Improving the preservation of heritage

Beginning today, more than 150 top heritage specialists from all over the world will be meeting in Malta as the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos) convenes the annual meeting of its leadership in Valletta. The assembly will include presidents of Icomos National Committees from all continents as well as of the International Scientific Committees that serve the many specialised fields devoted to heritage conservation.

The meeting is of particular interest to Icomos, as Valletta has been inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1980. As an official adviser to the World Heritage Committee, Icomos is responsible for evaluating all cultural site nominations to the World Heritage List, as well as for the continuous monitoring of the state of conservation of the 689 cultural sites and 25 mixed cultural-natural properties currently inscribed on the list, which in Malta include Valletta, the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum and the Megalithic temples of Malta and Gozo.

The uniqueness of every site inscribed in the World Heritage List signifies the official international recognition of the outstanding universal value of the place and, perhaps more importantly, the commitment to work together for their protection on the part of the 186 countries that have ratified the convention. With World Heritage Sites inscribed in 148 countries, Icomos is well acquainted with the many pressures and risks that threaten these treasures of all humanity. In its monitoring duties, Icomos has had to confront the destruction of heritage sites caused by all sorts of calamities: earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, wars, ethnic conflicts, uncontrolled tourism, faulty management, demographic shifts, climate change, economic pressures and uncontrolled urban growth.

In spite of the many risks and the unrelenting pressures on all World Heritage properties, the international cooperation orchestrated by Unesco’s World Heritage Centre among governments, Icomos and many other heritage organisations such as the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and restoration of Cultural Property in Rome (Iccrom) and the Organisation of World Heritage Cities, to cite just two, has proven effective to contain the erosion in all World Heritage cultural sites, except for one.

Earlier this year the world observed with shared regret as the cultural landscape of Dresden was removed from the list in recognition that inappropriate urban development projects has irreversibly erased the outstanding universal value for which the place was inscribed.

The regrettable experience of Dresden is an episode that no one in the international heritage community wants repeated.

However, the urban growth pressures that triggered the delisting of Dresden were not an isolated phenomenon.

There have been proposals for high-rise towers in the vicinity of the World Heritage Sites of Vienna and Cologne, and for a shopping centre near the Taj Mahal that were deemed serious enough to consider delisting if allowed to move ahead. Luckily, the projects were cancelled. Currently, similar proposals are under consideration in St Petersburg and Seville.

Icomos comes to Valletta with full knowledge that, like most of the 226 towns and cities inscribed in the World Heritage List, the city faces great challenges in finding the right balance between preservation and development. Icomos is aware that this is a difficult task for the local authorities that are simultaneously responsible for conserving the heritage resources of the city for future generations and for ensuring its continued role as a place where the present generation may live in a stimulating environment that allows them to prosper and achieve their aspirations. A principal objective of Icomos is precisely to advise, assist and support elected officials and government authorities in how best to protect the heritage sites under their stewardship.

Cities are the greatest legacy of humanity’s ability to live together in organised communal societies over long periods of time. Throughout history and more so today, cities have had to adapt to absorb and respond to the ever-changing needs of society. In this process of change, some cities have erased their past and transformed themselves into something totally new, with no perceivable links to their past. These are the cities of uniform anonymity that one increasingly finds all over the world.

Fortunately, a handful of special cities, like Valletta, Rome and Mexico have been blessed by a visionary citizenry that guided their evolution through time without destroying the architectural vestiges and traditional uses of their long history. These are the vibrant cities that were historically sustainable long before the concept of sustainability had even become intellectually fashionable. They are both the containers of great works of art and architecture as well as works of art in themselves. As World Heritage Sites, it is the shared responsibility of all humanity to protect these places of special memory.

Over the next few days, Icomos delegates will be exploring the beauty of Valletta, talking to its people, and also visiting the megalithic sites.

At the same time, they will be dealing with many of the crucial issues affecting heritage. Important international initiatives to enhance our global networks will be launched to mobilise the full membership of Icomos in a more coordinated way. There will be meetings to identify emerging needs in each of the world regions and how to respond to them. The Icomos Scientific Council has scheduled an ambitious symposium to analyse how recent technological changes are affecting the conservation of heritage in the various regions of the world.

This is not the first time that Icomos meets in Malta. On several occasions, our Maltese National Committee, established by Ray Bondin in 1995 and which includes among its members the top people in this field, has taken on the responsibility to host and organise a number of important international Icomos events. We are grateful for the outstanding support that we have received from the Ministry of Finance, Heritage Malta and the Malta Tourism Authority in facilitating and hosting our meetings in Malta.

Mr Araoz is the president of Icomos, the International Council on Monuments and Sites.