As part of the handover of the extensive archive and library of the founding director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and later UNESCO Assistant Director-General, Prof. Dr. Bernd von Droste zu Hülshoff, a symposium was held on 10 September 2024 at the University for Continuing Education Krems (UWK), to which experts and his former employees contributed with presentations. Following the fields of work and topics that Bernd von Droste (who holds a doctorate in forestry) initiated and played a key role during his decades of work at universities and UNESCO, the contributions covered both natural and cultural heritage. Particular focus was laid on aspects that link culture and nature: The surroundings of the conference venue at Campus Krems, which itself is located in the middle of the World Heritage property Wachau Cultural Landscape, served as a kind of best-practice example of the importance of a harmonious relationship between nature and culture.
After the opening of the symposium by the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Art and Architecture at the UWK, Prof. Dr. Stefan Oppl, Dr. Natarajan Ishwaran (former Head of the Natural Heritage Unit at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, then Director of Ecological Sciences at UNESCO) offered an overview of how climate change affects cultural and natural sites that are protected by UNESCO (e.g. as World Heritage sites or Biosphere Reserves). He demonstrated the close link between climate (change) and the protection of cultural assets using the example of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The world-famous temples owe their stability to a layer of sand that is saturated by the groundwater and therefore remains stable. A change in the water balance would have an impact on the cohesion of this cultural heritage. Traditional agricultural techniques, which contribute to the natural heritage, are also subject to alteration due to changes in temperature, wind and precipitation conditions.
Peter A. Rumpolt (Vienna) gave an overview of the influence of the Alpine Convention on the protection of the Alpine region (large, protected area(s) in the Alpine region and the Alpine Convention). The international agreement sets protection standards by specifying framework conditions to be implemented and developed at national level. He demonstrated that there is a high density of protected areas with different structures in the Alpine region. The coordination of these (large-scale) protected areas, which are based on actors such as UNESCO, the EU, the Council of Europe, IUCN, the federal government and the federal states and which serve different objectives, remains a challenge.
With “The Ötscher as a magnet: Nature conservation and tourism in the nature park”, DI Florian Schublach (Managing Director of the Ötscher-Tormäuer Nature Park) conveyed the “4-pillar philosophy: conservation, education, regional development, recreation” for the Ötscher-Tormäuer Nature Park. In addition, a holistic sustainability strategy is pursued, which includes the protection of nature, education for ecological connections, the strengthening of the local economy and nature-friendly recreation. The aim is to ensure that this fragile Alpine cultural landscape does not become a victim of its own success (in terms of high visitor numbers), but is preserved not only for generations of locals, but also for visitors on a sustainable basis.
Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Lang spoke about the creation of the Dürrenstein-Lassingtal wilderness area. This unique wilderness area for the Alpine region (UICN category 1) with the 400-hectare Rothwald forest has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2017. This protected area is an example of cross-generational conservation efforts, where nature has been able to develop unhindered - without human intervention - for over a hundred years. However, his contribution also demonstrated that the implementation of nature conservation requires personalities who are capable in developing and communicating convincing alternative models to forestry operating cost calculations at the appropriate time.
Herman van Hooff (former UNESCO World Heritage Centre and former Director of the UNESCO Havana Office) presented an important pillar of the World Heritage program (“Monitoring and reporting mechanism under the World Heritage Convention”). He outlined how, with the growth of the World Heritage List, the monitoring of the state of conservation of World Heritage sites is becoming increasingly important, whereby different approaches to protection instruments must be taken into account due to cultural diversity. Moreover, he made it clear that a number of monitoring and reporting practices originated in nature conservation management and led to paradigm shifts in heritage protection at a global level.
In her video message “A half-century of World Heritage Practice: The Influence of Bernd von Droste”, Dr. Christina Cameron (Professor Emeritus, Canada Research Chair on Built Heritage, University of Montreal) highlighted the history of the World Heritage program since the early 1970s. In 1972 - the year the World Heritage Convention was adopted - it was not at all clear “where the journey would take us”: neither the current numerical size of the World Heritage List (as of September 2024, 1223 sites in 168 countries are inscribed) nor the influence on protection, management and mediation instruments could be foreseen. The rapid growth of the List also challenged UNESCO to create adequate working conditions in order to meet the requirements of the World Heritage Convention. As already mentioned, the initiative to establish the “UNESCO World Heritage Centre” was taken in 1992 by Bernd von Droste, who served as its director for 18 years.
Inge Hödl, MA (World Heritage Management Cultural Landscape Wachau) outlined in her contribution (“City - Countryside - Nature - Dimensions of Heritage Conservation in the Wachau Cultural Landscape”) the multitude of approaches, initiatives and solutions to reconcile the different interests in a cultural landscape that has held the World Heritage title for over 20 years and to achieve an economic, ecological and social balance. However, legal requirements, administrative practice and political reality often set clear limits to the demands for sustainable development of such a large World Heritage site.
The question: “How do you revitalize a Roman World Heritage site? Carnuntum as part of the Danube Limes World Heritage Site”, was addressed by Dr. Markus Wachter (Managing Director of Römerstadt Carnuntum). Carnuntum has a 140-year history of excavation and research and has also been a Danube Limes World Heritage site since 2021. Carnuntum is therefore confronted with several challenges: on the one hand, it is important to convey an archaeological site that is “monotonous” for the layman in an exciting way, on the other hand, the strict requirements for a World Heritage Site (e.g. “authenticity” and “integrity” as prerequisites for the Outstanding Universal Value) must be met, as otherwise there is a risk of it being entered on the “red list”. In addition, there is great potential for tourism, as the reconstruction of a Roman quarter encourages visitors. This offer to immerse oneself in the Roman past of the region in a playful way is also taken up by many school classes.
Prof. Dr. Akemi Kaneshiro-Hauptmann (Toyama Prefectural University/Japan) spoke about the state-organized Japanese cultural heritage label “Japan Heritage”. (“Japan Heritage and World Heritage in Japan - for sustainable urban planning, tourism and identity building”). This program manifests a broader understanding of cultural heritage than that of World Heritage. It includes not only built heritage but also cultural heritage with strong intangible aspects (such as food culture and culinary heritage). Behind every inscription is a narrative that is intended to convey the phenomenon. Even if the definition of cultural heritage is broad, the inscription procedure is precisely regulated. Communication aspects and the promotion of tourism characterize this programme, which has not yet reached the level of awareness of the World Heritage sites in Japan.
The symposium ended with the presentation and handover of Bernd von Droste's extensive collection. The collection includes his library and private archive from his professional career. The library and archive have been set up in the Jiří Toman Center at the UWK and are being prepared for cataloging. The archive materials will be digitized to make them available for research on World Heritage, biodiversity and UNESCO.
Peter Strasser
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