Liverpool's world heritage site waterfront will be "irreversibly damaged" unless urgent modifications are made to a multibillion-pound skyscraper scheme, a delegation from Unesco has warned.
The delegation said the skyscraper proposal would result in "a serious loss of historic authenticity".
The Unesco inspectors praised the "more or less symmetrical profile" of the city's waterfront, with the Three Graces – the Port of Liverpool and the Liver and Cunard buildings – at centre stage and historical docklands to the north complementing those to the south.
The Graces were "at the heart of the shipping and harbour operations during the height of [Liverpool's] glory, surrounded by dockyards and port structures", they said.
But they warned that if the £5.5bn Peel Holdings development, including tall buildings such as the Shanghai Tower, went ahead, this profile would be shifted to the north by introducing a secondary cluster of high-rises, with towers three times the size of the Three Graces.
They would "[relegate] the Three Graces to playing second violin", the inspectors found, "thereby losing an important visual and historical reference to the city's glorious past".
The Unesco report said the views of the Three Graces from Kings Dock would disappear amid the supertowers.
Read more, here.
NPS Office of International Affairs
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
UNESCO nod on altering Selous boundaries not before June
Proposed alteration of Selous Game Reserve boundaries to pave way for a tricky uranium mining project in Namtumbo district, Ruvuma region faces uncertainty as no international clearance could be granted until June this year at the earliest.
The clearance on the boundaries change is supposed to be acquired from the World Heritage Centre, a body under the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Selous is listed on Unesco’s world heritage sites.
Ezekiel Maige, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, told The Guardian on Sunday this week that the government would be waiting for a decision from WHC after its June meeting, in which case no conclusion can be made before mid-year.
“World heritage centre meets once a year and during the 2011 meeting we submitted the proposals which the body has to look into before reaching a decision,” noted the minister.
He stated: “Through its advisory body the committee sent its team last October which looked into various matters including the Environment Impact Assessment. They visited the site and met the national Atomic Energy Commission, therefore the findings and report by this team would be key in reaching decisions.”
To read more, click here.
The clearance on the boundaries change is supposed to be acquired from the World Heritage Centre, a body under the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Selous is listed on Unesco’s world heritage sites.
Ezekiel Maige, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, told The Guardian on Sunday this week that the government would be waiting for a decision from WHC after its June meeting, in which case no conclusion can be made before mid-year.
“World heritage centre meets once a year and during the 2011 meeting we submitted the proposals which the body has to look into before reaching a decision,” noted the minister.
He stated: “Through its advisory body the committee sent its team last October which looked into various matters including the Environment Impact Assessment. They visited the site and met the national Atomic Energy Commission, therefore the findings and report by this team would be key in reaching decisions.”
To read more, click here.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
What Does Unesco Recognition Mean, Exactly?
WORLD HERITAGE is big business, bringing hordes of tourists to poor countries that can use the jobs and the cash. It can also overwhelm the very sites it is designed to protect with all the less-savory aspects of mass travel, from chain hotels and restaurants to the impact of thousands of sport-shoed feet treading on fragile ground.
But World Heritage can also be an odd business, giving recognition to traditions (like premodern tribal dances and giant French family meals) that might have little aesthetic value to any group except the one that practices it.
Read more, here.
But World Heritage can also be an odd business, giving recognition to traditions (like premodern tribal dances and giant French family meals) that might have little aesthetic value to any group except the one that practices it.
Read more, here.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Park Service seeks comments on Yellowstone World Heritage progress report
CODY, Wyo. — The National Park Service has made available a draft progress report on addressing threats to Yellowstone National Park that will be submitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Public comments on the draft will be included with the final report that is submitted to UNESCO.
Yellowstone was among the initial properties designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1978. The U.N. managing committee placed Yellowstone on its list of endangered sites in 1995 and removed it in 2003.
The current report will be the sixth submitted by the Park Service detailing efforts to overcome the threats to park resources that initiated Yellowstone’s 1995 endangered listing.
The areas of concern addressed in the report cover many of the major issues that are familiar to those who track park management. They include:
Yellowstone was among the initial properties designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1978. The U.N. managing committee placed Yellowstone on its list of endangered sites in 1995 and removed it in 2003.
The current report will be the sixth submitted by the Park Service detailing efforts to overcome the threats to park resources that initiated Yellowstone’s 1995 endangered listing.
The areas of concern addressed in the report cover many of the major issues that are familiar to those who track park management. They include:
efforts to secure bison migration routes to public and private property north of the park.
fundraising to pay for lake trout suppression efforts over the next six years.
work to increase park grizzly bear connectivity with bears throughout the greater yellowstone area and to consider the need to further mitigate human-bear conflicts.
consideration of how state management of gray wolves may impact the wolf population within the park.
development of a sustainability program to reduce the impacts of visitation and park operations.
continuing assessment of winter visitation and the effects from snowmobiles.
The treaty that established U.N. World Heritage Sites was adopted in 1972 and became effective in 1975. It grew out of efforts led by the U.S. a decade earlier to protect ancient Egyptian monuments along the Nile River from being lost to rising waters from proposed dams and reservoirs.
The treaty that established U.N. World Heritage Sites was adopted in 1972 and became effective in 1975. It grew out of efforts led by the U.S. a decade earlier to protect ancient Egyptian monuments along the Nile River from being lost to rising waters from proposed dams and reservoirs.
There are 936 sites listed, more than 700 of which are cultural properties like the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the ancient city of Petra in Jordan.
Natural sites include the Galápagos Islands, the Great Barrier Reef and Grand Canyon National Park.
Each of the 187 nations that have ratified the U.N. World Heritage Site treaty voluntarily nominates its own sites featuring outstanding natural or cultural values. Member nations retain complete sovereignty over each site and over the operation of locations added to the list.
Public comments on the draft report may be submitted through Jan. 20 at the National Park Service web site.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Confrontation brews as U.N. World Heritage pact turns 40
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the United Nations international treaty on World Heritage, which has contributed much to protecting natural and cultural heritages from development, natural disasters or armed conflicts. However, the treaty now faces a key turning point amid confrontations between some developing and developed countries.
The treaty, formally called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, was adopted at UNESCO's general meeting in Paris in November 1972 and took effect in 1975.
Backed by the United States, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization made efforts in the 1960s to protect the Nubian monuments along the Nile River — remains of the ancient Egyptian civilization — from being submerged in water due to the construction of dams and reservoirs. UNESCO's efforts led to the World Heritage treaty.
In 1978, 12 sites were inscribed on the World Heritage list for the first time. Among them were Yellowstone National Park of the United States and the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. The following year, 45 more sites, such as the pyramids of Egypt, were added to the list.
The number of World Heritage sites inscribed on the list stands at 936, comprising 725 cultural, 183 natural and 28 mixed properties.
The World Heritage convention is said to be the most successful international treaty in the sense that the number states signing it has increased to 187 — out of the 193 U.N. member states.
Japan was slow to ratify the pact, doing so in 1992, as it took time for the country to establish domestic legislation aimed at protecting natural and cultural assets. The following year, the nature-rich Yakushima Island off Kyushu, the Shirakami Mountain Range in northeastern Japan, the Horyuji Temple in the ancient capital of Nara, and Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture were placed on the list.
There are 16 sites from Japan on the list: 12 cultural and four natural. Most recently, in 2011, the Ogasawara Islands and the Buddhist temples, gardens and archaeological sites of Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, were added to the list.
Countries that hope to register their sites on the list are required to certify that those sites are of remarkable and universal value. UNESCO strictly checks if the sites and their environments have been fully protected.
After their sites are inscribed on the list, countries can receive financial and technical support from the international community, and can expect a boost in tourism to the sites.
Confrontation between some developing and developed countries is deepening, however. Developing countries hope to add more sites to the list, while some developed countries want to curb new entries to ensure the list's overall quality.
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee convenes a regular session every summer to examine requests from countries to place their sites on the list. In recent years, the committee has often decided to inscribe sites of some developing countries that experts of UNESCO advisory bodies have not highly evaluated. It seems to be the wish of developing countries to increase the number of their sites on the list.
The World Heritage Committee, which consists of representatives of 21 countries, decides whether to inscribe the sites on the list after UNESCO advisers and experts make on-the-spot inspections of the sites and file their opinions with the committee.
Read the rest of the article, here.
The treaty, formally called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, was adopted at UNESCO's general meeting in Paris in November 1972 and took effect in 1975.
Backed by the United States, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization made efforts in the 1960s to protect the Nubian monuments along the Nile River — remains of the ancient Egyptian civilization — from being submerged in water due to the construction of dams and reservoirs. UNESCO's efforts led to the World Heritage treaty.
In 1978, 12 sites were inscribed on the World Heritage list for the first time. Among them were Yellowstone National Park of the United States and the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. The following year, 45 more sites, such as the pyramids of Egypt, were added to the list.
The number of World Heritage sites inscribed on the list stands at 936, comprising 725 cultural, 183 natural and 28 mixed properties.
The World Heritage convention is said to be the most successful international treaty in the sense that the number states signing it has increased to 187 — out of the 193 U.N. member states.
Japan was slow to ratify the pact, doing so in 1992, as it took time for the country to establish domestic legislation aimed at protecting natural and cultural assets. The following year, the nature-rich Yakushima Island off Kyushu, the Shirakami Mountain Range in northeastern Japan, the Horyuji Temple in the ancient capital of Nara, and Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture were placed on the list.
There are 16 sites from Japan on the list: 12 cultural and four natural. Most recently, in 2011, the Ogasawara Islands and the Buddhist temples, gardens and archaeological sites of Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, were added to the list.
Countries that hope to register their sites on the list are required to certify that those sites are of remarkable and universal value. UNESCO strictly checks if the sites and their environments have been fully protected.
After their sites are inscribed on the list, countries can receive financial and technical support from the international community, and can expect a boost in tourism to the sites.
Confrontation between some developing and developed countries is deepening, however. Developing countries hope to add more sites to the list, while some developed countries want to curb new entries to ensure the list's overall quality.
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee convenes a regular session every summer to examine requests from countries to place their sites on the list. In recent years, the committee has often decided to inscribe sites of some developing countries that experts of UNESCO advisory bodies have not highly evaluated. It seems to be the wish of developing countries to increase the number of their sites on the list.
The World Heritage Committee, which consists of representatives of 21 countries, decides whether to inscribe the sites on the list after UNESCO advisers and experts make on-the-spot inspections of the sites and file their opinions with the committee.
Read the rest of the article, here.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Unesco concern at Tower of London and Westminster buildings
A team visiting the Unesco World Heritage sites the Tower of London, the Palace of Westminster and the Abbey is concerned about their "visual setting".
A World Heritage Committee official said there were no "buffer zones" between the sites and 20 ongoing or new developments to protect the views.
If the team decides the sites are threatened, it could place them on the UN's Heritage in Danger list.
The government said it could not afford to see the iconic monuments downgraded.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said if the sites - which include St Margaret's Church in the Westminster group - appeared to be heading for the Heritage in Danger List when the committee met in June 2012, it would bring "bad publicity" ahead of the Olympics.
There are 28 World Heritage Sites in the UK.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
A World Heritage Committee official said there were no "buffer zones" between the sites and 20 ongoing or new developments to protect the views.
If the team decides the sites are threatened, it could place them on the UN's Heritage in Danger list.
The government said it could not afford to see the iconic monuments downgraded.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said if the sites - which include St Margaret's Church in the Westminster group - appeared to be heading for the Heritage in Danger List when the committee met in June 2012, it would bring "bad publicity" ahead of the Olympics.
There are 28 World Heritage Sites in the UK.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Palestinians hope for US reserve over UNESCO funds
LONDON (AP) — The Palestinian foreign minister said Wednesday he hopes the United States can be persuaded to reverse its decision to cut funds to UNESCO now that the U.N. agency has voted to give the Palestinians membership.
Riad Malki told The Associated Press in an interview that several countries are lobbying the U.S. over the withdrawal of the funds and that talks are planned between U.S. officials and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
Following the Oct. 31 vote that made Palestine a member of the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, two U.S. laws kicked in that halted the flow of funds to the agency, forcing it to scale back literacy and development programs it carries out in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the new nation of South Sudan.
The United States contributes $80 million annually in dues — 22 percent of UNESCO's overall budget — and its 2011 contribution was not yet in when the laws took effect, immediately throwing UNESCO into crisis.
Read more, here.
Riad Malki told The Associated Press in an interview that several countries are lobbying the U.S. over the withdrawal of the funds and that talks are planned between U.S. officials and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
Following the Oct. 31 vote that made Palestine a member of the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, two U.S. laws kicked in that halted the flow of funds to the agency, forcing it to scale back literacy and development programs it carries out in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the new nation of South Sudan.
The United States contributes $80 million annually in dues — 22 percent of UNESCO's overall budget — and its 2011 contribution was not yet in when the laws took effect, immediately throwing UNESCO into crisis.
Read more, here.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Cash-strapped French wine town forced to sell off monuments
SAINT EMILION, France (AFP) ― Residents of Saint Emilion, a hugely popular UNESCO World Heritage site in southwest France, were shocked when their mayor sold a medieval monument to pay off debts.
And while the council has defended the controversial sale as a means of raising much-needed cash for the upkeep of historic sites, it has undertaken to rethink the strategy and find alternative means of funding in future.
“Saint Emilion has a very rich medieval heritage but that leaves them with a lot to do and they don’t have the resources,” was how Francois Gondran, the state architect responsible for Bordeaux and Saint Emilion, explained the sale of the 14th century Cordeliers cloister, home to a sparking wine producer.
“What are expensive to maintain are the ramparts, 80 percent of which date from the Middle Ages. They are very expensive to restore and difficult to access. It involves a lot of man-hours.”
Click here for the rest of the article.
And while the council has defended the controversial sale as a means of raising much-needed cash for the upkeep of historic sites, it has undertaken to rethink the strategy and find alternative means of funding in future.
“Saint Emilion has a very rich medieval heritage but that leaves them with a lot to do and they don’t have the resources,” was how Francois Gondran, the state architect responsible for Bordeaux and Saint Emilion, explained the sale of the 14th century Cordeliers cloister, home to a sparking wine producer.
“What are expensive to maintain are the ramparts, 80 percent of which date from the Middle Ages. They are very expensive to restore and difficult to access. It involves a lot of man-hours.”
Click here for the rest of the article.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
UNESCO World Heritage Guide App free for one day
The UNESCO General Conference adopted the World Heritage Convention on 16 November 1972. In the 40 years since then, 936 sites have been inscribed on the World Heritage List and 188 countries have committed to preserving this heritage for future generations.
To launch the celebration year, UNESCO is happy to make the following offer:UNESCO World Heritage Guide App free for one day
What can you do with the app?
Use the UNESCO World Heritage app to explore all the World Heritage sites at home or while on your travels, choosing your favourites and marking them off as you visit them.
The app is published by HarperCollins Publishers and developed by Aimer Media in partnership with UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
To launch the celebration year, UNESCO is happy to make the following offer:UNESCO World Heritage Guide App free for one day
What can you do with the app?
Use the UNESCO World Heritage app to explore all the World Heritage sites at home or while on your travels, choosing your favourites and marking them off as you visit them.
The app is published by HarperCollins Publishers and developed by Aimer Media in partnership with UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Why Wikipedia Is as Important as the Pyramids
On July 31, 2007, an old Japanese silver mine known as Iwami Ginzan was declared by Unesco to have “outstanding universal value” and added to the World Heritage List alongside Stonehenge and the Pyramids. Local Japanese were bewildered. Abandoned in 1923, the site now consists of little more than a hole in the ground.
Fast-forward four years. At the Wikimedia Conference in March, a German coalition proposed that Wikipedia become the first digital World Heritage site. A petition was drafted, declaring Wikipedia “a masterpiece of human creative genius.” Unesco was not impressed. A spokeswoman suggested that Wikipedia apply for something called the Memory of the World Register.
Never heard of that before? Recent inductees and applicants include the Stockholm City Planning Committee Archives, the Benz patent of 1886, and Autochthonous Ethnic Music of the Caucasus on CD-ROM.
Read the rest of the article, here.
Fast-forward four years. At the Wikimedia Conference in March, a German coalition proposed that Wikipedia become the first digital World Heritage site. A petition was drafted, declaring Wikipedia “a masterpiece of human creative genius.” Unesco was not impressed. A spokeswoman suggested that Wikipedia apply for something called the Memory of the World Register.
Never heard of that before? Recent inductees and applicants include the Stockholm City Planning Committee Archives, the Benz patent of 1886, and Autochthonous Ethnic Music of the Caucasus on CD-ROM.
Read the rest of the article, here.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Unesco Accepts Palestinians as Full Members
Friday, October 21, 2011
Beyonce Knowles and the Looming Crisis at the UN
UNESCO member states are poised to admit Palestine as the newest member of the UN body. This is an achievement for the Palestinian leadership, which is seeking admission to various UN agencies, but potentially catastrophic news for UNESCO and American leadership at the UN. And through no fault of her own, even Beyonce may suffer.
At issue here are two strict laws passed by the United States congress in 1994 which stipulate that “the United States shall not make any voluntary or assessed contribution to any affiliated organization of the United Nations which grants full membership as a state to any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood.” And if that were not clear enough, a second clause clearly states that the United States may not “provide funds [to] the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof which accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as member states.” The law authorizes no “waiver authority” by the executive branch, meaning that there is no way for President Obama to end run around this prohibition.
Read more, here.
At issue here are two strict laws passed by the United States congress in 1994 which stipulate that “the United States shall not make any voluntary or assessed contribution to any affiliated organization of the United Nations which grants full membership as a state to any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood.” And if that were not clear enough, a second clause clearly states that the United States may not “provide funds [to] the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof which accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as member states.” The law authorizes no “waiver authority” by the executive branch, meaning that there is no way for President Obama to end run around this prohibition.
Read more, here.
Video: The Dying Trees of France’s Canal du Midi
Click here to watch a short video about the 42,000 plane trees lining France’s historic Canal du Midi that are being felled because of a fungus brought to Europe by US soldiers in World War II.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Skyscraper threatens Seville's world heritage status
SEVILLE, Spain — Seville is famed for its imposing cathedral and whitewashed streets but the Spanish city may lose its UN World Heritage status because of a new 41-storey skyscraper.
The 178-metre (584-foot) high, oval-shaped building, still under construction, will house the offices of savings bank Cajasol when completed in 2012.
It was designed by Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli, who is responsible for some of the world's tallest buildings, including the Petronas Towers which dominate the skyline of Kuala Lumpur.
Pelli's office boasts the new skyscraper "will define the skyline of Seville."
But that is a prospect that dismays the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which since July has called in vain for work on the project to be stopped.
It is planning a visit to the city together with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) to "determine if the skyscraper has a visual impact on the historic centre of Seville, said UNESCO spokeswoman Lucia Kuntz.
ICOMOS, which works to protect cultural heritage sites around the world, advises the UN body on World Heritage sites, which include cultural landmarks such as the Great Wall of China and the leaning Tower of Pisa.
The building already rises up eight stories into the sky just several hundred metres -- and on the other side of the Guadalquivir river -- from the historic centre of Seville.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
The 178-metre (584-foot) high, oval-shaped building, still under construction, will house the offices of savings bank Cajasol when completed in 2012.
It was designed by Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli, who is responsible for some of the world's tallest buildings, including the Petronas Towers which dominate the skyline of Kuala Lumpur.
Pelli's office boasts the new skyscraper "will define the skyline of Seville."
But that is a prospect that dismays the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which since July has called in vain for work on the project to be stopped.
It is planning a visit to the city together with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) to "determine if the skyscraper has a visual impact on the historic centre of Seville, said UNESCO spokeswoman Lucia Kuntz.
ICOMOS, which works to protect cultural heritage sites around the world, advises the UN body on World Heritage sites, which include cultural landmarks such as the Great Wall of China and the leaning Tower of Pisa.
The building already rises up eight stories into the sky just several hundred metres -- and on the other side of the Guadalquivir river -- from the historic centre of Seville.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
Palestinians to push heritage agenda at UNESCO
(Reuters) - The Palestinians will seek World Heritage status for the birthplace of Jesus once the U.N. cultural agency admits them as a full member, and will then nominate other sites on Israeli-occupied land for the same standing, an official said.
Hamdan Taha, a Palestinian Authority minister who deals with antiquities and culture, said UNESCO membership was the Palestinians' natural right. He described as "regrettable" the objections of some governments including the United States.
UNESCO's board decided last week to let member states vote on a Palestinian application for full membership, seen as part of a Palestinian drive opposed by Israel and the United States for recognition as a state in the U.N. system.
"UNESCO membership carries a message of justice and rights. Why must the Palestinians be left outside the international system?" Taha said. "I see it as crowning long efforts over the past 20 years."
Read the rest of the article, here.
Hamdan Taha, a Palestinian Authority minister who deals with antiquities and culture, said UNESCO membership was the Palestinians' natural right. He described as "regrettable" the objections of some governments including the United States.
UNESCO's board decided last week to let member states vote on a Palestinian application for full membership, seen as part of a Palestinian drive opposed by Israel and the United States for recognition as a state in the U.N. system.
"UNESCO membership carries a message of justice and rights. Why must the Palestinians be left outside the international system?" Taha said. "I see it as crowning long efforts over the past 20 years."
Read the rest of the article, here.
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