Interpreting histories of pollution
October 4, 2018
To provide observations and information on the emerging fields of landscape scale conservation, heritage preservation, and sustainable community development.
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On November 13-14, 2018 US ICOMOS welcomed experts from 15 countries across six continents to a gathering at the Presidio in San Francisco. Titled Forward Together: Effective Conservation in a Changing World, the goal of the symposium was to share a range of ideas on how to integrate culture and nature and to explore ways to shape cultural and natural heritage for long-lasting conservation. Building on earlier international nature/culture journeys, the focus was taking action on the ground.
It was just one year ago last July 2017 that after many decades of effort the English Lake District was finally recognized as a World Heritage cultural landscape. So how is the Lake District faring one year after designation? In many ways the inscription has not made big changes. The Lake District National Park Partnership continues to play a key role in carrying out its stated mission for the Lake District to serve as: A place where its prosperous economy, world class visitor experiences and vibrant communities come together to sustain the spectacular landscape, its wildlife and cultural heritage.
However, the impact of outside forces specifically Brexit on the region are much more problematic. What will it mean for the country’s agricultural policy? This is critical for the Lake District. As noted in the World Heritage nomination, it is an “unrivalled example of a northern European upland agro-pastoral system”, but also a way of life under tremendous pressure.
Scholars from four continents gathered in the World Heritage listed Rotunda at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville for a two-day conference on “Interpreting and Representing Slavery and its Legacies in Museums and Sites: International Perspectives” (March 19-20 2018). The conference explored the variety of ways universities, historic sites and museums from around the Atlantic World tell the story of slavery and its far reaching legacy. The conference was sponsored by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the University of Virginia, and the United States Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS) in collaboration with the United National Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, and Heritage.
At every level, conservation practioners labor to understand and balance natural and cultural values at a landscape scale. Globally, this challenge plays out in the push and pull of the World Heritage inscription process. The recent (July 2017) inscription by the World Heritage Committee of the English Lake District highlights some of the challenges and opportunities of attempting to integrate cultural and natural values. There is no question this is a celebrated and iconic landscape, but there have been bumps along the way to gaining World Heritage recognition.
With a global market of 1 billion travelers, how can heritage managers draw more travelers into a deeper engagement around the understanding of place and more importantly the people who live in a place. Can another approach the found that goes beyond just consumer driven products sometimes characterized as hit and run tourism? A recent conference and a visit to two World Heritage cities, provided an opportunity for reflection.
On November 13-14, 2018 US ICOMOS welcomed experts from 15 countries across six continents to a gathering at the Presidio in San Francisco. Titled Forward Together: Effective Conservation in a Changing World, the goal of the symposium was to share a range of ideas on how to integrate culture and nature and to explore ways to shape cultural and natural heritage for long-lasting conservation. Building on earlier international nature/culture journeys, the focus was taking action on the ground.
It was just one year ago last July 2017 that after many decades of effort the English Lake District was finally recognized as a World Heritage cultural landscape. So how is the Lake District faring one year after designation? In many ways the inscription has not made big changes. The Lake District National Park Partnership continues to play a key role in carrying out its stated mission for the Lake District to serve as: A place where its prosperous economy, world class visitor experiences and vibrant communities come together to sustain the spectacular landscape, its wildlife and cultural heritage.
However, the impact of outside forces specifically Brexit on the region are much more problematic. What will it mean for the country’s agricultural policy? This is critical for the Lake District. As noted in the World Heritage nomination, it is an “unrivalled example of a northern European upland agro-pastoral system”, but also a way of life under tremendous pressure.
Scholars from four continents gathered in the World Heritage listed Rotunda at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville for a two-day conference on “Interpreting and Representing Slavery and its Legacies in Museums and Sites: International Perspectives” (March 19-20 2018). The conference explored the variety of ways universities, historic sites and museums from around the Atlantic World tell the story of slavery and its far reaching legacy. The conference was sponsored by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the University of Virginia, and the United States Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS) in collaboration with the United National Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, and Heritage.
At every level, conservation practioners labor to understand and balance natural and cultural values at a landscape scale. Globally, this challenge plays out in the push and pull of the World Heritage inscription process. The recent (July 2017) inscription by the World Heritage Committee of the English Lake District highlights some of the challenges and opportunities of attempting to integrate cultural and natural values. There is no question this is a celebrated and iconic landscape, but there have been bumps along the way to gaining World Heritage recognition.
With a global market of 1 billion travelers, how can heritage managers draw more travelers into a deeper engagement around the understanding of place and more importantly the people who live in a place. Can another approach the found that goes beyond just consumer driven products sometimes characterized as hit and run tourism? A recent conference and a visit to two World Heritage cities, provided an opportunity for reflection.