between
masons in Djenné, Timbuktu, Mopti and
Dogon Country and architects and heritage
managers, focused on the various systems
of construction to be implemented for the
reconstruction of the mausoleums
Key lessons
The key lessons to be learned from
the process of reconstructing the saints’
mausoleums destroyed in Timbuktu
are as numerous as they are rich. They
combine experience in Timbuktu with
past experiences from the International
Campaign to Save the Monuments of
Nubia and the Safeguarding of the Angkor
Archaeological Site in Cambodia.
First of all, it is important to understand
that beyond the Outstanding Universal Value
of the site to be reconstructed and its cultural
and historical significance, the role these
mausoleums play in the socio-cultural and
religious life of communities is a vital factor
that must guide the decision to reconstruct
or not. In the case of Timbuktu, the
mausoleums were built in the 13th century
by the communities, and these structures
are testaments to the exemplary role their
ancestors played in intellectual, social and
religious life – a life that has helped to give
Timbuktu its reputation as an intellectual
centre and a place of tolerance since the
15th century. These saints for whom the
mausoleums were built came from the
different communities that coexisted in
Timbuktu. They included Arabs (Kountas),
Algerians and the Tuareg, Fula, Songhai and
Bambara peoples. Each family descended
from a saint would go to the mausoleums
every Monday or Friday after morning prayer,
to invoke their help in solving problems,
such as drought, conflict or disease. These
mausoleums are therefore a source of wisdom
for these families, not places of idolatry as we
heard from extremist armed groups. It was
obvious their reconstruction would inevitably
contribute to a reconciliation between the
different communities and restore the past
socio-psychological balance.
Key lessons incorporate the following
aspects:
• The vigorous mobilization of the
international community and the United
Nations: the leadership of UNESCO, on behalf
of the United Nations system, in tandem with

Ceremony for the launch of the reconstruction of World Heritage mausoleums damaged by armed extremists.
© MINUSMA/Marco Dormino
the Government of Mali, was instrumental
in highlighting the issues of peace and
security at play in Mali while this massive
destruction was taking place. Without the
leadership of the former Director-General
of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, it would have
been difficult to raise the necessary financial
support (Andorra, Bahrain, Croatia, France,
the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the
African World Heritage Fund, the European
Union) and also technical support (Aga
Khan Trust for Culture, CRAterre, ICOMOS,
ICCROM) to accomplish this action.
• The participation of local
communities: it was strong and efficient. The
managers and stewards of the mausoleums
and the religious and local authorities were
always ready and willing, making it possible
to document the project, develop strategies
for reconstruction, and plan and implement
the reconstruction work.
The involvement of local masons and
the appreciation of local building cultures:
special mention must be made of the guild
of Timbuktu masons, without whom the
reconstruction work of the mausoleums
could not have been possible. A medal of
honour recognizing their crucial role was
presented to the head of the guild in June
2015, at the 39th session of the World
Heritage Committee in Bonn.
• ‘Donations and borrowing’ as a
suitable mechanism and approach to seamless
restoration and sustainable conservation
of damaged cultural heritage sites: the
dialogue between builders (local masons and
supervisory architects) appears to be the main
achievement of the reconstruction process of
the mausoleums of Timbuktu. Masons and
architects worked closely together, from the
phase of architectural and archaeological
analysis to the estimation of construction
costs. This collaboration facilitated the
harmonious combination of traditional
practices and international standards required
by the World Heritage Convention, leading
not only to the establishment of a framework
for construction site management, but also
to the development of important tools such
as the Mausoleum Maintenance Guide. It has
also helped to revitalize local knowledge and
enhance local construction cultures through
the rational and sustainable use of local
building materials, including clay and alhor
(limestone).
• Preservation of the Outstanding
Universal Value of Timbuktu and its
sustainable conservation: The founding
philosophical principle guiding the efforts of
UNESCO and Mali was to preserve Timbuktu’s
World Heritage status. It was important
to keep in mind the post-reconstruction
period, hence the need to work at the
same time on improving and perpetuating
the ancestral traditions of maintaining the
mausoleums after their reconstruction. The
In Focus
solution was the collaborative development
of a Maintenance and Conservation
Guide distributed to the managers of the
mausoleums and to the traditional stewards,
who are the masons and other workers. This
Guide contains combinations of methods
and techniques, which are both strongly
inspired by ancient methods and enriched
by technical contributions in order to adapt
them to the conditions of climate change in
the Sahel region.
Promise kept
‘We will rebuild the mausoleums of
Timbuktu’, promised the joint statement
by Irina Bokova, former Director-General of
UNESCO, Aurélie Filippetti, the then French
Minister of Culture and Communication, and
Bruno Maïga, Malian Minister of Culture,
at the end of the International Meeting
of Experts at UNESCO Headquarters in
February 2013. This promise was kept in
September 2015, when nearly twenty
mausoleums had been rebuilt in Timbuktu
and Kabara. The experience of rebuilding
the mausoleums destroyed in Timbuktu
is a textbook case, in that it placed local
ownership at the heart of the process –
the crucial and indispensable principle to
consider in any project to reconstruct a
destroyed World Heritage site, and also
to ensure its effective and sustainable
conservation after reconstruction.
World Heritage No. 86 53
Close Up Reconstruction for earthen architecture

Reconstruction, a
good option for
conserving earthen
architecture?
Thierry Joffroy and Sébastien Moriset
CRAterre – AE&CC – ENSAG, National School of Architecture of Grenoble,
Université Grenoble Alpes

Arg-e Bam (Islamic Republic of Iran) is the most representative example of a fortified medieval town built in vernacular technique using mud layers.

© Diego Delso

54 World Heritage No. 86

 Close Up

World Heritage No. 86 55

Close Up Reconstruction for earthen architecture
A
The use of traditional materials and polychrome bas-reliefs are important architectural features at the Royal Palaces of Abomey (Benin).
© Jbdodane
lthough in most of our writing on the conservation
of earthen architecture we have tended to
advocate rather mild conservation methods, in
a spirit of prevention and economy of means,
referring to the now well-established tenet of
‘maximum understanding, minimal intervention’, we do not reject
reconstruction options. Indeed, they can prove to be highly pertinent,
even beyond cases in which reconstruction is the obvious solution –
the mausoleums of Timbuktu, for example. The reconstruction of a
building (even if it is only partial) can indeed have many advantages,
provided there is sufficient documentation and human, material
and financial resources to embark on such an operation.
The first advantage is the possibility of returning to the building’s
original state, restoring all the components of its constructive logic
with, in particular, the restoration of elements that will ensure its
durability. Treatment of surrounding areas, foundations, protection
of apertures, acroteria or overhanging roofs are, in fact, essential
for the durability of earthen structures. They may have disappeared,
have been poorly preserved or reinterpreted according to the
vagaries of imported architectural styles, thus impeding the original
efficiency. This was the case, for example, of the royal palaces of
Abomey, whose generous straw roofs had been replaced in the
1970s and 1980s by slightly sloping sheet metal roofs with little
overhang, exposing their famous bas reliefs to the rain.
On the technical level, reconstruction is also an opportunity to
meet needs that may now appear extravagant in terms of regular
maintenance or risk prevention. A reconstruction can be used to
carry out reinforcements, for instance to stabilize the material at the
56 World Heritage No. 86
foundations level, or to introduce chaining to improve earthquake
resistance. It should also be noted that certain situations make it
difficult to restore a building that is structurally efficient and that,
in certain cases, the procedure of reconstructing a building is the
only way to create a structure capable of withstanding significant
demands.
Facilitating adaptation to modern lifestyles
With regard to living heritage, carrying out a reconstruction, even
partially, is an opportunity to propose a process of transformation
that facilitates adaptation to needs and modern lifestyles (changing
the use of certain spaces, installing networks, redesigning water
features to avoid disruption, etc.) Such a process allows for genuinely
maintaining the inhabitants in their heritage, which is one guarantee
of its usefulness and long-term preservation. Finally, even if some
ruins are real historical and cultural testimonies, reconstructing
certain selected elements can increase the understanding of their
evolution and enhance their attractiveness. It is then a question of
restoring the height of a section of wall or remaking some fragments
of decorated surfaces, which will feed the visitor’s imagination by
offering glimpses of its original state. But in these cases we must be
very careful not to erase the patina of age.
For archaeological sites too, why not think about reconstruction?
These sites, which are often very large, are particularly difficult to
preserve. Protections, treatments or sacrificial coatings are often
ineffective in the long term and, despite integration efforts, end
up having rather denaturing, or even negative effects. Under such
conditions, the reconstruction of a large site is certainly a challenge,

Reconstruction of the mausoleums in Timbuktu (Mali).
© MINUSMA/Harandane
or even a mistake, but the reconstruction of buildings for which
we have sufficient documentation or evidence on the construction
system and the materials used is particularly interesting. Indeed, their
reconstitution makes it possible to verify how a building performs
in its actual dimensions, and thus to make essential contributions to
archaeologists’ efforts to interpret their observations and to present
theoretically the results of their excavations.
Training local artisans
Beyond this issue of verifying hypotheses related to building and
the possibility of recovering/ restoring old construction techniques,
reconstruction work on a certain scale offers unique opportunities
to train local artisans, and thereby ensure the existence of a work
force with this know-how that can be entrusted with restoration
work in the long term.
Given the opportunities it offers, reconstruction can prove to
be effective and economically viable or even profitable. Moreover,
some cultures of earthen architecture proceed in this way
without hesitation: you take advantage of the weakness of all or
parts of the building to demolish (dismantle) it and rebuild it by
recycling the materials directly in situ, possibly also making some
modifications to adapt the building to new needs. It allows the
builders to leave their ‘mark’ on even very old monuments, and
thereby to appropriate them. There is nothing better for creating
a strong motivation thereafter for maintenance, as happens, for
example, with the mosques of Timbuktu, monuments that must
be understood as being extremely alive and in constant evolution
since their original construction.
Close Up
Maximum understanding and minimal intervention
Having presented all these advantages, it is appropriate to return
here to the fundamental concept of maximum understanding and
minimal intervention. Reconstruction is not a panacea and it must
conform to the extremely precise scientific criteria of documentation,
analysis of the existing structure and its conditions of conservation,
and finally the capacity of the participants to design, then to
implement such a project in ethically acceptable conditions.
Moreover, even though building with earth is often inexpensive, a
reconstruction can represent a significant investment. It is important
that it be profitable, in one way or another, and that it is not done
to the detriment of other needs without being sure of real social
or economic benefits. The reconstruction of earthen architecture
must therefore also be considered after other options of prevention,
restoration or rehabilitation have been explored.
But the boundaries between these options in the field of
earthen architecture can be quite vague. Earth has the intrinsic
capacity to be shaped, then recycled, possibly several times. It is
therefore not abnormal to use this ability, as long as it is technically
and economically justified, while allowing for the essential: the
conservation of the social, cultural, economic and environmental
values of the building under consideration, and the capacity of
the people who are responsible for its long-term conservation.
Nonetheless, as noted in the recommendations of the Terra 2008
Conference (Bamako, Mali), the opportunities for earth to achieve
spectacular results in a short period of time must anticipate the long-
term needs for operating, maintenance and management costs.
World Heritage No. 86 57
Close Up New technologies

New technologies
The future of
reconstruction?
Giovanni Boccardi
Chief
Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit, UNESCO

Léonie Evers
Associate Programme Officer
Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit, UNESCO

Reconstitution of the Temple of Bel, Palmyra by ICONEM.

© ICONEM/DGAM

58 World Heritage No. 86

 Close Up

World Heritage No. 86 59

Close Up New technologies
O
Satellite imagery acquired on 27 August 2015 shows the intact Temple of Bel, Palmyra ( Syrian Arab Republic).
© Airbus Defense and Space
n 13 December 2016, the former Director-General
of UNESCO Irina Bokova, together with then
French President François Hollande and his Minister
for Culture and Technology Audrey Azoulay —
UNESCO’s new Director-General — inaugurated an
exhibition entitled ‘Eternal sites’ at the Grand Palais in Paris. On this
occasion, the public was given the opportunity to discover a number
of World Heritage sites of Iraq and Syria in a new, innovative and
interactive manner through 3D models projected on the walls of the
exhibition space.
As the title of this exhibition implicitly suggested, the new
technologies around 3D modelling and printing — including on a
1:1 scale — are increasingly hailed for their potential in preserving,
if not the actual cultural sites, monuments and objects affected
by armed conflicts and natural disasters, at least their memory —
to an unprecedented level of detail — for the benefit of present
and future generations. The implications for scientific research,
conservation, education and the broader appreciation of culture are
clearly major and not yet fully appreciated.
Tremendous potential
New technologies have a tremendous potential, in the first
instance, to assist practitioners in the inventorying of cultural assets
and in the acquisition of data concerning their state of conservation
and vulnerability to natural and human-induced hazards. Satellite
imagery, combined with videos and photographs captured by
drones, laser scanning, photogrammetry or crowdsourced and
collated through sophisticated software programmes, enable the
faithful documentation of heritage assets. Such documentation is
a precondition for any conservation and management policy, and
all the more for any possible rehabilitation or reconstruction plan.
60 World Heritage No. 86
For researchers, archaeologists or conservationists, these accurate
and detailed virtual models open a wide new array of possibilities
for their work while at the same time reducing the need for on-
site missions – particularly useful when it concern assets located in
otherwise inaccessible areas in conflict areas.
The same technologies can also be used to raise awareness on the
value of culture and cultural heritage and the ensuing need to protect
it. In the face of the recent intentional and barbaric destruction of
numerous heritage sites in the Middle East and Africa, exhibitions
such as ‘Eternal sites’ are examples of how the larger public can be
sensitized about the world’s rich cultural diversity, the threats that
affect it and the urgent need to protect it.
A new and potentially very important area of application of new
technologies, moreover, is their use to ensure, to the extent possible,
the enjoyment of their cultural rights by those affected by a crisis,
notably the displaced and refugees. Through digital platforms, those
forcibly separated from their homes and community can secure at
least partial access to heritage and participation in their cultural life
– and thereby sustain their connection to cultural traditions and a
sense of identity and belonging, which are essential components
of resilience. From virtual museums and social media platforms for
sharing memories and contents to new applications that enable
individuals to play a meaningful role in preserving cultural heritage,
the potential is growing day by day.
Ethical considerations
Yet, for all these benefits and possibilities opened up through the
development of new technologies and their application to culture,
some ethical questions arise that warrant thorough reflection and
discussion. Indeed, does the possibility to reproduce an object at
real scale, giving it the look and feel of the original, including marks

Imagery acquired on 31 August 2015 shows the remains of the temple after its destruction. The latter image was rapidly collected by the UN Institute for Training
and Research – Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNITAR-UNOSAT) in collaboration with UNESCO, after reports of the temple’s destruction.
© UrtheCast
of erosion for example, not bear the risk of a ‘clonification’ of culture
and the loss of its value? How can originals be distinguished from
reproductions as technology becomes ever more efficient? If an
acclaimed artist’s canvas may not be reproduced, what warrants the
reproduction of a centuries-old Assyrian tablet? Of an archaeological
site? And who ‘owns’, in cultural terms, a reproduction? The country
of origin of the original or the one reproducing it?
These questions have deep philosophical implications, but also
raise significant issues of a social and political nature. One of these
concerns the use of new technologies for the actual reconstruction
of destroyed monuments, sites and objects. Some have indeed
called in recent years for the systematic reconstruction of damaged
or lost cultural assets, based on their 3D models and on the aid of
sophisticated techniques, as a response to the strategy of ‘cultural
cleansing’ put in place by violent extremists. In reality, any proposal
must be considered on case-by-case basis, to which no ‘one-size fits
all’ answer exists.
Many factors play a significant role in determining the appropriate
solution for each specific situation, including:
• The views of stakeholders (local communities in their
diversity, owners, experts, etc.);
• The degree of damage (from minor to complete
destruction);
• The reason for the damage (collateral damage or
intentional attack);
• The type and function of the building/site (a classical
temple in marble will be very different from a mud brick house);
• The level of documentation available of its original state
before the damage occurred;
• The availability of skilled labour, appropriate materials or
funding;
Close Up
• The intended cultural meaning and use of the restored
structure (same as before the conflict, turned into a ‘monument’, a
‘memorial’ of the destruction, etc.).
Any solution should be the result of a very thorough process
of consultation with all components of society, including – when
relevant – the displaced and the diaspora. It should also take into
account, and be integrated within, a larger strategy for the social,
economic and cultural reconstruction of the society, which includes
measures to address basic humanitarian needs, violations of human
rights and the persecution of war crimes. The people affected must
be considered first when discussing strategies for the rehabilitation
of their cultural heritage.
The restoration of sites such as the World Heritage property of
Palmyra, Syrian Arab Republic, or Nimrud, a Tentative List site in Iraq,
will require many years of research, reflection, study and careful
work. The fact that many of these places have been intentionally
destroyed will have to be taken into account in determining a future
vision for these sites, which the affected communities might wish
to see restored to reaffirm their identity, dignity and resilience in
the face of the deliberate attempts to erase their cultural heritage.
In some cases, local people may also wish to leave traces of the
destruction and keep the memory of the loss. In this context, the
final decision will have to result from a broad and inclusive debate
within the concerned groups, including – but not exclusively –
cultural heritage experts.
In this context, new technologies have an important role to play,
insofar as they are used to promote an informed, transparent and
inclusive participatory approach to decisions concerning the future
of culture within societies, in the context of their recovery and
reconstruction after a disaster or a conflict.
World Heritage No. 86 61
 OAXACA
MEXICO’S MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY
Outstanding for its colonial heritage, it represents pre-Columbian Mexico, its cuisine,
its traditions and its people.
SPONSORED STATEMENT

The City of Oaxaca immerses you in a unique experience, in which

you can enjoy the magic of its colours and sample its picturesque
traditions. It is a place that treasures its artistic roots, highlighted in
its open spaces and museums.

As you walk along its cobbled streets admiring its colonial

facades, you will encounter friendly faces and historical
landmarks. The Church of Santo Domingo de Guzman takes you
back to olden times with its golden Baroque altarpieces and
wooden sculptures of archangels. Bells peal out from its belfries
to mark each religious ceremony, especially on the saint's feast
day, an occasion for great celebration.

Visit the Mercado 20 de Noviembre (20 November

market) and enjoy the most delicious street food in
the world: tlayuda tortillas, chiles de agua (water
chilis) and of course the wonderful Aguas Casilda,
made from fresh fruit. The Guelaguetza Festival, also
known as “Mondays on the Hill”, is Oaxaca's most
important fiesta of the year. Everyone gathers
together to share the region's bounty.

You will enjoy visiting Oaxaca's

archeological sites, such as Monte Alban.
Among the pre-Columbian ruins is a court
for playing the ancient ball game tlachtli.

Oaxaca de Juárez is a vibrant city that

will linger in every visitor's mind and
heart.

Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological

Site of Monte Albán
Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987
Forum

Forum
Reconstruction is not a new topic for the World Heritage
Committee or for ICOMOS in relation to nominations
or to state of conservation reports. For instance, issues
related to the destruction and reconstruction of World
Heritage properties were already faced following the
wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Yet the scale
and scope of the present destruction, and in particular
intentional destruction, as well as its wide geographical
area, are prompting new reflection.

See page 69

Interview Page 64
Advisory Bodies Page 69
Conventions Page 73

Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

© Xiquinho Silva

World Heritage No. 86 63

Forum Interview
Interview with Christina Cameron
Christina Cameron holds the Canada Research Chair in Built Heritage at the University of Montreal
where she directs a research programme on heritage conservation. She has worked with the World
Heritage Convention since 1987 and is co-author of Many Voices, One Vision: The Early Years of the
World Heritage Convention (2013).
World Heritage:
For World Heritage sites, reconstruction is – in principle –
not allowed, or only in exceptional circumstances with full
documentation. Do you think that further debate needs to
take place and be translated into clear policies within the
mandate of the World Heritage Committee? If so, how?
Christina Cameron (CC): In the early years, the World Heritage
Committee generally opposed reconstructions because they falsify
history and create fictional places that never existed in that physical
form. After much hesitation, the Committee made an exception in
1980 and listed Warsaw as an ‘exceptionally successful and identical
reconstruction of a cultural property which is associated with events
of considerable historical significance’. That same year, it clarified its
doctrinal position, based on ICOMOS’s 1964 International charter
for the conservation and restoration of monuments and sites,
known as the Venice Charter. Even today, paragraph 86 of the World
Heritage Operational Guidelines still echoes the Venice Charter
when it states: ‘In relation to authenticity, the reconstruction of
archaeological remains or historic buildings or districts is justifiable
only in exceptional circumstances. Reconstruction is acceptable only
on the basis of complete and detailed documentation and to no
extent on conjecture.’
Recent events call for further debate on the Committee’s policies
on reconstruction. The world has seen a dramatic increase in the
deliberate destruction of the world’s iconic cultural heritage sites,
foreshadowed by the 2001 decimation of the Bamiyan Buddhas in
Afghanistan and rapidly escalating since 2012. Prominent examples
include attacks on the mausoleums in Timbuktu, Mali, and damage
to World Heritage sites in Syria, including the ancient classical city of
Palmyra and the Grand Mosque in Aleppo. Despite its own guidelines
and the advice of heritage professionals, recent Committee decisions
have encouraged reconstruction as a way to recover lost identities
and take a stance against extremists. This means that the World
Heritage Committee is de facto setting conservation policy without
examining fundamental principles in a deliberative way.
It is important to emphasize that decisions by this prestigious
international body give credence to standards that have not benefited
from research, analysis and debate. Yet Committee decisions are
taken in haste and community participation is sometimes overtaken
by professional and governmental organizations. History points to
the importance of documenting the Committee’s decision-making
processes so that future generations may understand how choices
64 World Heritage No. 86
© UNESCO
were made, what options were considered, what values remain
and what new ones have been created. Taking a pause after such
traumatic events would provide space to reflect over time and
generations. New guidance is needed to address pressures for
reconstruction. While a materials-based conservation doctrine, as
manifested in the World Heritage Operational Guidelines, is still part
of our legacy, conservation charters need to make room for new
ideas and World Heritage guidelines need to be updated.
WH: To what extent do you think that reconstruction is
to be addressed from a specific cultural, social or other
perspective, as opposed to considerations solely related to
the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage sites?
CC: As a place-based treaty, the World Heritage Convention spells
out obligations to conserve the Outstanding Universal Value of
properties. In the first instance, then, reconstruction issues need to
be considered through the lens of Outstanding Universal Value and
the attributes that carry it. If we are dealing here with lost tangible
attributes, the focus is on whether sufficient information exists to
accurately re-create an earlier state of the fabric. Beyond existing
technical knowledge, the process of re-creating lost tangible
elements could involve specific social and cultural perspectives. For
example, the project to reconstruct the tombs at Timbuktu, favoured
by the local community, had additional social benefits including the
transmission of traditional building techniques from elders to a new
generation of builders, and recovery of religious and ceremonial
spaces. Indeed, the involvement of the local community could be
seen as part of a reconciliation process and a tool for regeneration.
In the case of lost intangible attributes such as traditional use
of sacred space, Australia ICOMOS’s Burra Charter allows for
reconstruction of a use or practice that ‘retains the cultural
significance of the place.’ The Committee’s own Nara Document
on Authenticity supports a strong case for reconstructing intangible
aspects since it broadens the definition of attributes to include
intangible dimensions like spirit and feeling, and encourages
diverse approaches depending on cultural context. As ideas evolve
and concepts change, heritage conservation finds itself playing a
broader role in society, contributing to the quality of life, resilience
and recovery of communities.
WH: Do you think that the restoration/reconstruction of a
World Heritage site in a post-war context can be reconciled

The Aleppo Great Mosque (Syrian Arab Republic) in 2009.
© Johannes Zielcke
with broader recovery plans that address humanitarian and
sustainable development concerns? What challenges does
the Convention need to address in this regard, and how?
CC: Of course, the first priority in post-war situations is the
implementation of recovery plans that address humanitarian
and sustainability issues. World Heritage policies and guidelines
underscore the contribution of conservation to the goals of
sustainable development and quality of community life.
But it may not always be possible to reconcile obligations for
World Heritage sites and post-war recovery plans. Any restoration or
reconstruction activity has to comply with a range of policies set out
in the Committee’s Operational Guidelines. While clearly recovery
of Outstanding Universal Value in post-war situations is the most
desirable option, there may be cases when the loss of attributes
is so extensive that alternate approaches will be necessary. The
Committee should also take care to capture the full scope of values
at the time of inscription. In the case of Mali, it is worth noting that
the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value focuses on the tombs
as witness to Timbuktu’s past with no mention of community values
or traditional building techniques. Only after the destruction of the
tombs were community and intangible values evoked.
Reconstruction of cultural heritage due to acts of deliberate
destruction is currently discussed within the context of holistic
strategies for the protection of human rights and the promotion
of peace building. The challenge for the Convention is to fulfil
its primary obligation to protect and conserve the Outstanding
Interview
The Aleppo Great Mosque’s toppled minaret (January 2017).
© UNESCO
Universal Value of World Heritage sites by determining on a case by
case basis the feasibility of doing so. Reconstruction principles and
guidelines may not always align with sustainability objectives.
WH: Would you please explain how the reconstruction of a
monument differs from that of a city?
CC: The issue of scale distinguishes the reconstruction of a monument
from the reconstruction of a city. Monuments are valued for their
architectural characteristics and other features, thereby requiring
a focus on the recovery of specific details. In the case of cities,
emphasis is not on the conservation of single buildings but on social,
cultural and economic processes that comprise the urban fabric. The
values are defined in broad terms and at an urban scale. They include
street plans, patterns of use, streetscapes, spatial organization,
natural features, important views, cultural practices and other
intangible dimensions of heritage. Therefore there is more scope
for the insertion of contemporary elements and features to respond
to new needs while also respecting the overall authenticity and
integrity of the city. The UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic
Urban Landscape (2011), which provides guidance for achieving
sustainable development in historic cities, calls for landscape-
level conservation decisions. The Recommendation approaches
the conservation of existing resources as a key contributor to
the sustainable development of historic cities. Emphasis is on
the integration of conservation strategies into local planning and
development processes in order to achieve harmonious and vibrant
cities. To cite the Recommendation, ‘the historic urban landscape
approach supports communities in their quest for development and
adaptation, while retaining the characteristics and values linked to
their history and collective memory, and to the environment.’
WH: Do you think the Committee was right to inscribe
the Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar in Bosnia-
Herzegovina only under criterion (vi), considering the
reconstruction by UNESCO was made according to detailed
and extensive documentation?
CC: I well recall the emotionally-charged discussion over Mostar. The
property was deferred by the World Heritage Committee in 1999, 2000
and 2003 before it was inscribed in 2005. While there was extensive
World Heritage No. 86 65
 Forum Interview
and high-quality documentation available, ICOMOS had doubts about
the accuracy of the reconstruction work, a position later confirmed by
an external evaluation of the project and by the late Léon Pressouyre,
chair of the scientific committee for the reconstruction of the Mostar
Bridge from 2002 to 2004. According to Pressouyre, the project mixed
historical and contemporary materials and methods, creating a hybrid
structure that ‘dissociated scientific study from implementation’. The
fact that the bridge and surrounding buildings were contemporary
replicas prohibited the application of criterion (iv), as proposed by
ICOMOS, since one cannot argue that the reconstructed architectural
ensemble illustrates ‘a significant stage in human history’.
Because of nagging issues related to the bridge’s material authenticity,
inscription focused on criterion (vi) alone. ICOMOS supported the idea
of an ‘overall’ authenticity, arguing that the reconstruction of fabric
should be seen as background to the restoration of the intangible
dimensions of the property. The Committee decided that the property
has Outstanding Universal Value as a universal symbol of coexistence
of communities from diverse cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds
as well as a symbol of resilience in the face of human conflict. While
not contesting the Committee’s decision to list the site under criterion
(vi), I believe that primary emphasis should have been placed on the
symbolic act of the international community in rebuilding the bridge. In
this regard, the inscription of Mostar is quite different from the situation
in Warsaw where the Polish city’s rebuilt market square represents the
reconstruction of a national character driven by a people who had lost
their essential landmarks and wanted to rebuild them.
www.cavernedupontdarc.fr
www.cavernedupontdarc.fr
Vallon
VallonPont
Pontd’Arc
d’Arc• •Ardèche
Ardèche• •France
WH: How do you think the Committee will deal in the future
with major reconstruction projects at sites such as Bamiyan,
Hatra, Palmyra and other places destroyed intentionally?
CC: Obviously I cannot predict how the World Heritage Committee
will react in the future, especially given its rotating membership.
What is clear is that the deliberate attacks on World Heritage
sites are escalating and are leading to the involvement of higher
authorities like the United Nations, Interpol and the International
Criminal Court. This paradigm shift presents a new challenge for the
Committee and correctly raises the question of whether intentional
destruction affects its approach to reconstruction principles. I would
suggest that before the Committee firms up its position on the
reconstruction of places intentionally destroyed through conflict, it
would be wise to step back and reflect on the policy implications of
its actions. While we now have the technical and digital capacity to
make replicas of historic places, issues of ethics and doctrine remain
unresolved.
As part of that reflection, alternatives to reconstruction should
be explored to determine whether or not they could meet the
needs of the communities that now see reconstruction as their only
option. There are many alternative approaches to commemorating
such sites, including ghosted structures in contemporary materials,
interpretive exhibits using contemporary technologies like virtual or
augmented reality and three-dimensional projections.
France
Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK
In
In support
supportof ofits
itsscientific,
historicalcultural and
and cultural
historical significance,
significance, Jodrell
Jodrell Bank Bank
Observatory
Observatory, is the UK’s next nominee
is the UK’s next nominee for inscription
for inscription as a UNESCO World
as a UNESCO
Heritage Site . World Heritage Site.

Jodrell Bank Observatory
The University of Manchester
Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 9DL
+44 (0)1477 571766
www.jodrellbank.net
The Lovell Telescope,Jodrell Bank
Observatory. Credit: Anthony Holloway
Founded in 1945, Jodrell Bank Observatory,
part of the University of Manchester in
the UK, was a pioneer of a completely new
science: the exploration of the universe
using radio waves instead of visible light.
This new science of radio astronomy
discovered previously undreamt of things
- quasars, pulsars, gravitational lenses and
the fading glow of the Big Bang, allowing
us to see way beyond our galaxy and back
in time almost 14 billion years to the origin
of the Universe itself.
Jodrell Bank is the only site in the world
that retains traces of the development of
radio astronomy from its earliest days to
the present. Its story includes revolutionary
scientific discoveries, amazing feats of post-
war engineering, the dawn of the Space Age
and the creation of the Grade-1 listed Lovell
Telescope, an icon of science and engineering.
SPONSORED STATEMENT

ROCK ART OF ARAGON (SPAIN)

TWENTY YEARS AS WORLD HERITAGE (1998-2017)

Aragon has significant heritage represented by multiple manifestations

of rock art covering more than 30,000 years of the history of humanity.
Scattered around extraordinary high mountain landscapes, ranges
and deep gorges, it was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998,
contributing 163 sites with wall paintings and engravings. Of these,
more than 70% are located within the four existing cultural parks:
River Vero, River Martin, Maestrazgo and Albarracin. During the last
20 years, successful management of this property has allowed not only
comprehensive documentation of the sites, but also their protection,
scientific dissemination and public promotion, ultimately becoming a rural
development factor through respectful management of this heritage and
its natural surroundings. Growing social demand for cultural products and
extraordinary development of cultural and rural tourism have compelled
the authorities to implement actions designed to better protect and preserve this asset, through greater knowledge,
dissemination and establishment of scientific conservation and intervention protocols. Successful protection,
signage and dissemination have brought about greater respect for this heritage that has become, in its own right,
one of Aragon’s assets with the greatest national and international projection.

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the

Iberian Peninsula
inscribed on the World HeritageList

www.aragon.es in 1998
Forum Advisory Bodies

How ICOMOS fuels discussion on

Advisory Bodies
reconstruction as a dynamic process

T
ICOMOS
www.icomos.org

he recent and wide-ranging

deliberate destruction of cultural
heritage as part of armed conflict
in Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Syria,
and Yemen, combined with the
devastating impact of earthquakes in Nepal
and elsewhere, has brought sharply into
focus the issue of reconstruction of cultural
heritage sites.
Reconstruction is not a new topic for
the World Heritage Committee or for
ICOMOS in relation to nominations or to
state of conservation reports. For instance,
issues related to the destruction and
reconstruction of World Heritage properties
were already faced following the wars in
the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Yet the
scale and scope of the present destruction,
and in particular intentional destruction,
as well as its wide geographical area, are
prompting new reflection.
The decisions of the World Heritage
Committee are leading to a broader
understanding of what reconstruction
means in the context of safeguarding and
sustaining Outstanding Universal Value
(OUV). They are also beginning to highlight
the need to see reconstruction as a multi-
faceted concept that goes far beyond
the idea of reconstructing fabric. The
attributes of OUV may relate not only to
the fabric of buildings, monuments, cities,
etc., but also to processes linking people
to places or to historical, social or spiritual The Archaeological Site of Sabratha is one of the five World Heritage sites in Libya inscribed on the List
associations. Therefore, reconstruction of World Heritage in Danger in 2016 because of damage caused by the conflict affecting the country.
© Neil Weightman
can be an opportunity to reinforce these
processes and to strengthen the resilience
of communities in relation to how their for places destroyed by traumatic events. challenges: information and documentation
social and cultural traditions support OUV. Buildings are part of cultural identity, may be insufficient or almost non-existent,
Although reconstruction is a technical as examples profiled in other articles craft skills and traditional materials may not
operation to a great extent, in almost all demonstrate, and reconstruction must be be readily available, and the pressure for
cases technical issues need to be framed as seen as part of dynamic processes. action is likely to be great. How to approach
part of a wider social, cultural and economic However, the scale of destruction now such challenges, how to reconstruct a living
context, and integrated into formal facing many post-trauma sites, in particular environment, and how to recover resilience
and informal structures and symbiotic where whole neighbourhoods have been when rapid responses are needed? These
relationships. This is even more necessary damaged or destroyed, presents multiple questions require urgent reflection.

World Heritage No. 86 69

Forum Advisory Bodies
Contributions from ICOMOS
On 4 March 2016, to launch the
discussion, ICOMOS organized a preliminary
international colloquium in Paris on post-
trauma reconstruction that opened up
the subject and invited views from many
different perspectives and disciplines. The
issues and challenges set out suggested the
usefulness of a new guidance document
addressing the topic of reconstruction in
broad terms and encompassing a wide
sphere of expertise, including engineers,
psychologists, sociologists, historians and
facilitators, in addition to conservationists,
urban planners and architects (http://
openarchive.icomos.org/1707/).
It also highlighted the needed
opportunities for acting at different
levels and paces. In addition to a quick
response to address the most urgent
issues and necessities, the need for long-
term understanding of the implications
of reconstruction in relation to concepts
such as authenticity and integrity,
memory and resumption, inheritance and
reappropriation must also be considered.
The task of formulating guidance
was taken up further at an ICOMOS
international workshop on reconstruction
Damage after the 2015 earthquake in Kathmandu (Nepal).
© Guido Dingemans for ReSurge International
70 World Heritage No. 86
for World Heritage sites that was held from
19 to 21 September 2016, with financial
support from Kyushu University (Japan). A
draft ICOMOS Guidance on Post trauma
recovery and reconstruction for World
Heritage Cultural Properties was prepared
as a result of the workshop. The reason for
putting out this interim guidance was to
spur further discussion and to prompt the
collection of case studies. The guidance
document has since been translated
into four languages, a reflection of the
amount of interest in this matter (http://
openarchive.icomos.org/1763/).
Furthermore, to contribute to
fundamental issues related to
reconstruction, an ICOMOS University
Forum Workshop on Authenticity and
Reconstruction was held from 13 to 15
March 2017, also sponsored by Kyushu
University (Japan). This workshop created
a unique forum where ICOMOS members
and non-members, particularly scholars
and graduate students who were selected
through a peer-review process, discussed
authenticity from diverse perspectives.
This workshop was designed to widen
the perspectives of the participants.
Peer-reviewed papers will be published
and available on the ICOMOS website in
December 2017.
A contextual approach
Throughout this process, it became clear
that reconstruction is highly contextual,
and a one-size-fits-all approach would
be inappropriate to assess reconstruction
cases properly. To facilitate the proper
assessment of a specific reconstruction
case, comparative analysis of this case with
other cases would be helpful. In order to
enable such comparative analysis, ICOMOS
is developing a framework as a common
basis of case studies, with support from
the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan).
Once such a framework is established, as
a second stage, ICOMOS will call for cases
(not limited to World Heritage sites) and
create a database on reconstruction to
assist heritage managers and experts as
well as scholars.
The tasks of ICOMOS will be not only
the analysis and assessment of individual
reconstruction cases, but also the creation
of systems to contribute to reconstruction
projects in partnership with UNESCO. This
is the way ICOMOS contributes to this
important matter.
 ROCK ART OF THE

SPONSORED STATEMENT
VALENCIA REGION
The Valencian Regional Government (Spain) was the authority that
pushed for nomination of “Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the
Iberian Peninsula” as a World Heritage site, mindful of the exceptional
and universal values that Levantine rock art has in the territory of the
administrative region of Valencia.
Among other specificities of this cultural manifestation in these lands, it
stands out for being the region with the largest number of known rock-art
sites and for presence in its lands of macro schematic art.
In the region of Valencia there are three outstanding sites that must be
visited. Tirig, in Castellon, has the Museum of Valltorta, with three main
aspects: being a museum monographically devoted to rock art, home to
the centre for rock-art studies of the Regional Government of Valencia
and a site museum that also serves as refuge for visitors to the shelters
of the Valltorta site.
In the centre of the province of Valencia, on the Caroig massif, we have
the eco-museum of Bicorp, before visiting the universally known Araña
cave, due to its depiction of honey gathering, to the shelters of the Moreno
gorge and the Voro cave in Quesa.
Noteworthy in the province of Alicante, in Alcoy, is the Sarga cave, and
in Castell de Castells, the Pla de Petracos sanctuary, epicentre of macro
schematic art, characterised by schematic depictions of very large human
figures as worshippers.
Barranco de la Valltorta (Tirig, Castelló)

Cave of la Saltadora Pla de Petracos (Castell de Castells, Alacant) Cave of the Voro (Quesa, València)

Generalitat Valenciana-Spanish autonomous community of Valencia Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula
inscribed on the World HeritageList

www.gva.es in 1998
 ROCK ART IN THE
SPONSORED STATEMENT

MURCIA REGIÓN
Rock art in the Murcia Region (Spain) is
found in the basin of the River Segura and
its tributaries, with over 100 sites among
the coastal lowlands and the hinterland
mountains, in a largely unaltered
landscape.
This small area preserves manifestations
of a lengthy period of more than
10,000 years, from the Upper Palaeolithic
to the Bronze Age. Furthermore, much of
the subsoil at these locations contains
archaeological remains that can be linked
to parietal art. Accordingly, in order to
understand rock art in the Murcia Region,
it is also necessary to visit museums
at locations that play housing such
exceptional paintings.
The oldest paintings date back to the
Upper Palaeolithic and are concentrated
around the town of Cieza, with impressive
representations of bovine and caprine
animals within small cavities.
The towns of Moratalla and Yecla have
rocky shelters with magnificent Levantine
style paintings, representing women and
large animals with considerable realism
that easily ties the visitor to the past.
The schematic style of the midlands of Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia
Manual de Identidad Corporativa

Jumilla, Cieza and Lorca embodies the Símbolo y logotipo versión horizontal con símbolo centrado en color/

synthesis of an art that is linked to early

Neolithic cattle farmers. Arquero Levantino (Cañaíca del Calar, Moratalla).

Región de Murcia

www.carm.es

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on

the Iberian Peninsula
La figura humana se adapta a la morfología de Figura humana esquemática inscribed on the World HeritageList
la roca (Abrigo de Los Grajos, Cieza) (Cueva-sima de La Serreta, Cieza) in 1998
O
Forum Conventions
Sixty-four cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network
n 31 October 2017, 64 cities
from 44 countries were
designated as UNESCO
Creative Cities by Director-
General, Irina Bokova. They
join a Network at the frontline of UNESCO’s
efforts to foster innovation and creativity
as key drivers for a more sustainable and
inclusive urban development. This network
attracts growing interest from local
authorities.
“These new designations showcase
an enhanced diversity in city profiles and
geographical balance, with 19 cities from
countries not previously represented in the
Network” declared the Director-General.
She added, “The cooperation framework
proposed to foster candidate cities from the
Africa region – a UNESCO Global Priority –
has been a true success with 9 African cities
now joining the Network.”
The new 64 UNESCO Creative Cities are:
• Alba (Italy) – Gastronomy
• Almaty (Kazakhstan) – Music
• Amarante (Portugal) – Music
• Auckland (New Zealand) – Music
• Baguio City (Philippines) – Crafts and Folk
Art
• Barcelos (Portugal) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Braga (Portugal) – Media Arts
• Brasilia (Brazil) – Design
• Bristol (United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland) – Film
• Brno (Czechia) – Music
• Bucheon (Republic of Korea) – Literature
• Buenaventura (Colombia) – Gastronomy
• Cairo (Egypt) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Cape Town (South Africa) – Design
• Carrara (Italy) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Changsha (China) – Media Arts
• Chennai (India) – Music
Historic Centre of Morelia (Mexico).
© Antonio Tapia
• Chiang Mai (Thailand) – Crafts and Folk
Art
• Chordeleg (Ecuador) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Cochabamba (Bolivia [Plurinational State
of]) – Gastronomy
• Daegu Metropolitan City (Republic of
Korea) – Music
• Dubai (United Arab Emirates) – Design
• Durban (South Africa) – Literature
•Frutillar (Chile) – Music
•Gabrovo (Bulgaria) – Crafts and Folk Art
• [City of] Greater Geelong (Australia) –
Design
• Guadalajara (Mexico) – Media Arts
• Hatay Metropolitan Municipality (Turkey)
– Gastronomy
•Istanbul (Turkey) – Design
• João Pessoa (Brazil) – Crafts and Folk Art
•Kansas City (United States of America) –
Music
• Kolding (Denmark) – Design
• Kortrijk (Belgium) – Design
• Košice (Slovakia) – Media Arts
• Kütahya (Turkey) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Lillehammer (Norway) – Literature
• Limoges (France) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Łódź (Poland) – Film
• Macao Special Administrative Region,
China (Associate Member, UNESCO) –
Gastronomy
• Madaba (Jordan) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Manchester (United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland) – Literature
• Mexico City (Mexico) – Design
• Milan (Italy) – Literature
• Morelia (Mexico) – Music
• Norrköping (Sweden) – Music
• Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) – Crafts and
Folk Art
• Panama City (Panama) – Gastronomy
• Paraty (Brazil) – Gastronomy
Conventions
• Pesaro (Italy) – Music
• Porto-Novo (Benin) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Praia (Cabo Verde) – Music
• Qingdao (China) – Film
• Québec City (Canada) – Literature
• San Antonio (United States of America) –
Gastronomy
• Seattle (United States of America) –
Literature
• Sheki (Azerbaijan) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Sokodé (Togo) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Terrassa (Spain) – Film
• Tétouan (Morocco) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Toronto (Canada) – Media Arts
• Tunis (Tunisia) – Crafts and Folk Art
• Utrecht (Netherlands) – Literature
• Wuhan (China) – Design
•Yamagata City (Japan) – Film
Since 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities
Network highlights its members’ creativity
within seven fields: Crafts and Folk Art,
Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media
Arts and Music. It now counts a total of 180
cities in 72 countries.
While differing geographically, demo-
graphically or economically, all Creative Cities
commit to develop and exchange innovative
best practices to promote creative industries,
strengthen participation in cultural life, and
integrate culture into sustainable urban
development policies.
Within the framework of the implemen-
tation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development and the New Urban
Agenda, the Network provides a platform
for cities to demonstrate culture’s role as an
enabler for building sustainable cities.
The next Annual Meeting of the Creative
Cities Network is scheduled to take place in
Krakow and Katowice (Poland) in June 2018.
World Heritage No. 86 73
SPONSORED STATEMENT

ROCK ART IN
CASTILLA LA MANCHA
Selva Pascuala, in Villar del Humo, Cuenca. © Juan Francisco Ruiz López

Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) covers the entire southern sub-plateau at the

centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is a vast plain surrounded by mountainous
foothills where manifestations of rock art are found. In addition to Levantine
rock art, there is Palaeolithic rock art in Castilla-La Mancha such as Cueva
de los Casares and schematic rock art, such as the Peña Escrita shelter,
discovered in 1783 and famous for its women giving birth. Over 400 sites
have been inventoried in the region.
Levantine rock art can be found in the eastern mountains. Mainly in the
Sierra del Segura (Albacete) and in the Sierra de las Cuerdas (Cuenca),
with significant enclaves such as Torcal de las Bojadillas and Solana de las
Covachas, in Nerpio, Abrigo Grande de Minateda, in Hellín, Cueva de la Vieja
Cueva del Tío Modesto, in Henarejos, Cuenca. © Juan Francisco Ruiz López
in Alpera, Peña del Escrito and Selva Pascuala, in Villar del Humo and Cueva
del Tío Modesto, in Henarejos.
Abrigo Grande de Minateda is a 16 metre rock face on which hundreds of
figures were painted with an abundance of detail, notably scenes of groups
of humans carrying out activities such as hunting, gathering and dancing
or performing rituals. In Nerpio, the ensembles are made up of small caves
located on a shared platform. Villar del Humo has a somewhat unique
landscape linked to sandstone geological formations.
Castilla-La Mancha promotes the study of all these fragile manifestations
in conservation terms, analysing deterioration factors over time.
Solana de las Covachas, in Nerpio, Albacete. © Juan Francisco Ruiz López

Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha

www.castillalamancha.es Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula

inscribed on the World HeritageList
in 1998
O
Liaison Group of Biodiversity-related Conventions
(BLG) gathers to discuss ways to join forces
n 28 to 29 September 2017, the
heads of eight bio-diversity-
related Conventions known as
the Liaison Group of Biodiversity-
related Conventions (BLG) met
at FAO Headquarters to discuss ways to join
forces in support of global biodiversity and
sustainable development agendas.
‘We all recognize that the loss of biodiversity
has clear ramifications for global food security
and nutrition,’ said René Castro Salazar,
FAO Assistant Director-General for Climate,
Biodiversity, Land and Water Department who
opened the 12th BLG meeting.
The meeting provided an opportunity
to exchange information between the
different Conventions in particular on their
different upcoming statutory meetings. The
urgent need to increase awareness and
raise the profile of biodiversity was also
discussed: Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive
Secretary of CBD said ‘We must make
biodiversity meaningful on the international
agenda and show its positive effects.’ The
integration of biodiversity conservation in
the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
is an important step in the right direction.
Liaison Group of Biodiversity met at FAO Headquarters in Rome (Italy).
© FAO
At the same time, it seems unlikely that
the ambitious Aichi target, set at the 10th
Conference of the Parties of CBD in 2010,
will be met. There is increasing recognition
that more efforts are required to mainstream
biodiversity conservation into all economic
sectors. The BLG agreed to work together
to build on the momentum of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development to
raise awareness and gather support for
biodiversity through the development of a
common strategies and workplans.
The BLG discussed practical ways of
enhancing cooperation between the
participating Convention secretariats, in
particular in communication and capacity-
building. More cooperation and synergies
between the different Ministries and
Agencies that are focal points for the
different Conventions at the national level
was also considered crucial and opportunities
to promote this were discussed.
Guy Debonnet attended the BLG meeting
on behalf of the World Heritage Centre and
presented the key points from the 41st
session of the World Heritage Committee
held in July 2017 in Krakow, Poland as well
Conventions
as the agenda for the General Assembly
of States Parties to the World Heritage
Convention on 14 and 15 November 2017
at UNESCO headquarters.
The meeting provided a good opportunity
to discuss increased bilateral cooperation
with the other Conventions in particular
with CITES and the Ramsar Convention. The
meeting of the BLG was held back-to-back
with another meeting between the BLG
and representatives of the host agencies
to discuss ways to strengthen inter-agency
coordination and cooperation in support of
biodiversity and sustainable development
agendas. The meeting was attended by the
representatives of FAO, UNEP, UNIDO and
IUCN. These agencies provide substantial
programmatic and administrative support
to the implementation of the biodiversity-
related Conventions.
For more information of the 12th
BLG meeting, please visit: http://www.
fao.org/plant-treaty/news/news-detail/
en/c/1044332/. The minutes of the meeting
will be made available on the BLG webpage
on the website of CBD at https://www.cbd.
int/blg/.
World Heritage No. 86 75
 Emergency

Let’s go f a s te r th a n th e a d v a n c e
of the Canker stain é
Replant the Canal du Midi

WITH YOU, OUR NEW OBJECTIVE IS TO REPLANT 3000 TREES

BEFORE MARCH 2018. YOUR DONATION IS VITAL!

replantonslecanaldumidi.fr
Photo : © VNF - Réalisation :
News

News
A Pacific Heritage Workshop was organized in
Koror, Palau from 30 August to 1 September 2017
by UNESCO, in cooperation with the Ministry of
Community and Cultural Affairs of Palau. It brought
together government officials from eight Member
States in the Pacific who are in charge of heritage
safeguarding, as well as the representatives of the
Pacific Heritage Hub (PHH) hosted at the University
of the South Pacific (USP), regional NGOs and
observers.
. See page 86

Preservation Page 79
In Danger Page 88
Outreach Page 91

Rock Islands Southern Lagoon (Palau).

© LuxTonnerre

World Heritage No. 86 77

SPONSORED STATEMENT

The Yuso and Suso

Monasteries in San
Cono aiutorio
Millán de la Cogolla
de nuestro
La Rioja, Spain
dueno dueno
christo dueno
The Yuso and Suso Monasteries in San Millán de la Cogolla (La Rioja, Spain)

Cono aiutorio salbatore… were declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO on 4 December 1997 because
they bear exceptional witness to the introduction of Christian monasticism in

de nuestro the 6th century and of its continued existence to this day, and because they
have noteworthy associative significance as they are the place from which
dueno dueno the first written manifestations of the Spanish language sprung.
Inicio de la glosa emilianense 89 del códice 60 de San Millán,
christoprimer
dueno texto escrito en español
DP: LR-1333-2017

Today, San Millán de la Cogolla is a leading cultural centre and global

salbatore… destination, an example of coexistence of religion, culture and tourism.

Beginning of the emilianense glosa 89 of the codex 60 of San Millán, In Suso the first monastic community in the Hispanic context was founded
First written text in Spanish
and even today we can still find the oldest altar in Spain, the one where San
Millán celebrates the Eucharist; a sacrament continued today in Yuso by the

Our language,
our culture
Nuestra lengua, Augustinian Recollects.

nuestra cultura
Cultural life started in mediaeval times. From their writing desks came
the most abundant and best texts written in Spanish, and one of the most
20th Aniversary of the inscription of the cultured literary productions of the Middle Ages with Gonzalo de Berceo,
San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries the first renowned poet. Today they are still working for culture from the
on the World Heritage List
International Centre for Research of the Spanish-Language (Cilengua), a
fsanmillan.es
20 Aniversario de la Declaración
benchmark for the study of the Spanish language.

de los Monasterios de
Places like this Suso yspirituality
that combine Yusoand religion, culture and history,
nature and landscape, origins and future of the Spanish language in perfect
como Patrimonio de la Humanidad
harmony are few and far between.
fsanmillan.es

San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries

inscribed on the World HeritageList
in 1997
News Preservation
Calls for stronger
cooperation in
address to Blue
Shield General
Assembly
On 13 September 2017 former UNESCO
Director-General Irina Bokova addressed
the opening session of the Blue Shield
International General Assembly, held
in Vienna, Austria, calling for stronger
cooperation for heritage protection
At the Public Plenary Session, in the
presence of the Vice-Mayor of Vienna,
Johann Gudenus, and the Interim President
of the Blue Shield International, Karl von
Habsburg-Lothringen, Ms Bokova declared
that UNESCO and Blue Shield International
share a common goal.
‘We seek to protect cultural property,
and, by extension, humanity’s cultural
legacy,’ she noted, underscoring that this
is more than a cultural issue. ‘This is about
In Mali, residents of Timbuktu take part in the maintenance of the Djingareyber Mosque.
© UN Photo/Tiecoura Ndaou
renewing the basic tools for peace building
and security,’ she said.
Ms Bokova took stock of the progress
made since the launch of UNESCO’s 1954
Hague Convention for the Protection of
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed
Conflict. It has been ratified by 128 States
Parties, most recently by the United
Kingdom.
‘This is true testament to a new global
recognition of the role of cultural heritage
in modern conflict, and our role is to
transform this new consciousness into
effective networks, law enforcement tools
and concrete protection measures,’ Ms
Bokova said, recalling recent programmes
led by UNESCO to train military officials,
police forces and customs professionals in
this area.
During the Ceremony, Colonel Keba
Sangare (Mali) and Major Corine Wegener
(USA) received the Blue Shield International
award for their outstanding commitment
to the protection of heritage. President
Karl von Habsburg described notably how
during the battle for Timbuktu in 2015,
Colonel Keba Sangare decided not to call
in the air force and to pursue the battle to
Preservation
defeat violent extremists on the ground so
as not to inflict severe damage upon the
great mosque of the City. ‘This is forbidden
by international law,’ he said at the time.
‘The 1954 Convention is not only
international law, it is part of humanitarian
law and of the law of war,’ said the President
of Blue Shield, ‘and to defeat violent
extremism, we need to do so through the
means of international law.’
‘We have come a long way since 1954,
and yet, now more than ever, we need to
strive for peace,’ said Irina Bokova, calling
for stronger coordination among all actors,
and for deeper cooperation between the
military, the judiciary and humanitarian and
cultural experts.
Addressing the recent listing of the
Historic Centre of Vienna on the World
Heritage List in Danger, the former Director-
General recalled the importance of the
City as ‘the heart of European spirit and
culture,’ and expressed UNESCO’s readiness
to work with Austria to implement the
recommendation of the World Heritage
Committee to ensure the heritage of the
city is transmitted to future generations.
World Heritage No. 86 79
News Preservation
Georgian
experts invited
by UNESCO
From 17 to 23 September 2017 UNESCO
welcomed representatives from Georgia
to discuss protection of World Heritage
properties. The objective of the visit was to
explore future avenues of cooperation and
to share experiences between French and
Georgian experts.
The visit began with a round table
at UNESCO headquarters where the
Georgian delegation of national, municipal
and religious authorities discussed the
protection of the Historical Monuments in
Mtskheta World Heritage property with
representatives of the French Ministry of
Culture and the French Association for World
Heritage, as well as with representatives of
the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS.
During the round table the participants
exchanged experiences in management
of historic urban landscapes and World
Heritage properties of religious interest. The
representative of the Ministry of Culture of
France offered future cooperation in these
fields.
The Georgian authorities went to Notre
Dame Cathedral to meet with Monseigneur
Patrick Chauvet, Rector-Archpriest of the
Cathedral, and the representatives of the
Regional Direction for Cultural Affaires
Georgian experts meet with UNESCO.
© UNESCO
80 World Heritage No. 86
(DRAC Île-de-France). They were able to
exchange views on the participation of
religious communities in the management
of outstanding heritage sites of religious
interest.
In the course of this tour, participants had
the opportunity to share their experiences
and to illustrate the main challenges in
governance, management and use of World
Heritage properties in France and Georgia.
Highlights included visits to French
heritage sites such as the old church of
Rigny-Ussé, the Abbey of Fontevraud,
components of the World Heritage property
in the Val de Loire and the Cathedral of
Chartres World Heritage property. The
site visits alternated with presentations
and meetings with mayors, architects and
various members of associations concerned
with the preservation, use and promotion
of French World Heritage sites.
The Georgian delegation was able to gain
greater insight into good practices in the
domains of conservation and management,
protection of historical urban landscapes,
urban development and heritage strategies
and policies regarding spatial planning at
French heritage sites.
The tour was part of a UNESCO Technical
Assistance to Georgia within the framework
of the agreement signed between UNESCO
and Georgia in 2015. This UNESCO
Cultural heritage advisory service has been
implemented by financial support from the
World Bank.
Anniversary
of the UN
Declaration
on the Rights
of Indigenous
Peoples
This year marks the 10th anniversary
of the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It
represents an opportunity to honour the
rights of indigenous peoples and their
unique contribution to achieving mutual
understanding, peace and sustainable
development.
The International Day of the World’s
Indigenous Peoples is celebrated each year
on 9 August, commemorating the day
of the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN
Working Group on Indigenous Populations
of the Sub-commission on the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights.
This year a group of representatives of
indigenous peoples met during the 4th
International NGO Forum, held prior to
the 41st session of the World Heritage
© United Nations

Committee, and decided to establish an
International Indigenous Peoples Forum
on World Heritage. The Committee
acknowledged the establishment of
this forum as an important platform for
reflection on the involvement of indigenous
peoples in the identification, conservation
and management of World Heritage
properties, with a particular focus on the
nomination process.
The Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change has recognized indigenous, local
and traditional knowledge systems and
practices as a major resource for adapting
to climate change. UNESCO is to organize
in December 2017 a regional conference
in the Caribbean on local and indigenous
knowledge and climate change.
UNESCO launched the Local and
Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS)
programme in 2002 to support governments
in creating synergies between scientific and
indigenous peoples’ knowledge. This has
been furthered through a policy brief on
Indigenous and Local Knowledge(s) and
Science(s) for Sustainable Development
issued by The Scientific Advisory Board
(SAB) of the United Nations Secretary-
General.
Capacity-building
for implementing
the Convention
in the Maghreb
A regional workshop on the procedures
for submitting proposals for the inscription
of sites on the World Heritage List was held
in Djerba, Tunisia from 11 to 15 September.
This seminar was the occasion for
participants to recall the principles of the
World Heritage Convention, examine all the
aspects of the procedure for submission of
proposed sites for inscription, and reinforce
regional cooperation in the implementation
of the Convention by providing a forum
for the exchange of experience related
to protection, site management, and
transboundary cooperation in Algeria,
Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.
Participants discussed ways of improving
the representation of Arab States on the
World Heritage List. They analyzed heritage
Houmt Souk, Djerba (Tunisia).
© Daniel PERRIES
Preservation
in the Arab region and problems resulting
from conflict, urban growth, lack of
resources, insufficient technical capacities
and mass tourism.
At the workshop, participants discussed
with representatives of the civil society
and local communities the identification,
protection and classification of sites on the
national and international level.
The director of Libyan heritage called on
neighbouring countries to cooperate fully
in intercepting the illicit traffic of Libya’s
cultural heritage and asked UNESCO to help
with the installation of risk management
measures to protect the Libyan World
Heritage sites, which are all inscribed on
the Danger List.
Djerba, which has been on Tunisia’s
Tentative List since 2012, was used as a case
study for the preparation of a dossier for the
inscription of a site on the World Heritage
List. With the aid of international and
Tunisian experts, the workshop produced
a detailed action plan and calendar for
the protection of the Island of Djerba and
the preparation of its nomination file for
potential inscription on the List.
World Heritage No. 86 81
News Preservation
Eastern Tropical
Pacific marine
site managers
meet
A meeting of Eastern Tropical Pacific
marine site managers was held on 11 August
2017 in Guanacaste, Costa Rica to discuss
concrete steps to support one another and
strengthen conservation of their sites.
The meeting, organized and funded by
PACIFICO (a network of four environmental
fund organizations), with support from the
Costa Rica Ministry of Environment, the
Area de Conservation Guanacaste, and
the UNESCO Office in San Jose, brought
together more than 40 people, including
site managers from the Whale Sanctuary of
El Vizcaino, Islands and Protected Areas of
the Gulf of California, Area de Conservación
Guanacaste, Cocos Island National Park,
Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary and
Galápagos Islands World Heritage sites.
Site managers shared scientific data,
success stories and challenges, and
identified fundraising opportunities to
support regional conservation projects.
Participants discussed marine protected
area management, coastal policy, scientific
monitoring and the prevention of illegal
Scalloped-hammerhead-sharks, Cocos Islands (Costa Rica).
© John Voo
82 World Heritage No. 86
fishing. Managers debated several concrete
project ideas, including installation of radars
for remote surveillance and cooperation to
eradicate invasive/exotic species.
World Heritage marine sites in the region
have made important strides to reduce
poaching, for instance at Cocos Island,
where installation of a radar for remote
surveillance has helped managers track
activity across the site. Nevertheless, illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing remains
a big problem in this part of Latin America,
and in World Heritage marine sites around
the world.
In August 2017 Ecuadorian authorities
confiscated a vessel carrying thousands of
illegally caught sharks in the Galápagos
Marine Reserve — a marine sanctuary
where no industrial fishing is allowed. The
vessel was caught thanks to the recently
upgraded electronic surveillance system.
UNESCO contributed to the design of this
system in 2015 by facilitating exchanges
with the Great Barrier Reef to strengthen
patrolling expertise of vast marine reserves.
Since sharks, whales, dolphins and turtles
travel widely, international cooperation is
central to the protection of these World
Heritage sites.
The funding platform PACIFICO will
now work with the World Heritage sites
to develop concrete proposals that require
funding.
Historic City of Ayutthaya (Thailand).
© Yeowatzup
IUCN World
Heritage
Outlook 2 charts
prospects for
natural sites
The IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2 –
the first update of the 2014 IUCN World
Heritage Outlook report – assesses, for
the first time, changes in the conservation
prospects of all 241 natural World Heritage
sites. It examines the threats, protection
and management of the sites, and the
status of the unique features which have
earned them their prestigious World
Heritage status.
According to the assessments, climate
change impacts affect a quarter of all
sites – compared to one in seven sites in
2014. The report warns that the number
of natural World Heritage sites affected
by climate change is likely to grow further,
as climate change remains the biggest
potential threat to natural world heritage.
Launching the report at the UN Climate
Conference in Bonn, Inger Andersen, IUCN
Director General noted that: ‘Protection
of World Heritage sites is an international
responsibility of the same governments
that have signed up to the Paris Agreement.
The IUCN World Heritage Outlook sends
a clear message that climate change
acts fast and is not sparing the finest
treasures of our planet. This underlines the
need for urgent and ambitious national
commitments and actions to implement
the Paris Agreement.’
The broader findings of the report
show further challenges to World
Heritage. Threats such as invasive species,
unsustainable tourism or infrastructure
development are also increasing. They
affect ecological processes and threaten
the survival of species within the sites.
Invasive alien species are the most
widespread of all threats.
Overall, the report finds that 29 per cent
of World Heritage sites face significant
concerns and seven have a critical outlook.
Two-thirds of the sites are assessed as likely

IUCN World Heritage
IUCN WORLD HERITAGE OUTLOOK 2
Outlook 2
A conservation assessment of all natural
World Heritage sites
November 2017
to be well conserved in the near future, the
same overall proportion as in 2014. The
report also reveals that the management of
natural World Heritage sites has dropped
in quality and effectiveness since 2014,
notably due to insufficient funding. Fewer
than half of the sites are currently being
managed to good standards.
However, the report also includes some
success stories, which show tangible,
positive impact of effective management.
Côte d’Ivoire’s Comoé National Park,
for example, has seen the recovery of its
wildlife thanks to effective management
and international support. It is one of
fourteen  sites with an improved rating
since the 2014 IUCN World Heritage
Outlook report.
The report is available online and
all site assessments can be accessed
at worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org and
more information is available from
worldheritageoutlook@iucn.org
Fighting illegal
trafficking of
totoaba and
vaquita
On 4 September 2017, during the Summit
of Emerging Economies and Developing
Countries in Xiamen City, China, the
President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto
and the President of the People’s Republic
of China Xi Jinping reaffirmed their
commitment to the conservation of the
totoaba fish and the preservation of the
critically endangered and nearly extinct
vaquita.
A ban on totoaba fisheries at the Islands
and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California
World Heritage property (Mexico) has been
in effect since 1975. But illegal fishing
has continued and increased substantially
since 2010-2011 as a result of renewed
international demand for totoaba swim
bladder, primarily from China. The illegal
catches are often transported through the
United States on their way to China.
The population of the vaquita has also
been in decline from well before the
inscription of the property on the World
Heritage List. But its numbers began to
drop rapidly toward extinction as a result
of this surge in illegal fishing of totoaba, as
vaquita is caught as by-catch in nets used to
fish the totoaba.
Trilateral meeting on the combat against illegal traffic of Totoaba Fish, Ensenada (Mexico).
© Manolo Gómez
Preservation
The meeting in September between
the presidents of Mexico and the People’s
Republic of China reflects the highest level
of support for the creation of a trinational
group to combat this illegal trafficking in
totoaba.
Recommending a strengthening of
cooperation between Mexico, China and
the United States, the Committee, at its
41st session in July 2017, decided not to
inscribe the World Heritage site on its List
of Heritage in Danger.
As a result of this recommendation of
cooperation, a trilateral meeting was held
on 23 and 24 August 2017 in Ensenada,
Mexico at which delegates noted that
cross-border collaboration has led to
the apprehension of traffickers and the
confiscation of totoaba swim bladders. The
meeting emphasized the importance of
increasing the training of customs officers,
since they are the first to respond in the
prevention of this illegal trade.
The Committee requested that a
joint World Heritage/IUCN Reactive
Monitoring Mission be carried out to the
property to assess the effectiveness of
the implementation of measures for the
protection of the threatened vaquita. The
Committee has also requested an updated
report on the state of conservation of the
property for examination at its 42nd session,
with a view to considering, in the absence
of significant progress, the inscription of
the property on the List of World Heritage
in Danger.
World Heritage No. 86 83
SPONSORED STATEMENT

ROCK ART IN CATALUNYA

Perellada III shelter in Capçanes, one of the newest
documented sites in the Priorat district.

When in 1979 UNESCO extended the World Heritage List to include rock art, with the inclusion of
the Valcamónica and Vézère caves, it paved the way for recognition of Levantine Rock Art. During
the 1995 Las Palmas convention, the Regional Government of Valencia managed to combine efforts
and ensure that the administrative regions with manifestations of this type would work to achieve
a common goal: listing of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Arch on the Iberian Peninsular as World
Heritage. By then, Catalonia had already been working on a specific project for over a decade: the
Body of Rock Paintings (CPRC). This project, which started with comprehensive documentation of
the Caves of El Cogul, also contemplated different studies in order to diagnose the sites in terms of
conservation, possibility of closing them off, restoration work, raising of awareness...
Les aplicacions següents corresponen a formes Podeu consultar la normativa en el manual, disponible
d’identificació corporativa de la identificació bàsica amb en línia a http://identitatcorporativa.gencat.cat
tipografies de cossos 8 i 12 en composició
The horitzontal
World Heritage i in December 1998 affected 60 sites, located around 27 towns. Yet
listing
centrada, i en composició vertical només per a aquells
the CPRC kept going and today there are over 120 sites located and being dealt with, involving 37
casos
Details of Recovery of the Cabra Feixet archer, Caves en què l’espai ho requereixi.
of El Cogul.

towns in total. For the sake of brevity we cannot delve deeper into the matter, though we should like
to highlight certain projects: creation of three large territorial sites for interpretation of Catalonia’s
rock art, and Rock Art of l’Ermita (Ulldecona), Muntanyes de Prades in Montblanc and El Cogul
Caves. Creation of a network of sites able to accept visitors, with protective enclosures, information
panels and managed through guided or booked visits... There have also been 16 interventions to
consolidate and recover the colour of different sets of paintings that were difficult to read, nine
of which are on the World Heritage List and 7 are new discoveries. It is also worth noting new
comprehensive studies into issues and factors that affect conservation of the sites and proposals
for conservation, and commissioning of studies on consolidation of the substrate on which the
panels are painted.

Territorial interpretation centre of the El Cogul Caves.

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula
inscribed on the World HeritageList
in 1998
www.gencat.cat
Reactive
Monitoring
mission to
Wrangel Island
A Reactive Monitoring mission, headed
by Francesco Bandarin, UNESCO’s Assistant
Director-General for Culture, was carried
out to the Natural System of Wrangel
Island Reserve (Russian Federation) World
Heritage site between 10 and 18 August
2017. Together with Herald Island and a
vast ocean territory, Wrangel Island forms
part of the northernmost site inscribed on
the World Heritage List.
In line with a request made by the World
Heritage Committee at its 40th session in
2016, the mission’s task was to assess the
state of conservation of the property, as
well as potential threats to its Outstanding
Universal Value (OUV).
Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve (Russian Federation).
© John Voo
The mission consulted the relevant Russian
authorities and prepared recommendations
for review by the World Heritage Centre
and IUCN. The report has been sent to the
government of the Russian Federation for
consideration. The findings of the report
will also inform the working documents
for examination by the World Heritage
Committee at its forthcoming 42nd session.
The Natural System of Wrangel Island
Reserve stands out in the Arctic region
for its exceptional biodiversity. As the
glaciation during the last ice age did not
reach Wrangel, the island served as a refuge
for many species that otherwise would
have become extinct. It is also home to the
world’s largest population of Pacific walrus
and boasts the highest density of ancestral
polar bear dens. The reserve serves as
major feeding ground for the grey whale
migrating from and to Mexico, including
the World Heritage property of Whale
Sanctuary of El Vizcaino.
Pavlopetri
Preservation
Watch Day
At the invitation of the Alliance for
the Restoration of Cultural Heritage
(ARCH), and in collaboration with the
Greek authorities, UNESCO participated
in the second Pavlopetri Watch Day on
29 July 2017, held to highlight threats
to the unique underwater heritage of
Pavlopetri. The Director of the Division for
Heritage, Mechtild Rössler, gave a keynote
lecture – along with Elena Korka from
the Ministry for Culture and the Ephorate
for underwater cultural heritage – at the
event.
The world’s oldest submerged city,
Pavlopetri is located near Neapolis in
the southern Peloponnesus. The site is
exceptional and all features (houses,
streets, graveyards, etc.) can be easily
observed. It is the first submerged town
digitally surveyed in three dimensions.
Pavlopetri Watch Day was designed to
highlight the broad range of cultural and
biological resources that make this area
both unique and fragile, and to encourage
attendees of all backgrounds to help
promote and protect the site in the future.
A snorkeling archaeological tour of
Pavlopetri was held, which brought
together experts, authorities and local
communities. Discussions were held
concerning environmental issues and the
degrading of the irreplaceable ancient
ruins of Pavlopetri, through commercial
shipping, illegal waste disposal and fishing,
threatening also endangered plant and
animal species in the bay.
On 30 July a number of activities were
organized at a local school on nearby
Elafonisos Island to raise awareness among
the population, and particularly young
people.
World Heritage No. 86 85
News Preservation
Safeguarding
Heritage in
the Pacific
A Pacific Heritage Workshop was
organized in Koror, Palau from 30 August
to 1 September 2017 by UNESCO,
in cooperation with the Ministry of
Community and Cultural Affairs of Palau. It
brought together government officials from
eight Member States in the Pacific who
are in charge of heritage safeguarding, as
well as the representatives of the Pacific
Heritage Hub (PHH) hosted at the University
of the South Pacific (USP), regional NGOs
and observers.
The Workshop provided an opportunity
to enhance stakeholders’ capacity through
sharing information on progress in the
implementation of the Pacific World
Heritage Action Plan 2016–2020. It also
allowed them to gain a better understanding
of the Convention for the Protection of
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed
Conflicts (1954) and its two Protocols (or the
Hague Convention) and of the Convention
for the Protection of Underwater Cultural
A Pacific Heritage Workshop was organized in Koror (Palau).
© UNESCO
86 World Heritage No. 86
Heritage Convention (UCH Convention)
(2001). The main objective was to promote
an integrated approach to the safeguarding
of land-based and underwater heritage in
the Pacific.
Participants updated information on
heritage safeguarding measures at country
level. They focused on the need to learn
and understand the cultural and socio-
economic context in order to address
issues related to heritage preservation for
sustainable development in the region.
The Workshop delegates addressed
several issues on heritage protection
in Pacific island states including buffer
zone determination, property rights in
relationship to heritage management, and
costs and benefits of tourism in relation to
heritage protection. They also discussed
the mutual reinforcement between
traditional customary law and formal state
law, sustainable funding mechanisms for
heritage management and cultural policy
development.
With regard to the UCH, delegates
agreed to several measures to enhance
UCH protection. They agreed, for example,
to the use of a Marine Park system,
community engagement, partnership
with diving operators and dive guides to
enhance data collection, and application
of the Annex of the UCH Convention as
internationally-recognized good practice,
while strengthening the promotion of
the UCH Convention in the region. Lively
discussions and evolving views marked
the Session on the Hague Convention and
its Protocols. Issues addressed included
more urgent need for preparedness for
natural disasters (including climate change
impact) rather than human-induced
disasters; prioritization on ratification
among different UNESCO Conventions;
and complementarity and synergy among
different UNESCO Conventions. Delegates
agreed to the importance of establishing
national systems before ratifications, the
need for awareness raising and stakeholder
consultations on the Hague Convention both
at national and regional levels, and possible
training on International Humanitarian Law
in the Pacific countries contributing to UN
Peace Keeping Operations (PKO).
The Workshop concluded by agreeing
to continue monitoring progress in the
implementation of the updated Action Plan
for 2018-2020, ensuring voluntary self-
evaluations at country and sub-regional
levels until the next regional workshop
planned for 2020.
 Seabourn &
UNESCO
Partnering to Preserve World Heritage

TAJ MAHAL, INDIA

Seabourn partners with UNESCO to promote sustainable tourism at World Heritage properties. Our support helps foster
wider understanding and commitment for the UNESCO mission to identify, safeguard and promote unique natural and
cultural heritage deemed to possess universal value for all humankind. Guest experts with special knowledge about World
Heritage Sites take part in our Seabourn Conversations series, enhancing guests’ travels with deeper insights and information.

Two types of unique shore excursions also allow guests to support conservation efforts as they visit and learn about them.
Seabourn World Heritage Tours include visits to World Heritage Sites, while Seabourn World Heritage Discovery Tours
add exclusive enhanced content, only on Seabourn. A small donation to UNESCO’s World Heritage Fund will be added to
the prices of these optional tours.

To view UNESCO Discovery and World Heritage tours available to book, please visit seabourn.com/UNESCO and look for
these symbols next to the shore excursion descriptions.

SEABOURN WORLD HERITAGE TOURS SEABOURN DISCOVERY TOURS

This symbol indicates shore excursions visiting This symbol signifies exclusive, enhanced World
UNESCO World Heritage sites. A small donation Heritage shore excursions through Seabourn’s
to UNESCO’s World Heritage Fund will be added UNESCO alliance. A small donation to UNESCO’s
to the prices of these optional tours. World Heritage Fund will be added to the prices of
these optional tours.

NIO MUN
MO D
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T

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•

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W O RLD H

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United Nations World Seabourn supports

Educational, Scientific and Heritage World Heritage conservation
Cultural Organization Convention through sustainable tourism
News In Danger
Experts’ meeting
in Aleppo
On 10 and 11 August 2017 UNESCO
organized an experts’ meeting on traditional
building materials and techniques in
Aleppo, Syria. Based on available damage
assessments and analyses, the meeting
attempted to estimate the needs of the
World Heritage site of the ‘Ancient City
of Aleppo’ (Syrian Arab Republic) in
terms of traditional building materials
and techniques. It also took stock of the
remaining craftsmen based on available
damage assessments and analyses.
The meeting, which took place within the
framework of the ‘Emergency Safeguarding
of Syrian Cultural Heritage’ project, also
set the bases for a vocational school on
traditional building crafts and skills in
Aleppo that UNESCO could fund in the near
future.
The initiative gathered 30 relevant
stakeholders from governmental
institutions, nongovernmental orga-
nizations and the private sector, as well
as local and international experts and
fourteen traditional craftsmen from the
local community.
Aleppo (Syrian Arab Republic) in 2007.
© we_like_it
88 World Heritage No. 86
The opening session was attended by
decision-makers and technical officials
such as Aleppo’s Governor and its Mayor
and the head of the Directorate General of
Antiquities and Museum (DGAM).
The meeting featured presentations by
experts from different institutions including
the DGAM, the Heritage Committee from
a Syndicate of Engineers, the Old City
Directorate of the Aleppo City Council,
the University of Aleppo, Al-Adiyyat
Archaeological Society, the Aga Khan Trust
for Culture and UNESCO. As a side event,
traditional building materials and tools
provided by the craftsmen present were
exhibited throughout the meeting.
Working groups discussed the priorities
and future needs concerning traditional
building materials, techniques, and
craftsmanship.
The meeting recommended the
undertaking of a detailed study to estimate
the availability of materials and craftsmen,
costs, and existing similar initiatives.
Participants noted that local
authorities have a crucial role to play
in terms of facilitating logistical, legal
and administrative issues and that the
concerned local communities should be
involved in the decision-making process
and implementation of any related activity.
The meeting also called for the involvement
of different stakeholders, including youth,
students and woman.
Participants recommended the updating
of the database of materials, crafts, skills
and craftsmen.
The workshop noted that training
curricula should include theory, work in
the workshops of master craftsmen and
work on site. It noted that the selection
processes for trainees and trainers should
be scientifically studied and defined and
that a centre/school for traditional building
craftsmanship should be established. It
also called for the study and adoption of
adequate remuneration modalities (fees,
microcredits) to encourage participation
and sustainability.
Finally participants called for the
continuation of UNESCO’s scientific,
technical and financial support.
The ‘Emergency Safeguarding of the Syrian
Cultural Heritage’ project is a pioneering
initiative funded by the European Union with
the support of the Flemish Government and
Austria in partnership with ICCROM and
ICOMOS. The project focuses on building
technical capacities of Syrian experts and
institutions and strengthening local, regional
and international coordination to develop
efficient responses.
Restoration
completed on
Lion of Al-lāt
statue from
ancient city
of Palmyra,
damaged by ISIS
The 2000-year old statue Lion of Al-lāt
that once watched over the ancient city
of Palmyra in Syria, stands proudly once
again, thanks to UNESCO’s Emergency
Safeguarding of the Syrian Cultural Heritage
project.
The limestone lion, also known as the
Lion Statue of Athena, measuring 345 cm
and weighing 15 tonnes, once marked and
protected the entrance to the temple of Al-
lāt. Since its discovery by Polish archaeologists
in 1977, it has been a renowned fixture of
the Museum of Palmyra. The statue suffered
extensive damage in May 2015, when ISIS
forces captured Palmyra, a UNESCO World
Heritage site.
The Lion of Al-lāt statue at the museum of Palmyra
(Syrian Arab Republic) before the restoration.
© UNESCO
‘It was an internationally known symbol
of Palmyra, it was standing in front of the
museum,’ explained Polish restorer Bartosz
Markowski, who undertook the two-month
restoration. At the foot of the statue,
between the lion’s legs, lies an antelope,
a symbol of the protection that the strong
owes to the weak. ‘It is an exceptional
statue,’ explains Markowski, ‘there are no
more such statues in Palmyra.’
‘The restoration of the Lion of Al-lāt is
an important achievement with a symbolic
dimension,’ said Hamed Al Hammami,
Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau
for Education in the Arab States and
UNESCO Representative to Lebanon and
the Syrian Arab Republic. He added, ‘It is
part of a broader project to protect the
unique cultural heritage of Syria, which
unfortunately remains at risk.’
Following a decision unanimously
adopted during the 199th session of
UNESCO’s Executive Board concerning
the Organization’s role in ‘safeguarding
and preserving Palmyra and other Syrian
World Heritage sites,’ UNESCO sent a Rapid
Assessment Mission to Palmyra from 24
to 26 April 2016, supported through its
Heritage Emergency Fund.
The statue restored, at the museum of Damascus.
© UNESCO
In Danger
They discovered that the Museum
of Palmyra had sustained considerable
damage. Statues and sarcophagi too large
to be removed for safekeeping had been
smashed and defaced; busts had been
beheaded and were lying on the ground
in ruin. The fragments of the Lion of Al-
lāt were moved by the Syrian Directorate
General of Antiquities and Museums to
Damascus to await restoration.
The Museum of Palmyra housed
invaluable artefacts from the World Heritage
site of Palmyra. An oasis in the Syrian
Desert northeast of Damascus, the city of
Palmyra was one of the most important
cultural centres of the ancient world from
the 1st to the 2nd century. Standing at the
crossroads of several civilizations, the art
and architecture of Palmyra married Greco-
Roman techniques with local traditions and
Persian influences. The Lion of Al-lāt is now
on display again.
The Emergency Safeguarding of the
Syrian Cultural Heritage project works
to restore social cohesion, stability and
sustainable development to Syria through
the protection and safeguarding of Syria’s
rich and unique cultural heritage.
World Heritage No. 86 89
SPONSORED STATEMENT

Quito:
40 years
of Cultural
Church and Convent of San Francisco
World Heritage
At 2,800 metres above sea level, Quito, capital of Ecuador, In line with commitments undertaken in 2016, as host of the United
nestled between gorges and mountains, cradle of legends and Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development
witness to countless historical events, will be celebrating with – Habitat III, Quito is implementing the 2030 Agenda and establishing
Krakow on 8 September 2018 its 40th anniversary anniversary sustainable development targets in processes such as upgrading
of its UNESCO listing as the first Cultural the development plan, which is already
World Heritage city. proposing quality-of-life indicators in line with
Quito has 72 hectares of the listed area conservation of Outstanding Universal Values
and over 300 of the protected area, through and attainment of Target 11.4: “‘Strengthen
the Metropolitan Heritage Institute, which efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s
for 30 years has worked for our “Living cultural and natural heritage’.”.
Heritage” by recording, protecting, raising Quito is an example of dialogue with and
awareness of, recovering, preserving and engagement of citizens with their cultural
safeguarding cultural heritage (tangible and heritage, which has deepened their sense
intangible) of the city and historic areas of of belonging to what is local, rural and even
Quito’s Metropolitan District. what is national and international, because it
In doing so, we work in coordination with the citizenry and with contains shades of pride in a legacy that survives thanks to efficient
owners of heritage properties seeking to recover the space for use management processes involved in recovery and conservation with
by the community. the inclusion of all stakeholders.

Sacred Art of the Baroque school of Quito San Blas Place - entrance to the Historic Center of Quito

City of Quito
Inscribed on the World Heritage
List in 1978
News Outreach
‘World Heritage
Coral Reefs’
exhibit in Paris
A stunning exhibit of the world’s most
iconic coral reef systems was on display at
the Aquarium of Paris between October
and December 2017. The display sheds light
on the condition of these coral reef systems
inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Through a series of photos, virtual reality
experiences, films and educational activities
for children, the exhibit raised awareness of
the unique diversity of these reefs and the
impacts of climate change on them.
Since 1972, the UNESCO World Heritage
Convention has united the world around a
shared responsibility to protect natural and
cultural places of Outstanding Universal
Value (OUV). The World Heritage List
includes 29 natural marine properties that
contain coral reef systems. Stretching across
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Philippines).
© Q Phia
the planet, these globally significant reefs
include icons such as Lagoons of New
Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated
Ecosystems (France), the Great Barrier
Reef (Australia), Papahānaumokuākea
(USA), Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System
(Belize) and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
(Philippines). They are recognized for their
unique and global importance and for being
part of our common heritage of humanity.
As ocean temperatures rise, coral reefs
around the world have been heavily
affected by mass bleaching events; World
Heritage-listed reefs are no exception.
The first global scientific assessment of
climate change impacts on World Heritage
coral reefs, published by UNESCO’s World
Heritage Centre last July, revealed that 25 of
29 listed reefs experienced bleaching stress
in the last three years. The analysis predicts
that all 29 coral-containing World Heritage
sites might cease to exist as functioning
coral reef ecosystems by the end of this
century if CO2 emissions are not drastically
reduced.
Outreach
The goal of the exhibit was to improve
understanding among the public at large
of the impacts of climate change on the
world’s most treasured coral reefs. Visitors
were able to discover the exceptionally rich
diversity of these reefs and learn about
the day-to-day work of UNESCO’s World
Heritage Centre to help safeguard them for
future generations. Throughout the exhibit,
adults and children were able to engage
with specially trained staff to record their
#myoceanpledge – a movement launched
by children from UNESCO’s marine World
Heritage sites at this year’s United Nations
General Assembly in New York during the
high-level World Oceans Day celebrations
on 8 June.
The exhibit was made possible thanks to
the generous support of the Aquarium of
Paris and its partners, as well as the French
Agency for Biodiversity. Pictures were
generously provided by The Ocean Agency
and World Heritage marine sites. Virtual
Reality films were provided by Seaview 360.
World Heritage No. 86 91
News Outreach

Youth from by the World Heritage Centre in cooperation

Caribbean SIDS
and Central
American
countries develop
travel guides for
Coiba National
Park in Panama
Fourteen young people, with common
interests in marine biodiversity and climate
change, developed two travel guides for
the Coiba National Park in Panama, in the
framework of the World Heritage Youth
Project on Marine Biodiversity and Climate
Change that was organized in January 2016
with MarViva Foundation.
The creation of travel guides for tourists
was initiated by the participants during
the activities carried out under the youth
project. Afterwards, MarViva Foundation
engaged in consolidation, translation and
digitization of the travel guides. With the
collaboration of the Ministry of Environment
of Panama and the University of Panama,
the guides were officially produced and
printed in English and Spanish.
The guides offer two different tour
options on the Coiba Island – the Santa
Cruz Trail and the Coiba’s Treasures Tour.
The first introduces hike options and the
second scenic boat rides. The guides mark
key sites and highlight noteworthy species.
Currently, the Ministry of Environment of
Panama provides them to visitors from a
ranger station on the island.
UNESCO and
partners stand
against cultural
cleansing
and violent
extremism
During UNESCO’s General Conference,
an international high-level panel on 6
November 2017 brought together Ministers
from Iraq and Mali, the Chief Prosecutor
of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
and international experts to strengthen
cooperation in response to cultural
cleansing and violent extremism.
Opening the panel, former UNESCO
Director-General Irina Bokova, highlighted
the key role of heritage protection in
forging new strategies for peace and social
cohesion in situations of conflict.
‘Violent extremists target culture because
they know that cultural heritage is a force
for resilience. They attack heritage and
persecute communities in an overall strategy
of “cultural cleansing”, because they know
the power of culture to delegitimize their
claims and false promises. In the face of this
threat, we must respond with the “hard
power” of military measures. This also
calls for the “soft power” of culture and
the transmission of history, as a moral and
intellectual shield against hatred,’ she said.
Ms Bokova also underscored recent,
historic progress in including heritage
protection in strategies for peace and
security, recalling the adoption of major UN
Security Council resolutions 2199, 2347,
2354 and 2379 on the role of heritage
protection in the event of armed conflict.
The panel was one of a series of events
organized under the theme ‘UNESCO’s
Soft Power Today’, highlighting the
Organization’s use of soft power across its
mandate, in response to today’s challenges
to sustainable development and peace
building.

Coiba National Park (Panama).

© Diane Herr

92 World Heritage No. 86

UNESCO partners

Outreach
with Seabourn

Now that global travel is becoming easier,

many destinations are trying to find ways
to manage the influx of curious visitors. But
can it be done to the satisfaction of both
sites and suppliers? Yes! UNESCO partner
Seabourn Cruise Line has demonstrated
how cooperative approaches to sustainable
tourism are positive not only for destinations
but also for visitor experiences.
Seabourn’s multi-year partnership with
UNESCO has generated donations from
Seabourn and their guests as they visit over Visit at the Gorham’s Cave Complex (United Kingdom).
© Seabourn
170 World Heritage sites each year. These
resources have been directed to support
funding of UNESCO-led projects promoting individual needs and concerns of the World In the spirit of collaboration, Seabourn
sustainable tourism Heritage sites that the company visits. worked to understand the perspectives
Over the past year, Seabourn has For example, in Spring 2017 Seabourn of everyone in attendance, subsequently
increased dialogue with local partners partnered with the Association des Biens implementing smaller group sizes that give
to ensure authentic experiences for their Français du Patrimoine Mondial to host a two- a more intimate guest experience to their
guests. Having conversations with World day workshop on board Seabourn Quest in UNESCO site visits. By taking guests to
Heritage site managers, government and Bordeaux and at a town hall in neighbouring areas of World Heritage sites that are less
tourism officials, tour operators and the Saint Emilion. The multi-stakeholder visited, coupled with revealing privileged
Sustainable Tourism team at the UNESCO workshop included representatives from insight from site management, Seabourn
World Heritage Centre was a natural all areas of France’s tourism and heritage is able to bring the stories of each site to
evolution and is now a cornerstone of industry, including officials from UNESCO’s life and continue to support the goals of
the partnership to better understand the headquarters in Paris. sustainable tourism activities.

Workshop aboard Seabourn Quest in Bordeaux (France).

© Seabourn

World Heritage No. 86 93

News Outreach
UNESCO and
Principality of
Monaco sign
partnership for
Marine World
Heritage
On 1 November 2017, the Principality
of Monaco announced the signature of a
strategic partnership aimed at strengthening
the activities of the World Heritage Marine
Programme. The announcement followed
an initial cooperation earlier this year that
led to the identification of potential new
World Heritage marine sites in the Arctic
region.
The UNESCO World Heritage List
currently includes 49 marine sites,
distributed across 37 countries, recognized
for their unique marine biodiversity,
singular ecosystem, unique geological
processes or incomparable beauty. This
Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (Mexico).
© Sam Beebe
94 World Heritage No. 86
network includes the breeding grounds of
the world’s last healthy population of grey
whales (Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino),
the highest density of ancestral polar-bear
dens (Natural System of Wrangel Island
Reserve), and home of the world’s most
ancient fish (iSimangaliso Wetland Park) and
the inimitable marine iguana (Galápagos
Islands). Their disappearance would be an
irreversible loss to humanity.
The signature reflects the willingness to
support a strategic collaboration between
UNESCO and the Principality of Monaco, in
particular in the framework of the campaign
‘Monaco Explorations’. This international
and multidisciplinary initiative, launched
by H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco earlier
this year, renews Monaco’s 120-year-old
tradition of scientific marine expeditions
led by Prince Albert I. Throughout 2017-
2020, Monaco Explorations aims to learn,
understand, raise public awareness and raise
action in favour of enhanced protection for
the ocean.
Over three years, the Yersin, an
environmently-friendly vessel that was
transformed into a floating scientific
laboratory, will welcome world-renowned
scientists who will study coral reefs
and marine species during the twenty
scheduled stops across the world’s tropical
oceans. UNESCO’s World Heritage Marine
Programme will add expertise and support
to Monaco Explorations during stops in
World Heritage marine sites that are on the
Yersin’s path.
The Marine World Heritage network is
expected to benefit from the new scientific
findings that will be revealed throughout
the three-year expedition. UNESCO has the
international mandate to oversee the State
of Conservation of World Heritage sites in
order to ensure their preservation and so
that future generations will still be able
to enjoy them. The Monaco Explorations
will also add most crucial attention to the
need for enhanced protection of the ocean,
and thus support UNESCO’s decisions and
actions in favour of our common Marine
World Heritage.
Aldabra Atoll
inscribed on the World Heritage
List in 1982
In Print and Online

World Heritage, Wilderness,

World Heritage, Wilderness, and Large Landscapes and Seascapes

and Large Landscapes and
Seascapes
Cyril F. Kormos, Tim Badman, Tilman Jaeger, Bastian Bertzky,
Remco van Merm, Elena Osipova, Yichuan Shi, Peter Bille Larsen
books

INTERNATIONAL UNION
FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

WORLD HEADQUARTERS
Rue Mauverney 28
1196 Gland, Switzerland
Tel +41 22 999 0000
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IUCN

Najaf: Portrait of a Holy City
World Heritage series
Edited by Sabrina Mervin, Robert
Gleave and Géraldine Chatelard
UNESCO Publishing/Ithaca Press
English only
http://publishing.unesco.org/
details.aspx?Code_Livre=5178#
Najaf: Portrait of a Holy City examines
the historical and social aspects of one
of Iraq’s most important cities, a centre
of religious learning and devotion for
the Shi’i world since medieval times.
Thirteen original contributions by leading
Iraqi and international scholars present
several key perspectives on the history and
development of the city, its global spiritual
and educational prominence and its modern
role as an economic and political centre.
La Convention du
patrimoine mondial : La
vision des pionniers
Christina Cameron and Mechtild Rössler
University of Montreal
https://pum.umontreal.ca/catalogue/
la-convention-du-patrimoine-mondial
This book is the French translation
of Many Voices, One Vision: The
Early Years of the World Heritage
Convention, published in 2013.
In 1972, UNESCO put in place the
World Heritage Convention, a highly
successful international treaty that
influences heritage activity in virtually
every country in the world. Focusing
on the Convention’s creation and early
implementation, this book examines
the World Heritage system and its
global impact through diverse prisms,
including its normative frameworks,
constituent bodies, programme
activities, personalities and key issues.
World Heritage, wilderness, World Heritage Ramsar and World Heritage
and large landscapes Conservation: The World Conventions: Converging
and seascapes Heritage Convention, towards success
IUCN Linking Culture and How cultural values and
English only
PDF version available for download:
Nature for Sustainable community participation
https://portals.iucn.org/ Development contribute to positive
library/node/46825?dm_ Claire Cave and Elene Negussie conservation outcomes
i=2GI3,13LX3,48BPZZ,3BUDL,1 Routledge/Earthscan
https://www.routledge.com/
for internationally
designated wetlands
This thematic study focuses on the World-Heritage-Conservation-
Edited by Robert McInnes, Mariam
contribution the World Heritage The-World-Heritage-Convention-
Kenza Ali and Dave Pritchard
Convention can make to wilderness Linking-Culture/Cave-Negussie/p/
Ramsar Convention Secretariat
conservation around the world. It book/9780415728553
English, French and Spanish versions
provides pragmatic guidance to the
This book provides an overview of the PDFs available for download: http://
Convention and its many partners for
World Heritage Convention through whc.unesco.org/en/news/1709
strengthening protection of wilderness
an interdisciplinary approach to
by promoting the profound linkages
conservation. It shows that, based on Ramsar and World Heritage Conventions:
between culture and wild nature.
the notion of Outstanding Universal Converging towards success illustrates
Five case studies describe indigenous
Value and international cooperation through six case studies the benefits
and community relationships with
for the protection of heritage, the and challenges of managing wetland
wilderness and large landscapes and
Convention provides a platform for ecosystems. It gives examples of how
seascapes that are partially or completely
community participation contributes
covered by World Heritage sites. sustainable development through the
to positive conservation of both
conservation and management of
heritage of significance to humanity. natural and cultural heritage. The case
Teotihuacan With increasing globalization of heritage, studies build on the study by IUCN
City of Water, City of Fire World Heritage conservation is reviewed ‘Managing MIDAs’ (2016), which
as an emerging interdisciplinary field provided guidance for sites with multiple
Matthew H. Robb of study creating new opportunities for international designations (MIDAs).
de Young/Fine Arts Museums inclusive heritage debate both locally and
of San Francisco, and University globally, requiring common tools and
of California Press understanding. Targeting a diversity of
www.ucpress.edu disciplines, the book critically describes
the strategies for implementing the
Established in the first century BC, Convention and the processes of heritage
Teotihuacan evolved into a major governance for sustainable development.
urban centre, attracting a multi-ethnic The book will help students,
population of 100,000 people. At researchers and professionals in the
its peak it was the cultural, political, identification, protection, conservation
economic and religious centre of ancient and presentation of World Heritage.
Mesoamerica. The Pre-Hispanic City
of Teotihuacan, Mexico was inscribed
on the World Heritage List in 1987.
This volume, published to accompany
a major exhibition at the de Young
Museum in San Francisco and the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, features
essays by leading archaeologists and
researchers who have studied this
site. Lavish photographs of more than
200 artefacts not only illustrate these
experts’ captivating interpretations
of Teotihuacano life, but also stand
alone as bold and colourful remnants
of a remarkable civilization.

96 World Heritage No. 86

 Calendar

29 to 30 January

Calendar
2018 Blue Shield Australia Symposium: Cultural Heritage, Climate Change and
Natural Disasters.
Canberra, Australia.
Information: a.takahashi@unesco.org

7 to 13 February
9th Session of the World Urban Forum.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Information: https://unhabitat.org/wuf/

20 to 21 March
Engaging the European Art Market in the fight against the illicit trafficking of
cultural property.
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France.
Information: m.minana@unesco.org
Ordering information: 23 to 26 April
For books and publications from 9th Meeting of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body & Meeting of the UNITWIN
publishers other than UNESCO, Network for the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural
please contact the publisher directly, Heritage.
or order from a bookstore. UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France.
Information: u.guerin@unesco.org
To order from UNESCO
Publishing, visit the website 6 to 8 May
(http://publishing.unesco.org),
or write to: Destruction and Rebirth of Cities: The Challenges of Cultural Heritage
Reconstruction in the 21st Century.
UNESCO Publishing Warsaw, Poland.
UNESCO Information: http://www.nid.pl
7, Place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP 28 to 30 May
France
Fax: +33 1 4568 5737
6th Session of the Subsidiary Committee of the Meeting of States Parties to the
E-mail: 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import,
publishing.promotion@unesco.org Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France.
To request copies of Information: m.minana@unesco.org
the World Heritage Papers Series,
contact the UNESCO World 31 May to 1st June
Heritage Centre via e-mail
Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to
(wh-info@unesco.org) or at
the address below:
its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP).
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France.
World Heritage Centre Information: e.planche@unesco.org
UNESCO
7, place de Fontenoy 4 to 7 June
75352 Paris 07 SP
General Assembly of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible
France
Cultural Heritage.
http://whc.unesco.org/
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France.
Information: https://ich.unesco.org/en/

24 June to 4 July
42nd session of the World Heritage Committee.
Manama, Bahrain.
Information: r.veillon@unesco.org

World Heritage No. 86 97

www.ourplaceworldheritage.com

CONTACT GEOFF STEVEN, CEO

geoffs@ourplaceworldheritage.com
 WORLD HERITAGE PHOTOGRAPHY & EXHIBITIONS

Photography for protection

& preservation

Restoration work at Piazza del Duomo, Pisa – Italy

SPONSORED STATEMENT
Excavation at historical mosque
JAZIRAT AL-HAMRAH HERITAGE VILLAGE
RAS AL-KHAIMAH
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Al Jazirat Al-Hamrah - literally meaning
‘The Red Island’ - is the last surviving
coastal village of the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), dating back to as early as the 17th
century. It is a well-preserved fishermen’s
village, representing the traditional coastal
architecture, elements and features, as
well as the pre-urban period of the region.
Jazirat Al-Hamrah is situated about 18 km
to the southwest of Ras Al-Khaimah city
and about 100 km northeast of Dubai. The
village covers around 50 ha with remnants
of about 450 compounds, including 270
traditional buildings. Most of them are built
using traditional material, such as coral
stone, beach rock, Juss (traditional mortar
mix) and mangrove beams. The compounds
Restoration of living compound
reflect the steady change of the traditional
material in order to find solutions for the
structural problems, which eventually led
to the use of modern material. As a typical
traditional village, Jazirat Al-Hamrah is
mostly occupied by small single-storied
houses and some larger living compounds,
a fort, the souk (traditional market place), as
well as a series of traditional mosques. Their
condition varies from very deteriorated to
relatively intact and well preserved.
In 2015, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs
Abu Dhabi, the Ministry of Infrastructure
Development Abu Dhabi, and the
Department of Antiquities and Museums,
Government of Ras Al-Khaimah have
initiated a joint project to restore, conserve
Coral stones set in Juss​
and revitalize the heritage village. Currently,
work is being carried out across several
disciplines, such as building recording and
analysis, excavation and restoration, as well
as conservation and site protection. All the
work at Jazirat Al-Hamrah is carried out
in accordance to international standards
in order to preserve the character-defining
elements, features and traditional building
techniques of this heritage site. Finally, a
master plan is being prepared to revitalize
the village and develop it for culture and
heritage tourism in the emirate of Ras Al
Khaimah.
Contact: Ahmad Hilal, Director
Archaeology Department
Department of Antiquities
and Museums
Government of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
Tel.: +971 (0) 72339900
 NIO MUN
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WORLD H

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United Nations World

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SPONSORED STATEMENT

Pre-Hispanic City and

National Park of Palenque
inscribed on the World
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Next Issue

Next Issue
Banteay Srei (Cambodia).
© Eric Wilson

In Focus: Illicit trade

The next issue of World Heritage will tackle the subject of illicit
trade, whether of cultural artefacts or of rare species of flora and
fauna. Focusing on both cultural and natural heritage, articles will
look closely at success stories from Cambodia; synergy between
World Heritage and CITES (the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to address illegal
wildlife trade impacts on World Heritage sites; and the plight of
the vaquita, a critically endangered porpoise in Mexico’s Gulf of
California.
In addition, the issue will discuss the latest developments in Pair of vaquita sighted during 2008 survey in Gulf of California (Mexico).
legislation on illicit trafficking and trade. An in-depth interview with © NOAA Fisheries West Coast / Paula Olson

art collector Jean-Claude Gandur will present ways to address the

trafficking of cultural goods in the art market.  

World Heritage No.86 103