The World Heritage and cultural landscapes

Mark Esposito

Description

Resumen
Los paisajes tienen un rango de valores que las comunidades reconocen como importante y desean conservar. Son precisamente los valores culturales y naturales las cualidades que hacen a ese paisaje o lugar importante. En particular, podemos considerar los paisajes culturales una parte importante y constituyente del Patrimonio de la Humanidad. Es fundamental que la sociedad sepa qué valores pueden encontrarse en sus paisajes culturales y, consecuentemente, reforzar su protección y realzarlos. En este trabajo se intenta ayudar a ese conocimiento y discutir como un instrumento de la UNESCO contribuye tanto a la observación, retención y conservación pro-activa del patrimonio, como a la formación continua en los años venideros y para futuras generaciones. Finalmente, se expone un caso de estudio como buen ejemplo de administración eficaz de valores.
Abstract
Landscapes have a range of values that communities recognize as important and want to conserve. Cultural and natural values are the qualities which make a place or landscape important. In particular, we can consider Cultural Landscapes an important and constitutional part of the World Heritage. It is fundamental that stakeholders must know what values are to be found in their cultural landscapes and consequently reinforce the protection and enhancement of the values. The attempt to help the awareness is presented in the paper and discussed as an UNESCO instrument of observation, retention and pro-active conservation of the heritage of our past, as institutional to the formation of continuity in the future years to come and for the future generations. Finally, one case study is also illustrated as a very good example of effective values-based management.

Sujets

• World Heritage Site
• UNESCO
• Cultural landscape
• Patrimonio de la Humanidad
• Paisaje

Informations

• Publié par: erevistas
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 10
• Langue: English

Extrait

Vol. 4 Nº 3 págs. 409-419. 2006

www.pasosonline.org


The World Heritage and cultural landscapes

†Mark Esposito
University of Massachusetts Amherst (Switzerland)
‡
Alessandro Cavelzani
Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione (Italy)


Abstract: Landscapes have a range of values that communities recognize as important and want to conserve.
Cultural and natural values are the qualities which make a place or landscape important. In particular, we can
consider Cultural Landscapes an important and constitutional part of the World Heritage. It is fundamental
that stakeholders must know what values are to be found in their cultural landscapes and consequently
reinforce the protection and enhancement of the values. The attempt to help the awareness is presented in the
paper and discussed as an UNESCO instrument of observation, retention and pro-active conservation of the
heritage of our past, as institutional to the formation of continuity in the future years to come and for the future
generations. Finally, one case study is also illustrated as a very good example of effective values-based
management.

Keywords: World Heritage; UNESCO; Cultural landscape; Human and geographical sustainability; Cultural
awareness.


Resumen: Los paisajes tienen un rango de valores que las comunidades reconocen como importante y desean
conservar. Son precisamente los valores culturales y naturales las cualidades que hacen a ese paisaje o lugar
importante. En particular, podemos considerar los paisajes culturales una parte importante y constituyente del
Patrimonio de la Humanidad. Es fundamental que la sociedad sepa qué valores pueden encontrarse en sus
paisajes culturales y, consecuentemente, reforzar su protección y realzarlos. En este trabajo se intenta ayudar a
ese conocimiento y discutir como un instrumento de la UNESCO contribuye tanto a la observación, retención
y conservación pro-activa del patrimonio, como a la formación continua en los años venideros y para futuras
generaciones. Finalmente, se expone un caso de estudio como buen ejemplo de administración eficaz de
valores.

Palabras Clave: Patrimonio de la Humanidad; UNESCO; Paisaje cultural; Sostenibilidad humana y
geográfica; Conocimiento cultural.



† • Mark Esposito, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Tourism Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Lucerne,
Switzerland. E-mail: [e-mail]
‡ • 2. Alessandro S Cavelzani PhD, Psychologist, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Libera Università di Lingue e
Comunicazione IULM, Milano. E-mail: [e-mail]
© PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural. ISSN 1695-7121 410 The World Heritage and cultural landscapes

Introduction generic, or specific. They can relate to a
very peculiar ethnicity or have upgraded
Every year, like it has happened for into a much more global and universal
the past ten years since the introduction entity, but no matter which specific set of
of the cultural landscape categories, thir- ideas we want to apply, values are the
4ty cultural landscapes have been in- traditional core of conservation – values
scribed on the World Heritage List. These attached to an object, building, place or
cover designed landscapes such as the landscape because it holds meaning for a
gardens of Villa d’Este (Italy), relict land- social group due to its age, beauty,
scapes such as Blaenavon (United King- craftsmanship or association with
signifidom), human landscapes such as Uluru- cant persons or events, or otherwise
conKata Tjuta (Australia) and Tongariro tribute to processes of cultural affiliation.
1(New Zealand), and continuing land- Any place will have a range of values –
scapes which cover the greatest number these may be assessed against criteria in
of inscribed landscapes, especially those order to determine whether the values
involved with agriculture, viticulture, are important enough for the place to be
forestry, pastoralism and their associated listed for heritage protection. For World
settlements. Heritage listing, values must be
considThe main global reference for the who- ered to be of ‘outstanding Universal
le concept of Heritage and World Heritage value’ in accordance with the six cultural
is only duly representative of the massive and four natural heritage criteria of the
2workflow that UNESCO and the diverse World Heritage Convention.
secretariats working constantly for the In accordance with UNESCO, our
represervation of Heritage is doing. search project aims at fostering
awareIt would be hard to figure out a world ness among the stakeholders, to sustain
without the enormous contributions that these landscapes while allowing both
UNESCO is bringing to the realty of pre- continuing use to local communities who
servation, restoration and conservation of are dependent on them for a livelihood,
our planet’s legacies, through the rein- and natural ecosystems to continue to
forcements of those procedures and guide- develop.
lines which lead to inscription every year. In other terms of comprehension, the
It is well recognized that many previ- subtle balance of sustainability and
conously inscribed sites are also cultural servation, are often projected onto a much
landscapes. The primary management more delicate management of the
reresponsibility is to conserve and protect sources and a “superpartes” organization,
the “outstanding universal values” for such as UNESCO, plays this vital role of
which the landscape was inscribed. Man- monitoring the process and assess the
agement involves all the processes of pre- necessities in place, in order to become
paring a plan or guiding document, im- effective when required.
plementing the actions lay out in the
plan, tackle the unforeseen events, moni- World heritage landscape management
toring the impact of management on con-
serving the values and reviewing the ori- We have selected some of the many
ginal management actions so as to better questions at disposal within the frame of
conserve the values. the UNESCO publication, “ Tell me about
Conservation means all the processes World Heritage” (2002), which best
emof looking after a place so as to retain its bedded the topics of sustainability,
con3cultural significance which is embodied versation and ethical conciliation, in
orin the place itself, its fabric, setting, use, der to provide better cohesion of concepts
associations, meanings, records, related and practices, towards the cultural
awaplaces and objects. reness whose this paper’s aim is.
Values are expressed in those things Thr following questions derived from
from the past and from nature that we the UNESCO Publication “Tell me about
want to conserve and protect. Values are World Heritage, (2002):
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 4(3). 2006 ISSN 1695-7121

Mark Esposito and Alessandro Cavelzani 411

1. What are the limits of acceptable cultural landscapes.
change in these landscapes? And how can 3. Can this interaction remain
au5 7that change be managed ? thentic while using modern techniques ?
A widely understood management For World Heritage cultural
landplanning process aimed at sustainability scapes it is the integrity of the landscape
is the starting point. A management plan that is paramount – that is, the extent to
should detail the outstanding universal which the layered historical evidence,
values as well as other values in the in- meanings and relationships between
elescribed landscape and the policies chosen ments remains intact and can be
interto conserve these values. The plan should preted or deciphered in the landscape. As
also contain a framework for defining the expert meeting on Desert Landscapes
management priorities, developing man- and Oasis Systems in the Arab Region
agement actions, implementation and (UNESCO report from Egypt, September
monitoring of their impact. 2001) confirmed, it is the integrity of the
All policies must relate to the state- relationship of culture with nature that
ment of significance for the heritage val- matters, not the integrity of nature or
ues exhibited in the designated cultural culture alone.
landscape. These values will also have
been reinforced in the management vision Methodology
and site objectives.
By using a values-based management The following eight (8) guidelines for
rather than an issues-based management practice stand out as particularly
imporapproach, we also commit our research to tant in managing cultural landscapes.
a much more complying vision of the who- They recur in the management of
malesome, which is beneficial to the defini- ny World Heritage landscapes, though
tion of cultural landscape and its implica- they vary in detail and application
detion with the Heritage List. The policies pending on the category of cultural
landneed to address the components of the scape and the social and economic
envilandscape which have outstanding uni- ronment of the place and they have