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Amami‐Oshima and Tokunoshima Islands (the Amami Islands) are part of an important area for biogeography in Japan. Although the uniqueness of the islands' flora is well recognized, their plant diversity, including non‐tree life forms, has yet to be compared with that of other regions. Here, we characterize the plant community structure of the Amami Islands, and analyze the α and β diversity patterns with respect to environmental factors as well as the frequency of threatened and endemic species compared with that in regions at higher and lower latitudes. We used 5 × 100 m plots at seven sites on the Amami Islands, three sites further north, and one site further south to record the abundance of all vascular plant species and tree sizes. We also used tree census data from five plots from the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project. Three principal components from five environmental variables were used as factors affecting diversity. We found that the broad‐leaved evergreen forests on the Amami Islands have higher α diversity resulting from species richness anomalies in shared families among regions. Additionally, generalized linear mixed models indicated that temperature and altitude affect α diversity positively. Furthermore, multiple regression models on distance matrices showed that temperature and regional differences in weather conditions affect β diversity. Tree species were found to affect species diversity and rareness, but herbaceous plants also affect these parameters substantially. These results indicate that the two studied islands are biodiversity hotspots and that evaluating herbaceous species is important for determining forest biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World Natural Heritage Site (WNHS) is a typical demonstration of global diversity protection. To realize the sustainable development of WNHSs under the contradiction of protection and utilization, an index system based on the framework of exposure-sensitivity-resilience was constructed to diagnose the ecological degradation of WNHSs, and the degree and structure of ecological degradation were evaluated and visualized in Bogda, Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang. The results show that: (1) The criterion layers of threat factors, resilience and changes of heritage value showed different spatial distribution characteristics. (2) The level of ecological degradation in Bogda site was mainly mild degradation, while the degradation was serious around the scenic spots with intensive tourist activities and along the road. The seriously degraded area was the least, accounting for 1.89% of the study area, followed by ecological health area (6.22%), moderately degraded area (13.87%), and mildly degraded area (78.03%). (3) The overall conservation management status in Bogda site remained good. Low -low -low is the main type of ecological degradation, followed by high -high -high, high -high -low, low -high -high and low -high -high. The diagnosis and analysis of ecological degradation would provide scientific basis for the conservation, management and ecological restoration of Bogda site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Top predators such as coastal birds are essential components of marine food webs, and understanding their trophic interactions forms an essential basis of food web models. At the same time, the proportion of plastic debris in marine food webs has constantly increased while the degree of plastic ingestion by marine birds is still poorly known. In this study, the diets and microplastic uptakes in two numerous benthivorous bird species in the Wadden Sea were examined microscopically, i.e. the common eider (Sommateria mollissima) indicative for the subtidal and the common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) indicative for the intertidal area. Eiders (n = 42 carcasses; n = 120 faecal samples) mainly ingested common cockles (Cerastoderma edule). Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) ranged second and—same as the invasive razor clam (Ensis leei)—occurred more frequently than reflected by historic data. Proportions of gastropods, bristle worms and crustaceans were low. Shelducks (n = 20 carcasses; n = 98 faecal samples) fed mainly on small molluscs, especially C. edule, mud snails Peringia ulvae, and amphipods. Plastic debris was found in 92.9% of the stomachs and 74.2% of the faeces from eiders as well as in 95% of the stomachs and 85.7% of the faeces from shelducks. Filaments in shelduck prey remains were significantly larger, whereas there was no species-specific difference in abundance of filaments. Most plastic consisted of brightly coloured filaments ˂ 5 mm. These findings indicate regular uptake and excretion of plastic debris by coastal benthivorous seabirds, both in the subtidal and intertidal realm. The origin and mode of uptake of microplastics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UNESCO World Heritage List, developed to protect the common heritage of humanity, is the most effective international protection mechanism today. The concept of outstanding universal value, which emerged with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, is one of the most important prerequisites for the heritages that are candidates for the UNESCO World Heritage List. However, efforts to decide how this prerequisite should be applied in practice could only come to a conclusion after many years of discussions. The definition of the concept of outstanding universal value was made as a result of the discussions that lasted until 2005. However, although it was put forward in theory, there was a transition period in its implementation within the scope of the listing process and 2009 became a breaking point in how the concept should be handled in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with people's attachments to historic urban places they experience in their daily lives. The topic has received growing emphasis in the realm of heritage studies, given its importance to the conservation and management of historic urban environments. Drawing on qualitative data collected from thirty in-depth interviews carried out in Edinburgh, Scotland, I explore the multiple ways in which (known as dimensions in place attachment literature) people develop attachments to historic urban places: from a kind of autobiographic attachments which were grounded in their everyday living and memories, and those of their families to intellectual attachments wherein they showcased their deep appreciation for the attributes that define a historic place. I also seek to demonstrate a class-specific nature of attachments at the intellectual level, adding a politicised view to the complexity of the phenomenon. In so doing, I demonstrate the many ways in which historic places are important to people's enjoyment of lives in the city, and the various roles the history of places and/or their historic attributes played in forging such attachments. I conclude the paper with discussions on findings related to the current state of knowledge in place attachment research and implications for heritage practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of Indigenous peoples in World Heritage Sites remains a controversial topic in regard to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. This paper aims to determine this role, as recognised by UNESCO, by pursuing a systematic analysis of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Furthermore, the Rapa Nui National Park (Rapa Nui/Easter Island) is presented as a case study to exemplify an Indigenous-based governance of a World Heritage Site. By way of an investigation intersecting a documentary analysis of the Operational Guidelines and a descriptive case study of the Rapa Nui National Park based on ethnographic data, this paper aims to show how Indigenous-based management systems of World Heritage Sites can constitute strategies that stand in harmony with Indigenous rights within protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malleodectes? wentworthi, sp. nov. is a highly specialized durophagous marsupial from a Middle Miocene limestone cave deposit in the Riversleigh World Heritage area, northern Australia. It provides the first information regarding the lower dentition of malleodectids, an extinct family of dasyuromorphians. It is also the smallest durophagous member of Metatheria (marsupials and their stem relatives) known to date, with an estimated body mass of ∼70–90 g, an order of magnitude smaller than other known malleodectids (Malleodectes mirabilis and Ma. moenia ∼1 kg). As in other malleodectids, Ma.? wentworthi has a hypertrophied, dome-like premolar specialized for crushing hard foods. Tentative assignment to the genus Malleodectes is based on derived similarities of the premolar and molar dentition to those of larger species of Malleodectes (known only from upper dentitions), and occlusal compatibility. Quantitative morphofunctional analyses of dental indices and mandibular bending strength are congruent with the previously proposed hypothesis that malleodectids may have been uniquely specialized snail-eaters. Maximum parsimony phylogenetic analysis of a 173 morphological character dataset, with a molecular scaffold enforced, placed Ma.? wentworthi within Dasyuromorphia, in a basal polytomy with Dasyuridae and Mutpuracinus archibaldi, to the exclusion of Barinya wangala, Myrmecobiidae and Thylacinidae. Bayesian analysis of a total evidence dataset that combined morphological with nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data places Ma.? wentworthi as a sister taxon to crown-clade Dasyuridae, although support for this relationship is weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bryophyte colonization on selected monuments of Champaner Pavagadh UNESCO World Heritage site was investigated. A total of seventeen bryophytes including nine liverworts, six mosses and two hornworts, causing degradation of the monuments, were recorded. The geological substrate was studied by a thin section of substratum and Powder X-Ray Diffraction analysis. Microscopic images of the thin section of geological substrate of the samples showed the presence of quartz, ferruginous materials, calcareous materials, orthoclase and plagioclase feldspar minerals. The XRD analysis spectra revealed the presence of different minerals such as aluminosilicate, calcite, muscovite, hematite, magnetite, orthoclase and plagioclase feldspar. The geological investigation showed that selected monuments are composed of the most calcareous materials. Hence, calcium uptake by Asterella wallichiana (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Grolle and Hyophila involuta (Hook.) A.Jaeger from the substratum was studied using a flame photometer. Maximum calcium uptake (i.e., 52 µg/mg) was obtained for plant samples of Asterella wallichiana compared to Hyophila involuta (i.e., 36 µg/mg). Bryophyte colonization on monuments was initiated by humus formation, followed by the protonema stage, mature gametophyte and rhizoids penetration into crevices as well as porous surfaces, forming cracks and degrading structures. This deterioration mechanism due to bryophyte colonization is explained by pictorial representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Grand Canal of China has a rich intangible cultural heritage along its route. The intangible cultural heritage of folk songs is an important representative. The study of its distribution characteristics and influencing factors is of practical and social significance for promoting the protection and development of intangible cultural heritage in relevant areas and the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt. This paper uses the theories of musicology, geography, sociology, data statistical analysis and spatial analysis to analyze the distribution pattern of intangible cultural heritage items in the Grand Canal basin from the dimensions of geographical space and folk song genre, and from the perspective of natural and social conditions. The results show that the spatial distribution of folk songs in the Grand Canal basin shows a trend of "distribution along the river, two cores and two belts". Water system, landform and regional culture are the main influencing factors for the formation and dissemination of intangible cultural heritage of folk songs. At the same time, compared with the mountainous areas in western China, the economic and social development and frequent population flow in the Grand Canal basin lead to the diversified and unified musical culture characteristics of folk songs. Finally, this paper proposes the suggestions that the folk songs should be integrated into the local social and economic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heritage scholars, professionals, and practitioners continue to debate the separation of nature and culture and their linkage. The discussion, however, centres on World Heritage Sites (WHS) but not those valued locally, some of which are on the national register. This practice threatens many local heritage sites that would have benefited from having a management plan that treats nature and culture as interconnected and interlinked. For example, in north-eastern Tanzania, a Wall Enclosure, namely Chongoleani, was declared a National Monument in 1961. A hundred metres away from the enclosure, there is a Sacred Grove the local people value and protect using customary laws. Whereas the Government of Tanzania considers the Wall Enclosure a national monument, the Chongoleani local community does not regard it (the Wall Enclosure) as necessary for protection. Instead, they have let it deteriorate. While the Wall Enclosure continues to decline, the Sacred Grove enjoys complete protection from the local community. For the two assets' sustainable preservation, the current paper proposes a decolonial approach that considers the localisation of UNESCO's World Heritage 'mixed sites' concept. We argue in this paper that, had the two properties been declared together as one national monument, valuing one heritage over the other would have been minimised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) originally aimed to promote nature conservation through community empowerment, but this aim is not easy to achieve. To analyze the reasons and propose responses, this paper constructed an analytical framework for CBNRM based on the theory of socio-ecological system synergies. A mixed-method (questionnaires, interviews, and observations) explanatory case study of Feicui village within the Mount Huangshan World Natural Heritage Site in Eastern China was conducted. The research illuminates the complexity of the CBNRM initiative in Feicui village, which neglects socio-ecological system synergies, leading to a lack of connection between the benefits from and attitudes toward natural conservation and a loss of integrated resource management. This study responds to the incomprehensibility of CBNRM and provides important theoretical contributions to international debates on CBNRM by highlighting the essence of recognizing system synergies to avoid deviating from the original intent of CBNRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in marine ecosystems from human stressors, and concerns over how species will respond to these changes have emphasized the importance of understanding and monitoring crucial demographic parameters for population models. Long-lived, migratory, marine vertebrates such as sea turtles are particularly vulnerable to changes. Life-history parameters like growth-in-body size can be largely influenced by environmental processes which can impact population growth. We analyzed a 40-year (1981–2021) capture-mark-recapture dataset from the protected UNESCO World Heritage Site, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, to estimate key population parameters, including body growth, for immature green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata). Curved carapace length (CCL) range was 34.3–110.9 cm (mean ± SD: 51.0 ± 11.4 cm, n = 1191) for green turtles and 28.7–89.4 cm (47.7 ± 14.4 cm, n = 538) for hawksbill turtles. Recapture events, with an 11-month minimum period, revealed a mean annual growth rate of 3.2 ± 1.5 cm year−1 for green turtles (n = 75) and 2.8 ± 1.4 cm year−1 for hawksbill turtles (n = 110). Hawksbill turtles exhibited a non-monotonic growth rate while no significant growth-size relationship was detected for green turtles. Green turtle mean annual growth per 10-cm size class was highest in the larger size classes (50‒69.9 cm). Hawksbill turtle growth rate was highest in the larger size classes (50‒69.9 cm) then declined in the largest size class (70‒79.9 cm). Green turtles and hawksbill turtles may spend > 8 and 18 years, respectively, using Aldabra, Seychelles, as a foraging ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balancing conservation and development is one of the biggest challenges in the management of heritage cities. In 2011, UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape in order to guide conservationists, urban planners and city administrations in this difficult process. Based on an interpretative policy analysis, this paper explores the implementation of the Historic Urban Landscape approach in the Uzbek World Heritage city Khiva. It describes recent development trends in the city's historic centre related to urban form, tourism and heritage management. These observations are then checked against the recommended 'critical steps' and tools from the Historic Urban Landscape Recommendation. The paper explores if recent urban developments in the city reflect a new understanding of the historic urban landscape, and to what extent the implementation of the Historic Urban Landscape approach supports the reconciliation of conservation and development in the urban regeneration of the city. The analysis shows that while some of the Recommendation's principles have been implemented, others are barely respected. Conflicts between the interest of tourism development, heritage conservation and the needs of local residents are ubiquitous and represent a case of heritage dissonance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volubilis was founded in the second century B.C. and was one of the largest cities on the fringe of the Roman Empire. In 1997, it was listed as a world cultural heritage site by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and is one of the most important archaeological sites of Morocco. Volubilis is renowned for its large number of mosaic floors. Among the major mosaics of Volubilis, and undoubtedly the most remarkable ones given their aesthetic and the variety of themes they hold, are found in the house of Venus. These mosaics have been restored between the 1940s and 1950s, but unfortunately, most of these restorations are past due or nearing their ends. Today, the mosaic floors are becoming unleveled, fractured and separated from their surrounding walls. These deteriorations can be triggered by many factors including inadequate foundation, a clayey soil beneath it sensitive to moisture and the heaving of the thin concrete layer due to the expansion of the soil. The corrosion of the reinforcing bars within these concrete slabs is enabling these deformations as well. The objective of this study is to examine the causes of the mosaics' deterioration by integrating three techniques including a laser level survey, photogrammetry using a small unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV) and ground‐penetrating radar. The methodology adopted herein can generate documentation that can be used during the preparation and decision making prior to any restoration. The restoration should not only be focused on the visible tesserae on the surface but must also consider the entire layer of the mosaics. These techniques were applied to several mosaics in Volubilis, yet only two mosaics within the house of Venus were selected for this study, and the following findings were accomplished: (1) Void spaces were found beneath the mosaic floors, (2) presence of sinking and heaving of concrete slabs and (3) potential corrosion of rebars. The three methods used in this study were in perfect concurrence in showing how the settling of the concrete slab was directly related to the deteriorations visible on the mosaic surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Junjie Su's book, "Intangible Cultural Heritage and Tourism in China: A Critical Approach," examines the recognition and production of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in the context of tourism development in China, with a focus on the case study of Lijiang. The book analyzes various perspectives, including those of government officials, experts, and local practitioners, to understand the complex meanings of ICH. It also explores the tensions between heritage preservation and tourism commodification. While the book provides valuable empirical data, it could benefit from updates on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a stronger theoretical framework. Overall, it contributes to the understanding of China's cultural transformation and the politicization of cultural heritage. [Extracted from the article]

In the World Heritage nomination process, the UNESCO World Heritage Programme has historically privileged the discourse of international experts and downplayed that of stakeholders. Taking West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou as an example, this paper compares and analyses the perspectives expressed by international experts, Chinese heritage professionals, local residents and domestic tourists. In the World Heritage nomination and evaluation processes for West Lake undertaken between 2007 and 2011, international experts did not appear to fully comprehend the values articulated by Chinese authorities due to the differences between Chinese and Western cultural histories, philosophies and heritage value systems. The discourse of tourists and local residents, on the other hand, not only engaged with the traditional and contemporary Chinese cultural values embodied in West Lake, but also linked them to personal emotions, experiences and memories, thereby constructing diverse expressions of social value. The case example supports the position that the nomination of World Heritage sites take into account the knowledge and experience of all stakeholders, especially with regard to constructions and justifications of heritage value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the leopard ( I Panthera pardus i ) has the widest range of any felid in the world is designated as a vulnerable species, mainly because of human-induced conflict (Jacobson et al., [6]). From these data, we generated population density estimates of 0.74 leopards/100 km SP 2 sp for left-side photos and 1.4 leopards/100 km SP 2 sp for right-side, resulting in a mean estimate of 1.07 leopards/100 km SP 2 sp (Table 1). Count me in: Leopard population density in an area of mixed land-use, Eastern Cape, South Africa Even in areas like the Phinda-Mkhuze Complex in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which has shown consistently high leopard population densities averaging around 7 leopards/100 km SP 2 sp , leopards show much greater mortality rates near the borders of the protected area compared to the central areas (Balme et al., [2]). [Extracted from the article]

This paper describes some of the various repair and conservation works carried out at the Tower of London, a World Heritage Site and Scheduled Ancient Monument, on behalf of Historic Royal Palaces. The works are generally managed on site by a surveyor from the Surveyor of the Fabric department and inspected by an Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Historic England, generally Jane Sidell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Turkey is a signatory to the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage it is the Ministry of Culture and Tourism which is responsible for intangible cultural heritage using procedures distinct from those used to preserve tangible cultural heritage'. In the spring of 2020 at the start of the Covid pandemic, it became increasingly clear that public open spaces were key resources in the development of policy to maintain public well-being. Railways and railway heritage form an important part of the historic environment, and a rapid review of the media, academia and popular literature reveals an extensive range of issues raised by the historic remains of railways. [Extracted from the article]

• Multianalytical approach is used to study of fourteen Achaemenian copper-based artefacts from the Persepolis World Heritage Site (550–330 BCE). • The chemical analysis shows application of Cu-Sn, Cu-Sn-Pb and Cu-Zn to produce metal artefacts. • Achaemenian copper-based artefacts are manufactured with a range of shaping methods from casting to working-annealing. Achaemenid metalworking is an interesting example of art and craftsmanship in the ancient Near East. Although relevant studies have been made during the last few decades, these have not included copper-base metallurgical technology. In this paper fourteen copper-base artefacts from early excavations of the Persepolis World Heritage Site have been investigated in detail. These artefacts include ten arrowheads, two broken pins, thin metal strips (or parts of a bracelet) and part of a rod. Samples were analysed using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy; scanning electron microscopy + energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy; and metallography. The results showed that most of the artefacts were made of tin bronze and leaded tin bronze. However, the bracelet was brass. The arrowheads were made by casting, and some were then annealed. The pins, bracelet and rod were secondary products obtained by cycles of cold-working and annealing. Of particular interest are the use of leaded tin bronze to cast the arrowheads and a brass to make the thin bracelet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As very fragile natural ecological areas, the spatiotemporal ecological environment (EE) analysis of World Natural Heritage Sites (WNHSs) is particularly important for their conservation and sustainable development. Timely, objective and quantitative evaluation of the spatiotemporal EE change characteristics of WNHSs is of great significance for ecological, environmental protection and government policy formulation. This study quantitatively evaluates the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of the EE of the Kalajun–Kuerdening WNHS by selecting the Remote Sensing Ecological Environment Index (RSEI) for 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021. We studied the spatiotemporal differences of the EE in buffer zones and nominated sites in the heritage sites and their change patterns and trends. The EE changes and land use changes from 2006–2011, 2011–2016 and 2016–2021 were overlaid and analyzed to explore the relationship between EE evolution and land use changes in the heritage site. The results show that (1) the heritage site was in a state of ecological change equilibrium from 2006 to 2011, and a form of slight decline in EE quality from 2011 to 2016 under the influence of natural factors, but it maintained a stable state with a small degree of fluctuation, and a state of ecological change recovery from 2016 to 2021. The areas with better EE grades were located in the northwest region (Kalajun) and northeast region (Kuerdening) of the heritage site. (2) The EE grade change in the heritage site shows the characteristics of neighborhood change without a large number of leap changes. (3) From 2006 to 2021, the EE quality in the nominated site was better than that of the buffer zone, but from 2016 onward, the difference between the two gradually decreased until 2021. The average EE quality was basically the same until 2021, but, spatially, the EE quality of most areas in the buffer zone was better than that in the nominated area. (4) The types of land use transformation that caused EE enhancement in the heritage sites were barren–grassland, snow/ice–barren and barren–snow/ice, while the types of land use transformation that caused EE quality reduction were grassland–barren and barren–snow/ice. The results of this study help improve the knowledge of the EE background of the WNHS and its evolutionary process and provide scientific guidance for ecologically related decision making and management of global natural heritage sites. The change in snow and ice cover is an essential factor in the shift of the EE of the Kalajun–Kuerdening World Natural Heritage Site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communities play a critical role in the development and maintenance of sustainable heritage tourism. However, conflicts often arise when these communities are ignored or marginalized in the heritage tourism development process. This paper examines whether the community located within the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, a World Heritage Site in China, views the designation and subsequent tourism development as beneficial or not. The findings show that there are significant differences in opinion between the local Hani people and non-Local Hani and outsiders who live in the heritage area. The local Hani feel a greater sense of deprivation due to de-empowerment and economic inequalities as compared with non-Local Hani and outsiders. This deprivation has reduced their motivation to conserve their own heritage, while the non-local Hani feel a greater sense of gain and a newfound appreciation for their personal and collective heritage identity. Frequent interactions between the two groups have led to local Hani people resisting the heritage preservation responsibilities enforced upon them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the heritage site of Luang Prabang, Laos, international and local stakeholders employ the practices and rhetoric of conservation to constitute and reaffirm their belonging to imagined national communities. By negotiating with each other the preservation of old houses and temple rites, French heritage experts reaffirm the role of France as a universal civilizing power, Laotians validate the status of Laos as pearl of unsullied Buddhism, and Thai tourists enhance their status as a modern, progressive nation. While many studies have linked heritage with colonial and national identity, we demonstrate how a single site may serve to confirm multiple national identities through friction with significant cultural others. Heritagization may thus be both a repressive, as well as a creative force in forging dynamically evolving identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damage to the rocks of historic built heritage needs to be addressed to facilitate their conservation and restoration; the most serious damage is caused by environmental conditions and human activities. Buildings constructed with ignimbrite blocks bonded with lime mortar in Morelia, México, a UNESCO World Heritage site, were studied. The damage mainly occurs in the facades, on the surfaces of the rocks and in the mortar of the union exposed to climatic factors such as sun, rain, wind, and temperature changes, due to the actions of humans and vehicles emitting polluting gases; and due to pigeon excrement. This has caused the formation of patinas and flora, reduced the mechanical strength and exfoliation, decreased the density and cohesion in the mortar with rocks, and led to friction damage caused by people. In the facades of five buildings, the mechanical resistance and microstructural characteristics were indirectly determined by XRD, XRF, and SEM. The results were related to the climate, humans, and vehicular pollutant emissions. The damage was due to the environment, the influencing geographic orientation, and prevailing winds, rising capillary water on the facades, pigeon droppings, vehicular pollutant gases, and humans. Potential banks of healthy quarries were analyzed for use in the conservation and restoration of damaged monuments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underpinned by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 Statement, this systematic review analyses 58 peer-reviewed articles published during 2008–2021 and retrieved from Scopus and Google Scholar that address the relationship between climate change and UNESCO World Heritage-listed cultural properties. The review reveals a suite of observations that will be important to consider for future research, including: the significant increase in publications since 2008; the prevalence of scholarship focused on the region of Europe and North America; the diversity of research methods and approaches; the instances of climate change hazards; the numerous adaptation measures and barriers. The study also showcases a much greater scholarly concentration on natural sites compared to cultural sites, observing that a reliance on a nature/culture binary does not bode well for the effective safeguarding of cultural World Heritage sites. This article also highlights the need for greater representation from the Global South in terms of both geographic focus and authorship, the lack of collaboration between Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Humanities, Arts and Social Science (HASS) disciplines, the capacity for collective action from different stakeholders, the importance of intangible elements, and the effects of both international and national legal frameworks and regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the migratory behaviors that characterize many marine species pose a challenge for the study of their demographic parameters and movement patterns due to the remoteness or seasonal inaccessibility of their habitats. Topics include examines the photoidentification is a non-invasive technique used to identify individuals by documenting natural markings of animals in the wild.

Interest in the literature on tourism destination sustainability has grown notably in recent years, underlining the need for a greater strategic commitment by hospitality and tourism firms (HTFs). However, it is necessary to understand why certain firms develop a greater sustainability orientation (SO), delving into how the relational factors determine the SO of HTFs, which has been demanded, but not addressed. The aim of this paper is to analyze the mediating role of absorptive capacity in explaining the influence of bonding capital and bridging capital on the SO of HTFs in destinations. The empirical study was developed in a sample of 238 HTFs in Peru. Specifically, we focused on the UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Cities, which include the historic centers of Lima, Cusco and Arequipa. Using Partial Least Squares (PLS) to analyze the results, we found that bonding capital has a direct effect on SO and a mediating effect through absorptive capacity. Bridging capital has no direct effect, influencing SO only through absorptive capacity. Thus, we highlight the importance of absorptive capacity as a key element that drives social capital, especially the bridging dimension, towards a higher SO. Managers of HTFs should combine relationships with agents inside and outside the destination to reinforce their strategic commitment to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sphagnum bogs in Australia are small, with a limited distribution, but of high conservation value. They are restricted to cool, wet environments that are typically fire free and are poorly adapted to recover from fire disturbance, unlike most Australian flora. Increased fire activity due to anthropogenic climate change is threatening Sphagnum bogs. This increased threat has stimulated interest in their restoration. Compared with the northern hemisphere, there have been few studies of the ecology of Sphagnum restoration in the southern hemisphere. Here, we report on a field experiment in Tasmania, in an area burned by an extensive fire in 2016. We investigated the role of shade, fertilizer and transplants, factors demonstrated to be important in the restoration of burnt bogs on the Australian mainland. Treatments commenced three to 4 years after the fire. Overall, we found that fire‐damaged Sphagnum recovers very slowly, and that there was no recovery in severely burned areas. The addition of shade increased recovery of damaged Sphagnum, but fertilizer was harmful, even to healthy Sphagnum. Transplants in fire‐killed Sphagnum grew poorly in both moderately and severely burnt Sphagnum areas. Our findings support the use of shading in post‐fire Sphagnum recovery projects, although further work is required to determine the optimal approach and duration of providing shade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pangolins are one of the most threatened mammal groups, as a result of habitat loss and exploitation for their meat, scales, and other body parts. However, there is a lack of quantitative data on pangolin populations; their behaviour and ecology make them challenging to survey. We undertook systematic camera-trap surveys of the 5260 km2 World Heritage Dja Faunal Reserve, Cameroon, sampling 305 sites in eight grids over 28,277 camera-trap days. We recorded 768 images of giant pangolin in 99 independent detections at 57 sites (RAI = 0.35), and 2282 images in 355 detections (RAI = 1.26) of white-bellied pangolin at 137 sites. Ground-dwelling giant pangolins were largely confined to the core of the Reserve. Semi-arboreal white-bellied pangolins were predominantly distributed in the northeast, east and south of the Reserve. Lower occupancy in the west and northwest could partly be due to pressures from human settlements around the Hydromekin Dam and Sud-Cameroun Hévéa rubber plantation. Our study suggests that at the ground-level the two species do not spatially segregate, and both were active throughout the night. We found high diel activity overlap, although there was a significant difference in activity peak times. There was also evidence of white-bellied pangolin possibly exhibiting fine-scale behavioural avoidance of giant pangolin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Segmentation and visualization of three-dimensional digital cultural heritage are important analytical tools for the intuitive understanding of content. In this paper, we propose a semantic segmentation and visualization framework that automatically classifies carved items (people, buildings, plants, etc.) in cultural heritage reliefs. We also apply our method to the bas-reliefs of Borobudur Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Indonesia. The difficulty in relief segmentation lies in the fact that the boundaries of each carved item are formed by indistinct soft edges, i.e., edges with low curvature. This unfavorable relief feature leads the conventional methods to fail to extract soft edges, whether they are three-dimensional methods classifying a three-dimensional scanned point cloud or two-dimensional methods classifying pixels in a drawn image. To solve this problem, we propose a deep-learning-based soft edge enhanced network to extract the semantic labels of each carved item from multichannel images that are projected from the three-dimensional point clouds of the reliefs. The soft edges in the reliefs can be clearly extracted using our novel opacity-based edge highlighting method. By mapping the extracted semantic labels into three-dimensional points of the relief data, the proposed method provides comprehensive three-dimensional semantic segmentation results of the Borobudur reliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, research on outstanding universal value (OUV) protection and tourism development at World Natural Heritage sites (WNHSs) has attracted scholarly attention. The aesthetic value of natural landscapes is a powerful driving force for tourism development. Using this approach as an entry point to study aesthetic value protection and tourism development will help to relieve the contradiction between protection and development and promote the sustainable utilization of heritage sites. However, no comprehensive literature review has examined research on aesthetic value protection and tourism development at WNHSs. To fill this gap, we used a systematic literature review framework, and bibliometric analyses of 194 journal articles were collected from the Web of Science (WOS) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. The results show the following: (1) the overall fluctuating upward trend in the number of publications indicates that the research in this field is gradually expanding, the regions studied in the literature are mainly focused on China, Italy and Australia, and the research institutions conducting the research are mainly Asian universities. (2) The landmark research achievements mainly focus on theoretical foundation, model construction, monitoring and evaluation, technical measures and other dimensions and the implications for World Heritage karst sites (WHKSs), where theoretical research is the main focus, and that research on monitoring and evaluation, technical measures and model construction is relatively limited. (3) On this basis, 7 key scientific and technological issues are summarized and provide insights into future research directions for the conservation of aesthetic values and tourism development at WHKSs, and future research should strengthen knowledge of natural heritage conservation based on aesthetic value identification and focus on the theoretical basis of the coordination between the conservation of aesthetic value and tourism development at WNHSs. Research should explore the science and technology and measures associated with the coordination between aesthetic value conservation and tourism development, and reveal the mechanisms and paths for coordination between WNHS conservation and tourism development in karst areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past twenty years, government advisory bodies have placed increasing emphasis on the need for adaptive measures in response to the effects of human-induced climate change. Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), which incorporate macroeconomic and climate variables, feature prominently in advisory content, though they rarely draw on data from outside strictly constrained hypothetical systems. This has led to assertions that they are not well-suited to approximate complex systemic human-environment processes. Modular, interdisciplinary approaches have offered a way to address this shortcoming; however, beyond climate records, prehistoric data continue to be under-utilised in developing such models. In this paper we highlight the contribution that archaeology and palaeoecology can make to the development of the next generation IAMs that are expected to enhance provision for more local and pro-active adaptations to future climate change. We present data from one of Southeast Asia's most heavily developed river deltas: the Red River (Song Hong) Delta, in Vietnam and localised analysis from the Tràng An Landscape Complex World Heritage Site, on the delta's southern margin. Comparison is made between Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSP) 5–8.5 and SSP2–4.5 emission projection models and the Mid-Holocene inundation of the Red River Basin. We highlight the value to taking a scientific long view of coastal evolution through an illustrative set of eight research foci where palaeo-data can bring new and localised empirical data to bear on future risk management planning. We proceed to demonstrate the applicability of palaeoenvironmental, zooarchaeological and historical evidence to management and the development of sustainable conservation strategies using Tràng An as a case study. In so doing, we further highlight the importance of knowledge exchange between scientific, corporate, non-governmental, local, and state stakeholders to achieve tangible results on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Report cards that are designed to monitor environmental trends have the potential to provide a powerful communication tool because they are easy to understand and accessible to the general public, scientists, managers and policy makers. Given this functionality, they are increasingly popular in marine ecosystem reporting. We describe a report card method for seagrass that incorporates spatial and temporal variability in three metrics—meadow area, species and biomass—developed using long-term (greater than 10 years) monitoring data. This framework summarises large amounts of spatially and temporally complex data to give a numeric score that provides reliable comparisons of seagrass condition in both persistent and naturally variable meadows. We provide an example of how this is applied to seagrass meadows in an industrial port in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area of north-eastern Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lavandula pedunculata (Mill.) Cav., Mentha cervina L. and Thymus mastichina (L.) L. subsp. mastichina are representative species of the Côa Valley's flora, a Portuguese UNESCO World Heritage Site. L. pedunculata and T. mastichina are traditionally used to preserve olives and to aromatize bonfires on Saint John's Eve, while M. cervina is mainly used as a spice for river fish dishes. Despite their traditional uses, these aromatic plants are still undervalued, and literature regarding their bioactivity, especially anticancer, is scarce. In this work, the morphology of secretory structures was assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the composition of essential oils (EOs) was characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The study proceeded with cytotoxic evaluation of EOs in tumor and non-tumor cells with the cell death mechanism explored in glioblastoma (GB) cells. L. pedunculata EO presented the most pronounced cytotoxic/antiproliferative activity against tumor cells, with moderate cytotoxicity against non-tumor cells. Whereas, M. cervina EO exhibited a slightly lower cytotoxic effect against tumor cells and did not affect the viability of non-tumor cells. Meanwhile, T. mastichina EO did not induce a strong cytotoxic effect against GB cells. L. pedunculata and M. cervina EOs lead to cell death by inducing apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The present study suggests that L. pedunculata and M. cervina EOs have a strong cytotoxic and antiproliferative potential to be further studied as efficient antitumor agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important type of world heritage sites, cultural landscape has always been an important research subject. In order to explore the spatial distribution and evolution mode of cultural landscape all over the world, the paper systematically elaborated the historical context of cultural landscape. The distribution characteristics were analyzed by statistical methods, and the connotation and evolution law represented by cultural landscape in different regions were expounded. The word frequency of regional heritage criteria was analyzed, and the local characteristics of each case were discussed. The research shows that the spatial distribution of global cultural landscape is unbalanced, mainly concentrated in Europe, and the spatial distribution characteristics are closely related to geographical environment, social history, economic development level and many other factors. In terms of inscribed criteria for world heritage sites, most cultural landscapes are mainly based on cultural criteria, but also involve natural criteria. The recognition and protection of cultural landscapes that simultaneously meet multiple criteria will become the focus in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A World Heritage Site is a masterpiece of mankind and/or nature that possesses outstanding universal value (OUV). In this regard, the 5Cs strategic objectives (credibility, communication, capacity-building, conservation, and community) set by the World Heritage Committee have become a main issue for WHS sustainable development. As one of the key stakeholders of WHS, tourist's perceived OUV attractiveness, congestion, and attitudinal behavior have significant implications for heritage protection and tourism's sustainable development. Based on the perspectives of OUV attractiveness and perceived tourist crowding, and taking into account destination attachment, the influencing factors and mechanisms of tourist satisfaction are investigated. In view of the 536 questionnaire responses from tourists of Mount Sanqingshan National Park, the structural equation modeling approach was employed to study tourist satisfaction. The conclusions were sketched: (1) tourist crowding perception did not have a significant negative effect on OUV attractiveness; destination attachment, and tourist satisfaction, and the degree of crowding perception was low; (2) the OUV attractiveness has a significant positive influence on destination attachment and tourist satisfaction, which fully highlights the charm of OUV and its important role in shaping tourists' attitudes/behaviors; (3) destination attachment has a significant positive effect on tourist satisfaction, indicating that tourists' heritage-place attachment contributes to tourist satisfaction. Finally, the analysis of tourism crowding, OUV, and the satisfaction framework proposed broaden the horizons of visitor satisfaction research, which is also a positive response to the strategic objectives of the 5Cs of WHS, with some practical implications for heritage preservation and visitor management in World Heritage Sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When it was designated as a World Cultural Heritage (WCH) in 2012, there were 14 Subak organizations formed in Catur Angga Batukaru Area. However, it seems that only Subak Jatiluwih has the privilege to experience rapid development as a tourism destination. The other 13 Subak area in Catur Angga Batukaru has not been well developed. The beauty of their rice terraces, plantation fields, temples and rivers has not been appropriately exposed to the tourists. Further studies are required to investigate the potencies of 13 Subak areas in the Catur Angga Batukaru Area as tourism destinations. An adequate management model would properly assess the potencies of these areas and simultaneously enhance the farmers' well-being, improve the tourist satisfaction level and conserve the environment. The existence of the 13 Subak in Catur Angga Batukaru and its potencies should have developed through the agro-ecotourism-based management model. Hence, this study aimed to organize a Subak-based agroecotourism management model in the WCH of Catur Angga Batukaru. The study’s primary data were collected from farmers’ respondents through a direct survey using a questionnaire prepared prior to the data collection. In-depth interviews were also conducted to gather the study data. This study applied qualitative and quantitative descriptive methods. Findings revealed that the rest of the areas required to be properly built in the WCH of Catur Angga Batukaru Area. These areas would provide spaces to enjoy the beauty of the Subak terraces and the local plantation fields. Hiking tourism in this area has been developed by the Subak organizations and local travel agents under the surveillance of the local tourism departments. Several tourism supporting facilities such as restaurants and home stays also should have been managed by Subak or local investors. It would help the tourism sites to directly contribute to the well-being of the local community, especially the members of Subak. The future management of agro-ecotourism is also required to involve all Subak organizations in the area. A proper management model not only helps Subak to present themselves as the main subject of a tourism program but also makes them capable to experience the advantageous impacts of the agro-ecotourism development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the centuries-long history of mercury-gold amalgamation is crucial to contemporary debates surrounding global mercury pollution from artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Drawing on historical findings that examine Spanish colonial and Indigenous metallurgical knowledge as well as ethnographic and scientific research, we resituate the history of mercury amalgamation in Latin America, focusing on the Colombian Andes and the Peruvian Amazon – two regions where mercury pollution from artisanal and small-scale gold mining provokes international concern. We identify the policy pitfalls caused by overlooking the untold histories of the amalgamation process along with the European contribution to global mercury emissions rooted in these histories. By critically examining the curation of presentist narratives in UNESCO's memorialisation of Almadén's mercury mines as a World Heritage Site, narratives that also underpin initiatives by the United Nations to bring about a "mercury-free world," we demonstrate how such ahistorical framings contribute to the criminalisation of artisanal and small-scale gold miners, not only in Perú and Colombia but also worldwide. Our findings present an important first step in highlighting the histories of mercury and gold in the hands of artisanal and small-scale gold miners in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows the results of the research activities carried out by the Department of Engineering at the University of Palermo (Italy), which assessed the application of the Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) methodology through a Scan-to-BIM approach to two local churches belonging to the medieval period. This project was motivated by a renewed interest from the city administrators towards the conservation of cultural heritage dating back to the Arab-Norman domination in Sicily since one of the two buildings was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 2015. The morpho-typological style of the churches has been acquired by high-detailed 3D surveys, which provided the base for two HBIM models suited to render the peculiarity of these buildings at their best. The BIM environment allowed both the geometrical representation of all the architectural elements and their further enrichment with the integration of non-geometric data and semantic signification through a knowledge-based workflow. This process led to a hierarchical organization of two high-accuracy digital replicas and to the creation of a database containing all of the architectural items typical of the Arab-Norman style, aimed to share the awareness of its conservation and to match all of the Cultural Heritage requirements. In the future, the features in this database can be shared with other specialists as reference objects for further studies on cultural heritage sites in the UNESCO list. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tsumeb Mine in Namibia represents one of the best-preserved mining sites in the world and is rapidly gaining cross-disciplinary interest among cultural and engineering scientists. Most of the open pit and the shaft mining equipment are still in place, including the ore processing units and the local power plant. The mining area thus deserves recognition as an industrial world heritage site, especially due to the rarity of such locations on the African continent. The Shaft #1 headgear, built in 1924, represents one of the oldest known riveted steel headgears of the Promnitz design worldwide. In contrast to similar steel structures located in the northern hemisphere, it has been exposed to a different rural semi-arid climate since it is located in the Otavi Mountain Land, characterized by semi-annual change of rainy and dry seasons. Parts of the Shaft #1 headgear have remained largely untouched for more than 70 years. Besides its outstanding heritage value, it thus also represents an interesting object for studying the composition of corrosion layers formed on mild steel surfaces when exposed to continental and industrial mining atmospheres. To find a suitable transparent corrosion prevention coating, various on-site coating samples were evaluated after 11 months of outdoor exposure, including Owatrol Oil®, which is based on natural oil and alkyd resin with strong wicking potential. The substance is frequently applied for the conservation of single components but is not yet widely used on large steel structures in the field of industrial heritage conservation. However, it represented the most stable anti-corrosion coating under the local atmospheric conditions in the on-site tests. Thus, the suitability of Owatrol Oil® as a transparent coating for corrosion protection of riveted mild steel structures in such climates was further investigated as a more recent approach for the conservation of large steel structures. Since the protective coatings are exposed to strong UV radiation in the local climate, the addition of a specific UV stabilizer mixture was also tested. For such laboratory tests, two mild steel samples were taken. The first one originated from a diagonal strut of the 1920s and the second one from a handrail mounted in the early 1960s. Using corresponding high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) it was found that the corrosion layers are predominantly composed of lepidocrocite and goethite. A weathering program simulating the specific environmental conditions at Tsumeb in a UV climate chamber was developed and the corrosion resistance of the mild steel surface was subsequently evaluated by potentiodynamic measurements. Such tests proved to be a fast and reliable procedure for ranking the corrosion resistance of the old mild steels. It was found that the long-term corrosion layers already provide significant protection against further corrosion in the simulated environment. However, the study also showed that this can be further improved by the application of the Owatrol Oil® as a protective coating that also seals crevices. The addition of the UV stabilizers, however, led to a significant deterioration in corrosion protection, even in comparison to that of the uncoated long-term corrosion layers on the surface. Regular overcoating seems more advisable for the long-term preservation of the Shaft #1 headgear than modifying the Owatrol Oil® coating with the tested UV-stabilizing additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Drimolen Palaeocave site is situated within the UNESCO Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa World Heritage Area and has yielded numerous hominin fossils since its discovery in 1992. Most of these fossils are represented by isolated dental elements, which have been attributed to either of two distinct hominin genera, Paranthropus and Homo. This paper provides morphological descriptions for a further 19 specimens that have been recovered from the ∼2.04–1.95 Ma Drimolen Main Quarry (DMQ) deposits since 2008. This paper also discusses the two primary hypotheses used to explain Paranthropus robustus variation: sexual dimorphism, and micro-evolution within a lineage. These 19 fossils are represented by 47 dental elements and expand the sample of DMQ early Homo from 13 to 15, and the sample of Paranthropus robustus from 69 to 84. The evidence presented in this paper was found to be inconsistent with the sexual dimorphism hypothesis. Some support was found for the micro-evolution hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The largest known Buddhist grotto complex in the world with the longest continuous construction period and the richest available content, the grottoes are also an important witness to the exchanges that occurred between ancient China and other Silk Road civilizations. This paper discusses problems caused by environmental changes and the challenges involved with the long-term preservation of digital resources in the digital protection of the cultural heritage of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. It also discusses international cooperation in digital cultural heritage protection and the results achieved from this cooperation, which have made an important contribution to the field of digital protection of items of world cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an introduction to a special issue of Library Trends that focuses on cultural heritage and digital scholarship in China. It highlights the richness and diversity of China's cultural heritage, including well-known sites like the Great Wall and Forbidden City, as well as the artifacts and knowledge of ethnic minority and underserved communities. The article emphasizes the importance of preserving and protecting cultural heritage, as well as the innovative use of digital scholarship in this endeavor. The special issue covers a wide range of topics, including international collaboration, technology, diversity, and access to cultural heritage resources. It concludes by calling for continued efforts to safeguard and share Chinese cultural heritage for the benefit of the world. [Extracted from the article]

Lithic raw material variation is valuable for assessing the scale of human mobility, differential access to and from raw material sources, and prehistoric exchange patterns. Recent advancements in non‐destructive reflectance spectroscopy have proven to be more accurate in provenance investigations compared with the macroscopic (visual) identification technique for lithic artifacts. Here, we use visible/near‐infrared reflectance and Fourier transform reflectance spectroscopy on a collection of 845 lithic bifaces at Poverty Point (16WC5) site in northeastern Louisiana, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is well‐known for the presence of nonlocal materials, including stone tools. This study describes the first systematic approach to analyzing and interpreting hyperspectral reflectance data for cryptocrystalline silicate (e.g., chert and flint) artifacts at Poverty Point site. The chert materials identified in this study reaffirm the idea that tool stones arriving at the Poverty Point site came from diverse geologic sources, covering an expansive geographic area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the ancient Silk Road began acquiring new centrality in China's soft power strategy in the mid-2000s, so did heritage diplomacy, which developed as an engagement tool for fostering relations with Central Asia. The paper examines China's heritage cooperation with Central Asian countries through the lenses of social constructivism, investigating the conditions whereby the discursive construction of heritage has elicited cooperation. Linking the constructivist canon to Tim Winter's work, the research considers heritage as diplomacy, suggesting that cooperation is fostered when heritage is framed as a link to a shared past among states and heritage positively engages with the core national interests of recipient countries. The research examines China's discursive construction of the 'Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor' joint nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage list with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in media texts. The paper identifies a Sinocentric historicisation of heritage that, on the one hand, shies away from historical memories of conflict and competition and, on the other, connects joint heritage work with the notion of national sovereignty, playing on Central Asia's interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ancient houses in Hoi An are genuinely remarkable and have contributed significantly to making this town a World Cultural Heritage Site. These old houses are also the embodiment of customs, habits, and ancient lifestyles that have been preserved throughout the years. Previous studies have focused on studying the values of these houses to maintain and promote their historical significance. However, there is still a need to supplement the study of commercial properties in the interior architecture of Hoi An's ancient houses. This would clarify the historical value and cultural interference that have created the architectural form and spatial organisation differences of the old house in this ancient city. Through qualitative research methods, it has been affirmed that Hoi An has a rich history and culture, where many cultural exchanges have been witnessed without a loss of local cultural elements. The study proposes practical solutions to help preserve Hoi An's identity as a museum of living relics and promote sustainable development with the nation's progress towards an ecological-cultural city. The study recommends that the government develop policies to protect these structures and encourage nostalgia business, which will help maintain these houses' architectural and decorative features, enhance educational value and awareness, and benefit both communities and visitors. This is a sustainable and responsible way to develop tourism in Hoi An. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes Paraskeletodes hamiguitanensis sp. nov., the second species of the genus Paraskeletodes Aurivillius 1972 (Coleoptera: Cerambycinae: Phoracanthini) in the world. This rare species was found in Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Province of Davao Oriental, Mindanao Island, Philippines. Thediscovery of this species emphasizes the need to strengthen and expand wildlife conservation efforts in Davao Oriental, Philippines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]