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Religious tourism is a growing phenomenon that is increasingly intertwined with cultural tourism, particularly in countries like Bulgaria, which possesses a wealthy heritage of religious interest. The Ancient City of Nessebar, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a rich religious history, provides a unique case study for examining this dynamic. This study employed a mixed-methods approach, including documentary analysis and case study methodology, to investigate the current state of religious tourism in Nessebar. The research revealed the underutilization of Nessebar's religious sites for tourism purposes, despite their potential value. A complex interplay between mass tourism, cultural preservation, and the decline of traditional religious practices was identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious tourism is a growing phenomenon that is increasingly intertwined with cultural tourism, particularly in countries like Bulgaria, which possesses a wealthy heritage of religious interest. The Ancient City of Nessebar, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a rich religious history, provides a unique case study for examining this dynamic. This study employed a mixed-methods approach, including documentary analysis and case study methodology, to investigate the current state of religious tourism in Nessebar. The research revealed the underutilization of Nessebar’s religious sites for tourism purposes, despite their potential value. A complex interplay between mass tourism, cultural preservation, and the decline of traditional religious practices was identified.

Abstract This review article explores the trajectory of vernacular architectural documentation and preservation in China, including both notable successes and unfortunate failures. While the documentation and preservation of monuments of the past have a long-recorded history, the story of the ‘discovery’, documentation, and preservation of vernacular sites—individual structures as well as building complexes—is less known. This essay presents how ‘outsiders’—mainly intrepid academics within China—travelled to out-of-the-way villages and towns after 1949 to find historic structures that were known to local residents but not to the broader world, even within China. Tragically, their findings were unpublished for decades. During politically charged periods, there was an orgy of calamitous destruction of countless vernacular buildings, an astonishing loss caused by the abandonment, renovation for alternative uses, and even razing of historic residences, temples, lineage halls, bridges, and walls in both rural and urban areas. Despite these enormous losses, many today marvel at the abundance of seemingly ‘historic’ structures that are still standing. This essay examines the roots of this apparent contradiction. Rural revitalisation has become a national issue for China in recent decades. In support of this initiative, an extraordinary amount of successful historic preservation work in villages has been accomplished. Today, unlike in the past, heritage protection focuses on broader village landscapes rather than on individual buildings. The challenges of preserving architectural sites are centred around issues of restoration versus recreation as well as redevelopment, that is, demolition followed by reconstruction. The commodification of heritage through the acceleration of tourism continues to have both positive and negative impacts. Judgements about authenticity often continue to be at odds with investors’ need to recoup costs and ensure ongoing profits.

With the “Talents Internship program” established by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG, Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft), 14- to 17-year-old students from various school types visited the Natural History Museum and the Kuratorium Pfahlbauten in summer 2022 to gain practical experience in research. The internship focused on a sustainability approach, discussing recycling methods, the sustainable use of resources and the circular economy in prehistory. The UNESCO World Heritage “Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps” was used as a research area for the project. The project also aimed to make the content developed by the students available to the public as a digital media tool. The pupils brought an illustration of a prehistoric lake shore settlement to life and created an interactive image available at the website of Kuratorium Pfahlbauten. Various scenes of the illustration have been augmented with animations created by the students of HTL Spengergasse in Vienna. Students from federal secondary schools from Vienna (Stubenbastei) and Upper Austria (Traun) researched the information about the objects and wrote texts that, as a description of the animated videos, introduce the users to the prehistoric artifact and explain the recycling process behind it. The students worked independently using the scientific literature, 140-year-old inventory books and 6000-year-old objects from the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna. The activities and the supporting program within the internship were recorded by the students in blog posts, available at the Pfahlbauten-Blog. The co-creative approach of the FFG Talent Internship made it possible to introduce a group of school students to the process of scientific work and the communication of results. It was honored with the Creative App Award at CHNT 2023.

This review article explores the trajectory of vernacular architectural documentation and preservation in China, including both notable successes and unfortunate failures. While the documentation and preservation of monuments of the past have a long-recorded history, the story of the 'discovery', documentation, and preservation of vernacular sites—individual structures as well as building complexes—is less known. This essay presents how 'outsiders'—mainly intrepid academics within China—travelled to out-of-the-way villages and towns after 1949 to find historic structures that were known to local residents but not to the broader world, even within China. Tragically, their findings were unpublished for decades. During politically charged periods, there was an orgy of calamitous destruction of countless vernacular buildings, an astonishing loss caused by the abandonment, renovation for alternative uses, and even razing of historic residences, temples, lineage halls, bridges, and walls in both rural and urban areas. Despite these enormous losses, many today marvel at the abundance of seemingly 'historic' structures that are still standing. This essay examines the roots of this apparent contradiction. Rural revitalisation has become a national issue for China in recent decades. In support of this initiative, an extraordinary amount of successful historic preservation work in villages has been accomplished. Today, unlike in the past, heritage protection focuses on broader village landscapes rather than on individual buildings. The challenges of preserving architectural sites are centred around issues of restoration versus recreation as well as redevelopment, that is, demolition followed by reconstruction. The commodification of heritage through the acceleration of tourism continues to have both positive and negative impacts. Judgements about authenticity often continue to be at odds with investors' need to recoup costs and ensure ongoing profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the "Talents Internship program" established by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG, Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft), 14- to 17-year-old students from various school types visited the Natural History Museum and the Kuratorium Pfahlbauten in summer 2022 to gain practical experience in research. The internship focused on a sustainability approach, discussing recycling methods, the sustainable use of resources and the circular economy in prehistory. The UNESCO World Heritage "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps" was used as a research area for the project. The project also aimed to make the content developed by the students available to the public as a digital media tool. The pupils brought an illustration of a prehistoric lake shore settlement to life and created an interactive image available at the website of Kuratorium Pfahlbauten. Various scenes of the illustration have been augmented with animations created by the students of HTL Spengergasse in Vienna. Students from federal secondary schools from Vienna (Stubenbastei) and Upper Austria (Traun) researched the information about the objects and wrote texts that, as a description of the animated videos, introduce the users to the prehistoric artifact and explain the recycling process behind it. The students worked independently using the scientific literature, 140-year-old inventory books and 6000-year-old objects from the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna. The activities and the supporting program within the internship were recorded by the students in blog posts, available at the Pfahlbauten-Blog. The co-creative approach of the FFG Talent Internship made it possible to introduce a group of school students to the process of scientific work and the communication of results. It was honored with the Creative App Award at CHNT 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Evidence for declines in insect populations is growing with climate change being one suspected driver. Forests, however, are still underrepresented in the relevant research. Recent droughts (2018–2020) have severely affected forests in Central Europe and have been linked to declines in carabid abundance, biomass as well as changes in species traits at the local scale. Objective: We tested drought effects on forest carabids at regional scale. We additionally investigated whether variability in drought effects could be explained with the initial community composition and the local environmental context. Methods: We used generalized linear mixed models to compare data from 1999 to 2001 and 2020 to 2022 across eleven old beech forest sites of high conservation interest in North-East Germany and investigated changes in carabid abundance, biomass, Hill numbers and selected species traits. We then tested additional community-related and environmental predictors to explain spatial variability in changes in biomass. Results: We found significant declines in biomass of 65% and in abundance of 51%. There were no significant changes in Hill numbers. We found consistent evidence that declines affected especially larger and less mobile species. Declines and changes in species traits also occurred in strictly protected old-growth beech forests. Among environmental predictors, landscape composition explained local variability in biomass declines best with stronger decline at forest sites with less forest area in their vicinity. Conclusions: Our findings reveal large-scale declines in forest carabids in the context of recent droughts and highlight the exceptional role of landscape composition in this regard. Future insect conservation strategies need to incorporate the landscape context and potential exposure to extreme weather. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how monumental preservation at the Taj Mahal leveraged the broader goals of national and international agencies including UNESCO and other UN bodies, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to address the wicked problems of pollution, pro-poor tourism, and sustainable development. I suggest that the Taj, and more specifically its future preservation, is bound up in a set of conflictual connectivities and centrifugal forces that far exceed normative heritage and conservation practice. Thus the Mughal tomb became 'the critical receptor' and nodal site for an onslaught of international technical, economic, developmental and conservation schemes attempting to link cultural conservation with environmental concerns, in concert with social and economic uplift, well-being and urban resilience. What remains after decades of foreign studies, consultancies, technical reports, preservation monitoring and novel technologies? And how might we disentangle those wicked problems encircling monumental preservation in an era of environmental and political toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twenty-first century has seen near constant crises and conflicts across the Middle East, many of which have had a devastating impact on the region's rich cultural heritage. Confronted by this reality, UNESCO – the world's foremost body designed to promote the protection of heritage – has struggled to meaningfully address site destruction and has been hamstrung by its own institutional inertia. The vacuum created by UNESCO's failures has given rise to a hybrid heritage landscape of multilateral agencies, INGOs, state bodies and local organisations which seek to emulate, improve on or radically re-imagine the work that UNESCO was designed to lead. In turn, this has created burgeoning business opportunities and a thriving consultancy culture for INGOs, often with little public oversight, accountability or effective monitoring. This paper critically examines the rise of these heritage INGOs and their efforts in the Middle East, bringing into question their efficacy and legitimacy by drawing on results from original surveys conducted in both Mosul and Aleppo. The results indicate that these heritage INGOs largely fail to adequately engage locals in their programmes to protect and restore heritage and that respondents would prefer to see domestic control over the future of their past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the ongoing authorized heritage discourse, following recent heritage concepts such as open heritage, and examines the industrial heritage and pathways for cultural-creative development in the city of Bamberg, Germany. Bamberg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but not on account of its industrial heritage, although some former industrial sites are located within the borders of the current World Heritage Site. We describe three adaptively reused sites that have slightly differing forms of protected status (listed building and ensemble) and show that authorized listing helps to ensure the survival of buildings and material structures over time as documents of an industrial past. However, other industrial sites need the engagement of locals, and refer to what Laurajane Smith describes as heritage as a cultural process. Diverse concepts and cultural-creative developments are evident in the reuse of industrial sites in Bamberg, but these contribute little to urban development strategies. When industrial heritage assets feature in the city’s development strategy, they are seemingly leveraged to drive real estate projects, such as at the former Erba textile site. Additionally, the Otto-Friedrich University (through its Am Zwinger building), and an engaged bottom-up initiative to reuse a former boiler house, enable slightly different development pathways—knowledge-based versus art-based, respectively. The university has a long-term perspective and promising impulses for heritage uses, whereas the Kunstraum (Art House) initiative still struggles to secure support for its medium-term prospects. We argue that the industrial heritage sites need authorized support and agency through engagement, to ensure long-term perspectives for cultural-creative uses.

The present study reports new records of the Collembola (Arthropoda: Hexapoda) from the Bula Hyrcanian forest located in Mazandaran province, north of Iran. The results show two genera Spatulosminthurus Betsch & Betsch-Pinot, 1984 (Sminthuridae) and Wankeliella Rusek, 1975 (Tullbergiidae) and five species including Anurophorus alpinus Potapov & Stebaeva, 1990 (Isotomidae), Pseudosinella cf. decipiens Denis, 1924 and P. immaculata (Lie Pettersen, 1896) (Entomobryidae), Superodontella tyverica Kaprus, 2009 (Odontellidae), and Wankeliella bescidica Smolis & Skarżyński, 2004 (Tullbergiidae) are new records for Collembola fauna of Iran.

The present study reports new records of the Collembola (Arthropoda: Hexapoda) from the Bula Hyrcanian forest located in Mazandaran province, north of Iran. The results show two genera Spatulosminthurus Betsch & Betsch-Pinot, 1984 (Sminthuridae) and Wankeliella Rusek, 1975 (Tullbergiidae) and five species including Anurophorus alpinus Potapov & Stebaeva, 1990 (Isotomidae), Pseudosinella cf. decipiens Denis, 1924 and P. immaculata (Lie Pettersen, 1896) (Entomobryidae), Superodontella tyverica Kaprus, 2009 (Odontellidae), and Wankeliella bescidica Smolis & Skarżyński, 2004 (Tullbergiidae) are new records for Collembola fauna of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many glacial landscapes on all continents are inscribed on the World Heritage List. Due to climate change, most of the glaciers are retreating rapidly, thus questioning their Outstanding Universal Value. This paper clarifies what constitutes the heritage values of glacial landscapes and outlines how the heritage values could evolve in a future with less (or without) ice. For two sites in the UNESCO Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch property (the Great Aletsch Glacier and the Upper Lauterbrunnen Valley), we describe the evolution of the glacial landscape using a Past-Present-Future framework. We then evaluate the present and post-glacial heritage values according to criteria used in the literature on geomorphosites. The results outline two main issues: (1) As glaciers retreat, the geoscientific value will depend more and more on the inherited glacial landforms, such as moraine ridges, which allow the understanding of the Earth and climate history, and less and less on the glacier itself and its dynamics. Their protection is therefore an important issue. (2) The aesthetic value of glacial landscapes could decrease because of the disappearance of the glacier (landscape greying). One possible adaptation could be a shift from glacier tourism, which is mainly oriented towards the contemplation of an aesthetic landscape, to geotourism, where the understanding of landscape evolution is proposed to the public.

In geographical terms, historic cities possess an inertia in regard to the modification of urban function. This explains why buildings may change over time, but the location of the functions remains. For over a thousand years, the city of Valencia has concentrated the commercial activity of its historic centre around the building of the Lonja de la Seda, its surrounding buildings, and its adjacent spaces, streets and squares. Recent constructions coexist with centuries-old buildings, witnesses to the transformations of this urban enclave, which has retained its commercial function. Although the Lonja de la Seda was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1996, its surroundings, despite being of interest and closely linked to the protected building, were not. This article analyses the history and evolution of the built fabric and urban spaces of this complex, which represents the nerve centre for commerce in the city of Valencia. This text presents research based on studies carried out directly on the buildings in this context by the authors, as well as indirect examinations of documentation from the archives and the existing bibliography. The aim of this study is to showcase how combining material and documentary studies can lead to a broader definition of the tangible and intangible values of cultural heritage. This, in turn, could lead to the comprehensive enhancement of the historic city, where historic residential fabric and notable buildings are merely manifestations of the process for the construction of the city.

In geographical terms, historic cities possess an inertia in regard to the modification of urban function. This explains why buildings may change over time, but the location of the functions remains. For over a thousand years, the city of Valencia has concentrated the commercial activity of its historic centre around the building of the Lonja de la Seda, its surrounding buildings, and its adjacent spaces, streets and squares. Recent constructions coexist with centuries-old buildings, witnesses to the transformations of this urban enclave, which has retained its commercial function. Although the Lonja de la Seda was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1996, its surroundings, despite being of interest and closely linked to the protected building, were not. This article analyses the history and evolution of the built fabric and urban spaces of this complex, which represents the nerve centre for commerce in the city of Valencia. This text presents research based on studies carried out directly on the buildings in this context by the authors, as well as indirect examinations of documentation from the archives and the existing bibliography. The aim of this study is to showcase how combining material and documentary studies can lead to a broader definition of the tangible and intangible values of cultural heritage. This, in turn, could lead to the comprehensive enhancement of the historic city, where historic residential fabric and notable buildings are merely manifestations of the process for the construction of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many glacial landscapes on all continents are inscribed on the World Heritage List. Due to climate change, most of the glaciers are retreating rapidly, thus questioning their Outstanding Universal Value. This paper clarifies what constitutes the heritage values of glacial landscapes and outlines how the heritage values could evolve in a future with less (or without) ice. For two sites in the UNESCO Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch property (the Great Aletsch Glacier and the Upper Lauterbrunnen Valley), we describe the evolution of the glacial landscape using a Past-Present-Future framework. We then evaluate the present and post-glacial heritage values according to criteria used in the literature on geomorphosites. The results outline two main issues: (1) As glaciers retreat, the geoscientific value will depend more and more on the inherited glacial landforms, such as moraine ridges, which allow the understanding of the Earth and climate history, and less and less on the glacier itself and its dynamics. Their protection is therefore an important issue. (2) The aesthetic value of glacial landscapes could decrease because of the disappearance of the glacier (landscape greying). One possible adaptation could be a shift from glacier tourism, which is mainly oriented towards the contemplation of an aesthetic landscape, to geotourism, where the understanding of landscape evolution is proposed to the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous knowledges play a critical role in addressing the environmental crisis, and the United Nations system has adopted a suite of international treaties to protect and strengthen Indigenous peoples' rights, which are often described as biocultural rights. Because World Heritage Areas are nominated and monitored by UNESCO, an initial hypothesis in this study was that such areas would be subject to higher than normal standards in regard to Indigenous people's biocultural rights. By reference to the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, Australia, this research examined how the international legislative framework influences conservation practices. We held semi‐structured interviews with conservation and Indigenous local experts and compared park management practices in the Area against those used in an Indigenous Protected Area. Findings align with the literature and suggest that Indigenous and scientific knowledge systems can generate new insights for the Area and other sites. Yet, Indigenous knowledges are only marginally applied in practice. Some barriers to full participation of Indigenous people are specific to the colonial history of the area. Yet, findings point to a lack of action by Australian governments and UNESCO, and that needs to be redressed. The study calls attention to the need to support and resource Indigenous people to enable collaborative partnerships to yield significant benefits for biodiversity and protection of Country. Using interviews, we engaged with experts and Indigenous peoples in the Blue Mountains to identify how Indigenous biocultural rights could be improved for park management, biodiversity conservation, and caring for Country. We consider some of the shortcomings of the UNESCO World Heritage guidelines and implementations in the Blue Mountains. The Australian government needs to better resource and support Indigenous leadership and co‐management in the park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UNESCO label of World Heritage can attract a high number of tourists to heritage properties for their Outstanding Universal Values (OUV). Although international studies have demonstrated the World Heritage system can contribute to stimulating cultural tourism and boosting the local economy, how this heritage-led development process promotes urban conservation and morphological changes in cities is yet to be explored adequately. This paper aims to explore the urban morphology of a historic Chinese city after its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, taking the Old Town of Lijiang as case. The methods of spatial plan analysis and discourse analysis are used to analyse the data. The research findings have demonstrated that, theoretically, the Conzenian approach of urban morphology can be an effective framework for World Heritage OUV-monitoring. Methodologically, the analysis of spatial plans and multi-stakeholder interviews can reveal local urban morphology from macro to micro levels. Case-specifically in Lijiang, urban physical characteristics and building structures have been well maintained while traditional social fabric and neighbourhood networks have almost vanished. This research has incorporated the urban morphology approach into (world) heritage management in China, as well as worldwide, in order to maintain the balance between urban conservation and economic growth.

Cultural heritage sites in the developing world have the potential to boost local economies if marketed more systematically. This research proposes a marketing plan for cultural heritage in a Southern Thai Town and develops a set of marketing guidelines for cultural heritage management. Using a mixed-methods approach, data was obtained from documents, interviews, and focus group meetings with individuals involved in heritage site marketing. The heritage-marketing model is presented in the form of action plans, consisting of five strategies for promoting marketing. The short-term guidelines for cultural heritage marketing management focus on the improvement and development of heritage site infrastructure. For the longer term, development should focus on service sector personnel, activities for creative learning, and the development of marketing channels and public relations to specific groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UNESCO's inscription of 'The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales' as a World Heritage Site in 2021 added for the first time a cultural landscape of quarrying to the World Heritage list, the culmination of a 12-year bid process for Gwynedd Council as the promoting local authority. Its six Component Parts exhibit clear visual and functional relationships with the wider landscape of Snowdonia and the sea, but also significant differences in terms of extraction, processing, workers' settlements and transport. These were described and analysed in a well-produced dossier informed by a comprehensive comparative study, which set out how Wales' robust systems of landscape protection ensured their effective management, and made clear the strong political, business and community support which the bid enjoyed, based on clear goals and ambitions. Inscription makes clear that there is a strong case for other globally significant quarrying landscapes to become World Heritage Sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the use of lime as a building material in the reconstruction of heritage sites in Bhaktapur, Nepal, after the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake. Lime has gained popularity as an alternative to mud-based mortars. The paper explores the historical use of lime and argues that its classification as a "traditional" material is a constructed tradition. The article also discusses the historical use of mud in Newar architecture and the introduction of lime during the Rana regime. It examines the shift towards modern materials like cement and steel after the 1934 Nepal-Bihar Earthquake and the post-earthquake recovery and conservation efforts in Bhaktapur. The text highlights the complexities of tradition and modernity in the reconstruction process. [Extracted from the article]

In this article we present the results of a geomorphological and geophysical investigation carried out in the Regional Park of Matera Murgia, also known as Park of the Rupestrian Churches (world site protected by UNESCO), in Basilicata region, southern Italy. The aim of this investigation is to support the scheduled restoration works in some rupestrian historical sites and the safety of the tourist route that connects the churches along the eastern side of Gravina river valley. In particular, a ground penetrating radar (GPR) prospection was conducted on frescoed surfaces in two rupestrian churches permitting the detection of different kinds of problems affecting the fresco surfaces, such as lesions and efflorescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultural heritage of modern architecture is a widely acknowledged phenomenon; however, unique urban landscapes that have witnessed a fundamental transformation in urban life in the 20th century are still underrepresented on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In this paper the built urban heritage of Kaunas city (1919–1939) is investigated as an example of a modern urban heritage site with a problematic focus on defining the attributes of urban heritage, especially when intangible heritage values are added to the tangible built heritage. In this paper the attributes of modern urban heritage are discussed on the example of "Modernist Kaunas (1919–1939): Architecture of Optimism", the nomination dossier for the UNESCO World Heritage List. Three groups of attributes are described using historical research and later discussed by applying the method of comparative analysis. The conclusion proposes that Modernist Kaunas can fill the gap by representing Eastern European modern urbanity and enhance the understanding of the modern global city by reflecting the metropolitan aspirations in modern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most World Heritage Sites in the Maghreb region are threatened by numerous natural and anthropic hazards, the latter usually due to complex economic, social and cultural dynamics. Because of changes in ways of life and housing models, traditional building cultures are often not recognised by inhabitants as heritage and are becoming unable to resist the spread of modern standardised technologies. These changes put at risk the conservation status and consequently the Outstanding Universal Value of the sites. The World Heritage Site of the M'Zab Valley in Algerian desert is a rare example of the preservation of both tangible and intangible dimensions of heritage and their transmission to new generations through the construction of the new settlement of Tafilalt, built interpreting the traditional techniques. The contribution analyses the case of the M'Zab Valley in order to show the role of community involvement in safeguarding the authenticity and integrity of this World Heritage Site.

How do restorations affect the recognition of monuments' values? The evaluation of the latter has been decisive in the inclusion/exclusion of some historical buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage. In particular, in the Dossier of candidacy of the so-called "Arab-Norman itinerary of Palermo" some monuments were excluded due to the restorations conducted between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. But many other "Arab-Norman" monuments in Palermo were also restored, as the Churches of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio, called Martorana and San Cataldo, included instead in the itinerary. Moreover, there are many monuments that, despite having undergone substantial restorations in style – think of the Alhambra palace in Granada or the fortified city of Carcassonne just to give examples – are part of the UNESCO heritage. This makes us reflect on the interpretation of the concept of authenticity and also how and why the outcome of historical restorations in style are sometimes considered compromising and other times accepted as an integral part of the monument itself.

The UNESCO label of World Heritage can attract a high number of tourists to heritage properties for their Outstanding Universal Values (OUV). Although international studies have demonstrated the World Heritage system can contribute to stimulating cultural tourism and boosting the local economy, how this heritage-led development process promotes urban conservation and morphological changes in cities is yet to be explored adequately. This paper aims to explore the urban morphology of a historic Chinese city after its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, taking the Old Town of Lijiang as case. The methods of spatial plan analysis and discourse analysis are used to analyse the data. The research findings have demonstrated that, theoretically, the Conzenian approach of urban morphology can be an effective framework for World Heritage OUV -monitoring. Methodologically, the analysis of spatial plans and multi-stakeholder interviews can reveal local urban morphology from macro to micro levels. Case-specifically in Lijiang, urban physical characteristics and building structures have been well maintained while traditional social fabric and neighbourhood networks have almost vanished. This research has incorporated the urban morphology approach into (world) heritage management in China, as well as worldwide, in order to maintain the balance between urban conservation and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the fiftieth anniversary of the 1972 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention in light of climate change, offering a state of the field review of climate responses for World Heritage sites (WHS). Opening with a brief review of UNESCO World Heritage activities around climate change, we then detail the primary impacts and risks that climate change pose for WHS and the reporting and monitoring systems in place to document and track these impacts. Looking forward, we examine the most promising pathways for World Heritage to advance in the domains of climate mitigation, adaptation, climate communication, and climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we reflect on the current socio-political context of the 1972 World Heritage Convention after 50 years rather than its significant achievements and trials throughout its turbulent history. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has already documented and publicized these formative episodes. Instead, we consider the World Heritage milieu today, embedded as it is within a much broader landscape of non-governmental organizations and civil society preservation initiatives than it was five decades ago. Like other United Nations agencies, UNESCO now faces challenges arising from various types of re-spatialization beyond the nation-state that further impact its effectiveness. Those challenges encompass not only the expansive force of globalization but also regionalization and localization, all of which have given rise to a new diplomacy. We discuss the proliferation of competing international agencies and individual donors, then describe the dilemmas facing World Heritage, including the rise of non-state actors and post-conflict remediation in the Middle East, the limited recognition of Indigenous Peoples and their role in decision making, and the persistent failures to remedy the inequitable position of Africa as a priority region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historic core of Rosetta, Egypt, is a possible nomination for UNESCO World Heritage status. However, the enduring controversy over the conservation scheme for Rosetta’s old market has highlighted the difficulties in reaching a satisfactory decision. The challenge lies in determining the best location for relocating the market without affecting locals’ life and culture of locals as part of the urban built heritage.The main objective of this study is to present a model of decision-making criteria, which can have many applications in heritage conservation decision making for preserving heritage in historic cities that are distinguished by religious, societal and economic activities.A Multi Criteria Decision Making model (MCDM) is a framework for project selection and is developed utilizing the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution; (TOPSIS) method, in reference to UNESCO guidelines, and Space Syntax analysis. The joint analytical framework helps to select the best location for the market that would promote the development of the area while also preserving the identity of the historic core.By adopting this proposed joint model, it is possible to meet social needs during urban development. Thus, the outcome of this study is to achieve a balance between the dual elements that the community works to achieve its integration with the historical urban fabric and at the same time allows development and tourism and tries to exist and takes part of the development plan, and promotes the identity of the city in terms of heritage, commercial and cultural activities as well as benefit from achieving development.This model can be tested against development plans for cities of historical economic values in a variety of circumstances extended with other specific criteria related to the context of the case study under analysis and development study, in addition to UNESCO guidelines to ensure its reliability.An urban conservation and development policy will enable the city’s authorities to register its historical core as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This research outcome validates a model for decision-making assessment that can be utilized to assess historic cities that include historical commercial activities.

Cultural heritage sites in Syria have been weaponized, targeted, bombed, looted, and destroyed. Since the start of the Syrian Revolution in March 2011, images of destruction, as in the case of Palmyra with its celebrity status, have attracted significant attention from archaeologists, architects, and journalists to academics, politicians, and art curators. This interest led to the emergence of an "industry" focused on the protection and reconstruction of cultural heritage sites during times of violence, war, and conflict. Very often, cultural heritage projects have failed to engage with the Syrian people, turning our pain and trauma into a "heritage project." Furthermore, most of these projects have focused on selective monumental heritage sites, while neglecting the inhabitants in and around these sites. They also failed to look at the cities as a living urban whole with their narrowed focus on the monumental heritage site. In this paper therefore, I ask two questions. First, how has Palmyra been used and abused as a stage for global performances by various foreign powers? And second, how can we convert the one-off traumatic rupture of cultural heritage sites and its cinematic image of destruction, as in Palmyra in 2015, into an understanding of slow and fast violence that takes place in cities? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is a globally shared challenge and Nepal, a small developing country in the foot of the Himalayas, is no exception. For Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC), the country’s second ranked city in terms of population density, the situation is complex as numerous historic and artistic monuments including a UNESCO World Heritage property make structural adjustment prohibitive. As a practical and sustainable response to the mobility challenge, then, LMC has teamed up with the City’s stakeholders to transform into a cyclable city. Based on a case study that employed in-depth qualitative interviewing of specialized populations, this study attempted to validate City’s course of actions in light of global trend in the use of bicycles, and discussed the movement from the perspective of sustainable urban governance. The study found that the case city is on the right trajectory for tackling urbanization challenges with sustainable means, aided by the collective wit of the political, administrative, and citizens’ power. Their effort was validated by the initiative’s alignment with the global benchmarking on the use of bicycle for sustainable mobility. The study concluded that factors such as collaborative public service design and local government led spatial management are holding keys for sustainable urban governance.

Abstract The article presents recent capabilities of active and passive earth observation sensors along with related processing image chains, for monitoring UNESCO World Heritage properties. Exceptional heritage sites and landscapes are found in dynamic environments, whereas both anthropogenic and natural changes are observed. The use of radar and optical satellite imageries can be used as a systematic observation tool for stakeholders, to map drastic or slowly driven landscape changes towards the better protection and management of these sites and their surrounding areas. The study presents the results from the analysis of the European Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite images over two broader areas in the Eastern Mediterranean basin that hold important UNESCO World Heritage properties. Initially, a recent strong earthquake of a 6.7 magnitude scale in the Aegean Sea is studied using radar Sentinel-1 images. These radar images were processed through the Hybrid Pluggable Processing Pipeline (HyP3) cloud platform for analyzing both significant changes of the VV (vertical transmit, vertical receive) and VH (vertical transmit, horizontal receive) backscattering signal as well as through an Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analysis. Then, long-term changes in Cyprus during the last two decades are monitored by a Sentinel-2 image compared to the European Corine Land Use Land Cover data of 2000. These changes are mapped after a supervised classification process using the random forest (RF) classifier. The overall results demonstrate that the recent developments of the space sector in all its segments (resolution of the sensors, the capacity to storage in the cloud, processing advancements and open-access datasets and tools) can be beneficial for monitoring UNESCO World Heritage properties.

The paper narrates an empirical study of participatory mapping and spatial characterization of six non-material landscape values across multiple coastal production landscapes in the Indian Sundarban delta. The methodology relies on an inexpensive rapid rural appraisal technique that integrates the conventional notion of place preference and participatory mapping. 168 respondents living in the study area were provided six georeferenced maps with 30 pre-identified landmarks, and were asked to mark and rank at least three preferred locations (with no upper limit) for each of the six non-material landscape values category (i.e. spiritual, recreational, heritage, aesthetic, educational, and negative values). A total of 65 locations, depicting all the six landscape values, were identified from the survey. Corresponding scores against these points were calculated by multiplying the frequency of occurrence and assigned preference weights. We thereafter conducted a series of statistical and spatial analysis to understand the demographic patterns in the observed intangible values and their spatial association with different production landscapes. Regression modeling revealed significant influence of the age and educational profile of the respondents on the number of points marked viz.-a-viz. appreciation for non-material landscape values. Also, the Spearman correlation revealed a strong positive pairwise association between recreational and aesthetic values, spiritual and heritage as well as educational and heritage values. Finally, we computed landscape-wise availability of non-material values using a recent land use map of the delta, and found that agriculture/cultivated areas, rural settlements, and mudflats/beaches were associated with high non-material values, while aquaculture was minimally attributed to non-material landscape values. As such, the study facilitates a comparative understanding of non-material benefits from multiple rural production landscapes/waterscapes, besides providing valuable spatial information for policy-planners and administrative officials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In front of climate change scenarios and global loss of biodiversity, it is essential to monitor the structure of old-growth forests to study ecosystem status and dynamics to inform future conservation and restoration programmes. We propose an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based framework to monitor fine-grained forest top canopy structure in a primary old-growth beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest in Pollino National Park, Italy, which belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage (UNESCO WH) serial site “Ancient and Primeval beech forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe”. Canopy profile, gap properties and their spatial distribution patterns were analysed using the canopy height model (CHM) derived from UAV surveys. Very high-resolution orthomosaic images coupled with direct field measurement data were used to assess gap detection accuracy and CHM validation. Forest canopy properties along with the vertical layering of the canopy were further explored using second-order statistics. The reconstructed canopy profile revealed a bimodal top height frequency distribution. The upper canopy layer (h > 14 m) was the most represented canopy height, with the remaining 50% split between the medium and lowest layer; 551 gaps were identified within 11.5 ha. Gap size varied between 2 m2 and 353 m2, and 19 m2was the mean gap size; the gap size-frequency relationship reflected a power-law probability distribution. About 97 % of the gaps were

The introduction of cultural landscapes within the framework of the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention is widely hailed as a landmark achievement. While it is often described as a boon for the recognition of non-European cultural heritage, we show that this is largely a myth. In the drawn-out gestation process, European countries' listing ambitions were crucial, and topics such as Indigenous sites were brought up by the Global North while a concern for, as well as representatives from, the Global South were largely absent. Introducing the category in 1992 significantly broadened the types of acceptable sites, but European countries continued to dominate just like for other cultural heritage, filling the World Heritage List with vineyard landscapes rather than the sacred mountains that were first inscribed. European states also eagerly used extra nomination slots for cultural landscapes while non-European List leaders prioritised natural heritage and the conventional cultural heritage they had not yet exhausted instead. Moreover, non-European cultural landscapes have struggled to gain expert approval, as is demonstrated for African nominations. The mere introduction of a new heritage category thus does not suffice to alter a dynamic more than ever determined by national self-interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]