Enhancing Mitigation Measures and Monitoring System
Organizers
- SEAMEO SPAFA – SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts
- ICCROM – International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property through the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership Programme
Objectives
- Provide knowledge in developing and promoting impact assessment in a heritage context, including principles, methodology, mitigation, and monitoring measures
- Raise awareness on the necessity of impact assessment for projects with the potential to impact the heritage values of a heritage place
- Raise awareness on impact assessment as a tool for better planning and decision-making for heritage, and enable the delivery of benefits for communities
- Increase the recognition of community and stakeholder participation as an essential component of impact assessment
Promote and support impact assessment to be included in the heritage legislation and planning frameworks in Southeast Asia
The training workshop will comprise two main parts:
Online 28-30 October 2025
Interactive online lectures by resource persons who have long-standing experience in cultural heritage conservation and heritage impact assessment at regional and international levels, i.e., specialists from ICCROM, ICOMOS, and the like.
Ayutthaya, Thailand, 17-21 November 2025
On-site workshop activities and interactive exchange sessions with case studies, including field exercises in selected heritage sites, to develop heritage impact assessment for the sites.
Working language: English
Application: submission form
Collaborators
- Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture, Thailand (tbc)
- Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP)
- World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (WHITRAP), PR China (tbc)
Background and Rationale
Southeast Asia is continuously undergoing rapid transformation, driven by large-scale infrastructure construction aimed at escalating national logistic systems, advancing industrialization, enhancing tourism, and supporting economic growth for improved societal well-being. The projects, such as high-speed rail networks, cross-border connectivity, urban expansion, and industrial estate planning, have intensified in various countries in the region. While these efforts contribute significantly to regional integration and economic progress, they often intersect with areas of cultural and natural heritage, posing substantial risks not only during the construction phase but also in the post-construction period through long-term environmental and socio-cultural impacts.
Simultaneously, the region has experienced a notable increase in the number of cultural and natural heritage sites recognized at both national and international levels. In recent years, Southeast Asia has seen a growing number of inscriptions on the UNESCO World Heritage List, reflecting the global significance of its cultural and natural heritage. This increase in recognition necessitates more robust and systematic mechanisms to ensure that construction projects and other interventions are compatible with heritage conservation objectives. However, the continued expansion of national logistics and transportation networks is increasingly encroaching upon areas that include existing World Heritage properties and sites on national Tentative Lists, raising serious concerns about potential adverse impacts. In Thailand, for example, the high-speed rail development extends beyond Ayutthaya, with planned routes passing through provinces that contain or are adjacent to significant heritage sites. Similarly, in Indonesia, future phases of the Jakarta MRT and other infrastructure projects are expected to affect historic areas such as Kota Tua and Borobudur. In Vietnam and the Philippines, ongoing urban and regional transportation initiatives also pose risks to heritage zones, including the Complex of Hué Monuments and various Tentative List sites. These developments reinforce the urgent need to integrate systematic Impact Assessments into national infrastructure planning frameworks across the region.
The frequent tension between construction or intervention imperatives and heritage conservation has led to conflicts that underscore the need for a balanced and informed decision-making process. Impact Assessment (IA), in the form of Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), offers a credible, scientific, and structured methodology for assessing the potential impacts of proposed projects on heritage values. IA also serves as a framework for better planning and decision-making, and a platform to enhance stakeholder engagement, facilitating transparent consultation processes and consensus-building regarding mitigation measures throughout the project.
Despite its usefulness in identifying suitable solutions, IA remains insufficiently embedded in the legal and planning frameworks of most Southeast Asian countries. There is a pressing need to strengthen institutional capacity and promote the formal adoption of IA within national heritage legislation. In response to this need, the first regional training on HIA, conducted in Melaka, provided fundamental knowledge, built awareness, and highlighted the potential of HIA as a legal tool for heritage protection. Building upon the outcomes of the initial training, the second workshop in Impact Assessment will focus on enhancing participants’ understanding of two critical yet often underdeveloped components of the IA process: mitigation measures and monitoring systems. Given that IA is inherently a context-specific and adaptive process, this workshop will include IA theoretical frameworks and move beyond to emphasize applied knowledge through detailed case studies from Southeast Asia and other regions. These case studies will illustrate effective strategies for addressing different types of heritage impacts and demonstrate how mitigation measures and monitoring mechanisms can be designed and implemented effectively to ensure heritage protection. Besides, the workshop seeks to contribute to the long-term objective of institutionalizing IA as a standard practice in heritage management across Southeast Asia, ensuring that heritage values of international, national, and local levels are adequately considered and safeguarded amid ongoing and future transformations.
Course Structure
The course consists of a 3-day online course and a 5-day site-based workshop, which will be held in both classroom settings and on-site. The online session will provide foundational theoretical knowledge on heritage management and impact assessment, while the on-site workshop will focus on applying knowledge gained and learn from other case studies.
The maximum number of participants will be limited to 25 people. Priority will be given to applicants from SEAMEO member states (See https://www.seameo.org/Main_about/92), while applications from non-SEAMEO member states are also welcome.
Eligibility
Participants should:
- be preferably mid-career (5-15 years of experience) Southeast Asian or Asian professionals working in heritage conservation and/or management as architects, landscape architect, archaeologists, engineers, urban planners, heritage site managers, etc., and who can make effective use of the result of the training course upon returning to their home countries; or those with potential of working with heritage, who may be part of a heritage office/authorities, heritage management agencies, urban development institutions, planning and development departments, or infrastructure construction.
- be proficient in English to allow discussion, exchanges, and presentations;
- attend the entire programme, both online and on-site;
- be in good health and able to participate in the programme;
- submit all of the required documents by the stated deadlines; and
- be in a position to continue to exchange information and interact with the organizer after returning to their home countries.
Estimated Self-Paid Costs*
750 USD
(*Please note that this is the estimated cost for non-scholarship participants)
Travel, accommodation, and living expenses
Participants will be responsible for their round-trip travel costs to and from Ayutthaya, Thailand. In addition, selected self-paid participants will be required to pay in advance for the Estimated Self-Paid Cost to cover the costs of lunch, snack, and refreshment (5 days) and accommodation (6 nights on a shared basis) during the course. This cost should be transferred directly to SEAMEO SPAFA. The transfer method will be informed once the participant selection is completed.
Candidates are strongly encouraged to seek financial support from sources such as governmental institutions, employers, and funding agencies, and inform the organizer of any funding secured or in the process of application. It is noted that one participant from each SEAMEO member country will get a scholarship to cover traveling costs from their capital city to Ayutthaya, Thailand, accommodation, and meals by SEAMEO SPAFA.
Application
Please fill out the application form.
Note: Your personal statement in the application form is a fundamental requirement. You are expected to write: “Why you are applying to this course, what you hope to learn from it, and how it will benefit your professional development and your institution.” (max. 500 words) Also, provide a file with information about “Your Heritage Site” (max. 500 words).
To finalise the application, the following must be included with the application form. All the documentation must be submitted in English.
- Portrait photo (allowed formats: gif, jpg, jpeg, png, tif, tiff, with a maximum file size of 3 MB)
- Official endorsement signed by a representative of the organization you work for (allowed formats: pdf, doc, docx, jpg, jpeg, png, tif, tiff with a maximum file size of 5 MB)
- A full professional curriculum vitae (allowed formats: PDF, DOC, DOCX, with a maximum file size of 5 MB)
A brief report on “Your Heritage Place” (max. 2 pages),
- allowed formats: pdf, doc, docx, with a maximum file size of 5 MB
- answering the following questions:
A. Please provide the name of a heritage site you are currently working on or have access to information about.
B. Please briefly explain about the heritage place and values and attributes of the site, the action(s) or project(s) affecting the heritage, and the legal protection and/or measures (s) adopted to mitigate the impact (max. 300 words).
C. Describe a project involving impact assessment of the site for which you are or have been actively involved and your role and your involvement (if possible) with the heritage place for which the impact assessment was conducted (max 300 words).
For further information regarding the course, please contact: Ms Supitcha Sutthanonkul, Researcher via (hia2025@seameo-spafa.org).
Application deadline
Applications should reach SEAMEO SPAFA by 10 September 2025 to ensure inclusion in our selection process.Only successful applicants will be notified at the latest by 25 September 2025.