World Heritage and International Charters for Conservation and Restoration

Question 1

What is the mission of World Heritage?

Answer 1

Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.

Question 2

What is the UNESCO?

Answer 2

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Question 3

What is the concept?

Answer 3

The concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.

Question 4

UNESCO’s mission is?

Answer 4

UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the building of a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

Question 5

This is embodied in an international treaty called

Answer 5

The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

Question 6

Mission

UNESCO’s World Heritage mission is to?

Answer 6

Encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage;

Encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List;

Encourage States Parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites;

Help States Parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training;

Provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger;

Support States Parties’ public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation;

Encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage;

Encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world’s cultural and natural heritage.

Question 7

INTERNATIONAL CHARTERS

FOR CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION -1

Answer 7

The Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments (1931)

The Venice Charter International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (1964)

Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Paris, (1972)

Question 8

INTERNATIONAL CHARTERS

FOR CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION -2

Answer 8

The Burra Charter The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, Burra, South Australia (1979)

Historic Gardens –The Florence Charter (1981)

Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas –The Washington Charter (1987)

Charter for the Protection and Management of the Archaeological Heritage Lausanne (1990)

Guidelines on Education and Training in the Conservation of Monuments, Ensembles and Sites Colombo, Sri Lanka (1993)

The Nara Document on Authenticity Nara (Japan), (1994)

Question 9

The Venice Charter International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (1964)

Answer 9

Definitions

ARTICLE1.

The concept of a historic monument embraces not only the single architectural work but also the urban or rural setting in which is found the evidence of a particular civilization, a significant development ran the historic event. This applies not only to great works of art but also to more modest works of the past which have acquired cultural significance with the passing of time.

ARTICLE -02

The conservation and restoration of monuments must have recourse to all the sciences and techniques which can contribute to the study and safeguarding of the architectural heritage.

ARTICLE -03

The intention in conserving and restoring monuments is to safeguard them no less as works of art than as historical evidence.

Question 10

Venice - Conservation

Answer 10

ARTICLE -04

It is essential to the conservation of monuments that they be maintained on a permanent basis.

ARTICLE -05

The conservation of monuments is always facilitated by making use of them for some socially useful purpose. Such use is therefore desirable but it must not change the layout or decoration of the building. It is within these limits only that modifications demanded by a change of function should be envisaged and may be permitted.

ARTICLE -06

The conservation of a monument implies preserving a setting that is not out of scale. Wherever the traditional setting exists, it must be kept. No new contraction, demolition or modification which would alter the relations of mass and color must be allowed.

ARTICLE -07

A monument is inseparable from the history to which it bears witness and from the setting in which it occurs. The moving of all or part of a monument cannot be allowed except where the safeguarding of that monument demands it or where it is justified by national or international interests of paramount importance.

ARTICLE -08

Items of sculpture, painting or decoration which form and integral part of a monument may only be removed from it if this is the sole means of ensuring their preservation.

Question 11

Venice - Restoration

Answer 11

ARTICLE 9

The process of restoration is a highly specialized operation. Its aim is to preserve and reveal the aesthetic and historic value of the monument and is based on respect for original material and authentic documents. It must stop at the point where conjecture begins, and in this case moreover any extra work which is indispensable must be distinct from the architectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp. The restoration in any case must be preceded and followed by an archaeological and historical study of the monument.

ARTICLE 10

Where traditional techniques prove inadequate, the consolidation of a monument can be achieved by the use of any modem technique for conservation and construction, the efficacy of which has been shown by scientific data and proved by experience.

ARTICLE 11

The valid contributions of all periods to the building of a monument must
be respected, since unity of style is not the aim of a restoration. When a building includes the superimposed work of different periods, the revealing of the underlying state can only be justified in exceptional circumstances and when what is removed is of little interest and the material which is brought to light is of great historical, archaeological or aesthetic value and its state of preservation good enough to justify the action. Evaluation of the importance of the elements involved and the decision as to what may be destroyed cannot rest solely on the individual in charge of the work.

ARTICLE 12

Replacements of missing parts must integrate harmoniously with the whole, but at the same time must be distinguishable from the original so that restoration does not falsify the artistic or historic evidence.

ARTICLE 13

Additions cannot be allowed except in so far as they do not detract from the interesting parts of the building, its traditional setting, the balance of its composition and its relation with its surroundings.

ARTICLE 14

The sites of monuments must be the object of special care in order to safeguard their integrity and ensure that they are cleared and presented in a seemly manner. The work of conservation and restoration carried out in such places should be inspired by the principles set forth in the foregoing articles.

Question 12

Venice - Excavations

Answer 12

ARTICLE 15.

Excavations should be carried out in accordance with scientific standards and the recommen-dation defining international principles to be applied in the case of archaeological excavation adopted by UNESCO in 1956.
Ruins must be maintained and measures necessary for the permanent conservation and protection of architectural features and of objects discovered must be taken. Furthermore, every means must be taken to facilitate the understanding of the monument and to reveal it without ever distorting its meaning.
All reconstruction work should however be ruled out a priori. Only anastylosis, that is to say, the reassembling of existing but dismembered parts can be permitted. The material used for integration should always be recognizable and its use should be the least that will ensure the conservation of a monument and the reinstatement of its form.

Question 13

Venice - Publication

Answer 13

ARTICLE 16.

In all works of preservation, restoration or excavation, there should always be precise documentation in the form of analytical and critical reports, illustrated with drawings and photographs. Every stage of the work of clearing, consolidation, rearrangement and integration, as well as technical and formal features identified during the course of the work, should be included.
This record should be placed in the archives of a public institution and made available to research workers. It is recommended that the report should be published.

Question 14

The World Heritage List

Answer 14

The World Heritage List - 1121

Monuments

Cultural - 869
Natural - 213
Mixed - 39

Tentative List - 1724

    In danger - 53

Question 15

Analysis of the World Heritage List – Frameworks

Answer 15

• Part A: Typological Framework Analysis
• Part B: Chronological-Regional Framework Analysis
• Part C: Thematic Framework Analysis

Question 16

Typological Framework Analysis

Answer 16

1. Archaeological heritage: Any form of archaeological site or individual monument, including earthworks, burial mounds, cave dwellings, settlements (towns, villages, farms, villas), temples and other public buildings, defensive works, cemeteries, routes, etc, that are not in use or occupied;
2. Rock-art sites: Caves, rock shelters, open surfaces, and comparable sites containing paintings, engravings, carvings, etc;
3. Fossil hominid sites: Individual sites and landscapes containing skeletal material and/or evidence of occupation by early hominids;
4. Historic buildings and ensembles: Individual monuments, groups of monuments, works of art;
5. Urban and rural settlements / Historic towns and villages: Towns, town centres,
   villages, and other communal groups of dwellings;
6. Vernacular architecture: use of traditionally established buildings types; application of traditional construction systems and crafts;
7. Religious properties: Any form of property with religious or spiritual associations: churches, monasteries, shrines, sanctuaries, mosques, synagogues, temples, sacred landscapes, sacred groves, and other landscape features, etc;
8. Agricultural, industrial and technological properties: field systems, vineyards, agricultural landscapes; agricultural settlements; water-management systems (dams, irrigation, etc); mines, mining landscapes, factories; bridges, canals, railways; industrial settlements, etc;
9. Military properties: castles, forts, citadels, etc; town defences; defensive systems;
10. Cultural landscapes, parks and gardens: clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally; Organically evolved landscape (a relict or fossil landscape, a continuing landscape); associative cultural landscape;
11. Cultural routes: pilgrimage routes, trading routes, roads, canals, railways, etc;
12. Burial monuments and sites: burial mounds, cairns, mausolea, tombs, cenotaphs, cemeteries, etc;
13. Symbolic properties and memorials: properties of any category nominated or inscribed because of associations with beliefs, individuals, or events;
14. Modern heritage: buildings, groups of buildings, works of art, towns, industrial properties (from late 19th century onwards).

Question 17

Chronological-Regional Framework Analysis

Answer 17

I. Early Evolution of Humans

II. Near and Middle East, North Africa

III. Europe

IV. Asia

V. The Pacific and Australasia

VI. Sub-Saharan Africa

VII. The Americas

VIII. The Modern World

Question 18

Thematic Framework Analysis

Answer 18

• Expressions of Society
• Creative Responses and Continuity (monuments, groups of buildings and sites)
• Spiritual responses (religions)
• Utilising natural resources
• Movement of peoples
• Developing technologies

Question 19

The Criteria for Selection

Answer 19

To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria.

These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention which, besides the text of the Convention, is the main working tool on World Heritage. The criteria are regularly revised by the Committee to reflect the evolution of the World Heritage concept itself.

Question 20

Selection criteria - Cultural criteria

Answer 20

(i)
to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;

(ii)
to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;

(iii)
to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;

(iv)
to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;

(v)
to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change;

(vi)
to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with

Question 21

Selection criteria - Natural criteria

Answer 21

(vii)
to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;
(viii)
to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth’s history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features;
(ix)
to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals;
(x)
to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.