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Management and Monitoring of World Heritage Sites in China

The cultural landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces in China was the site of the just-completed Course on Management and Monitoring of World Heritage Sites with special reference to China. Nineteen participants from ten countries attended the ten-day course to learn about current thinking, trends and approaches to management of cultural World Heritage properties, focusing particularly on monitoring.

The Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, located in Yunnan, China, are the home of the Hani ethnic group who have maintained this historic agricultural landscape over many centuries.

The course constituted an intensive programme combining both theory and practice, through lectures, case studies and highly interactive practical exercises centring on the management of this important cultural landscape.

The course was organized by ICCROM and the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage (CACH) at the invitation of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) to benefit professionals working at World Heritage properties in China. However, the course was attended by an international group of participants selected by ICCROM and funded by SACH.

The Deputy Director of CACH, Mr Qiao Yunfei, addressed the course as part of the official course inauguration on 15 August 2017. Other speakers at the event included Mr He Aihong, County Magistrate of Yuanyang; Mr Xie Bing, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, SACH; and Gamini Wijesuriya, Project Manager, Sites Unit, ICCROM.

The course modules covered the following elements:

  • International context of conservation: current trends and approaches to planning and management of heritage sites
  • Management of World Heritage properties
  • Achievements, challenges and strategies for the protection of World Heritage Sites in China
  • Monitoring:
    • Monitoring requirements under the World Heritage Convention
    • Reactive monitoring process and state of conservation reporting (SOC)
    • Periodic reporting
    • Monitoring at site level focusing on larger landscapes
    • Monitoring devices and technique
  • Monitoring World Heritage in China as illustrated through case studies.

This 2017 course edition follows up on two successful courses on “Management and Monitoring of World Heritage Sites with special reference to China” organized and implemented 2011 and 2016 at the invitation of SACH.

Member States represented: Australia, China, Ethiopia, Georgia, Iran, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, United Republic of Tanzania

Non-Member State Indonesia