Monitoring Indicators for Cultural World Heritage sites

1
Monitoring Indicators for Cultural World Heritage
sites

• ICOMOS Discussion points

2
Periodic Reporting Process

• Periodic Reporting for Europe North America has
  highlighted the need to
• monitor progress and changes over time in WHSs
• In the Guidance for Part II of the Periodic
  Reporting process, the main aim is said to be
• to obtain an assessment of whether the World
  Heritage value(s) for which a property was
  inscribed on the World Heritage list is(are)
  maintained over time.

3
New Operational Guidelines

• common elements of an effective management
  system could include .a cycle of planning,
  implementation, monitoring, evaluation and
  feedback  
• And asks State Parties to include in nominations
• key indicators proposed to measure and assess
  the state of conservation of the property, the
  factors affecting it, conservation measures at
  the property,

4

• Sites are inscribed on the WH list if they
• Are of OUV
• Have a Statement of OUV
• Have Authenticity and Integrity
• Have a Management Plan or Management System that
• Identifies threats vulnerabilities
• Puts in place processes to
• Sustain OUV
• Monitor evaluate success in sustaining OUV

5
What needs Monitoring

• Monitoring is needed to show if OUV is being
  sustained
• To monitor OUV we therefore need to monitor
  management processes to see how successful they
  are

6

• Cultural WHSs
• Sites are living evolving places
• Management is part of daily practice
• Carried out by a wide range of stakeholders
• Often with no overall management system
• Collaborative or traditional management set out
  in a Management Plan

7

• For some cultural sites there are a few clear
  management objectives related to projects
• Where there is a defined output and timescale
• e.g. major conservation projects
• Construction of visitor facilities
• For majority of cultural sites
• Mangement challenges are related to managing
  change on a daily basis
• Dont know what threat may arrive tomorrow
• Need to have responsive management

8

• Managing change
• Involves multiple stakeholders
• Plethora of smallscale projects
• Decisions to guide direction of change
• Avoid unwanted consequences
• Deliver optimum benefits
• Through responsive processes

9

• Action plans in Management plans for cultural
  sites often include
• Production of strategies e.g.
• Visitor management
• Risk preparedness
• Tall buildings
• Use of local materials
• Training of craft skills

10

• Management processes are the key to successful
  conservation
• Management Plan often identifies those processes
• Whether traditonal or modern management
• In order to deliver sustainable managementnt
• Where heritage underpins development
• Where opportunities can be taken

11

• Where things go wrong
• Often because lack of process to deal with
  threats
• Threats may be related to complex socio-economic
  systems
• Need to set site into wider context
• Manage interaction with its setting

12

• Invovlement of stakeholders is essential in most
  cultural sites
• Includes local communites
• May include indigenous populations
• Young people
• Should be multi-disciplinary

13

• Management needs to be related to knowledge
• Of OUV
• How this is related to tangible attributes
• Of processes that drive the site
• Of people involved in it
• Of intangible values

14
Monitoring

• For living, developing, cultural sites
• Monitoring needs to be on-going responsive
• Monitoring that reports impacts of change
  positive, negative, neutral valuable
• More valuable are ways of showing how successful
  management has steered things in right direction

15

• Cultural sites more complex than many natural
  sites
• Where there are clear objectives to be acheived
  over time
• Success can be tracked by managers who have some
  direct control over the process
• Limitations of tracking process
• activites relating to people, local communities,
  visitors, management planning
• All of these relate to cultural sites

16

• Careful to avoid to simple objectives in order to
  have measurable indicators
• Can have sites where fabric is well managed
• No involvement of local communities
• Threats to setting
• Erosion of sense of place
• Lack of benfits to locals
• Heritage seen as stopping development

17
Indicators

• Most cultural sites
• Managed locally
• Within a national protective framework
• Both of these need to be in place
• Need indicators for both

18
Monitoring Indicators

• Quantative
• National protective framework
• Basic data similar to natural sites
• Qualitative
• Success of local responsive management
• Measuring process not the product
• The product - sustaining OUV

19
Qualitative Indicators

• Such indicators have not yet been developed
• Three site managers in the UK are curtrently
  working on this
• Will set out what indicators need to address

20
Qualitative Indicators

• Pre-conditions for good management
• People
• Values
• Knowledge
• Sustainable management processes
• Clear agreement on shared benefits

21

• People
• Management structure
• Collaborative arrangements
• How are stakeholders involved
• Local communities
• Indigenous people
• Young people
• Professional advice expertise

22

• Values
• Articulating OUV
• What it relates to on the site
• Tangible
• Intangible
• Other values

23

• Knowledge
• Context for management wider environment
• Inventories
• Conservation records
• Traditional skills
• Know-how
• Oral knowledge/traditions

24

• Sustainable management
• Decison making processes
• National support
• Supportive strategies
• Harnessing opportunties
• Conservation preventative conservation
  processes
• Fostering development
• Deal with threats

25

• Sustainable management
• Overall strategies
• Involvement of major external funding agencies
• Resources

26

• Benefits
• Sustaining OUV can bring direct and indirect
  benefits
• To local communities, visitors etc
• Who benefits
• How do they benefit
• Who chooses

27
Monitoring Indicators for Cultural WHSs

•  Quantative
• Suite of indicators some pre-filled
• Qualitative
• People 7
• Values 4
• Knowledge 6
• Sustainable management 9
• Benefits 2
• Total 28

28

• Thank You!