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Santiago de Cuba, November 7-10, 2005.

CONCEPT PAPER

1. Background:

A. At the International Level Since its approval in 1972, the World Heritage Convention had dealt with both cultural and natural heritage. After years of discussion on the essence of cultural landscapes, the 16th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1992, definitely adopted and launched this category. Thus, the Convention became the first international legal instrument to recognize and protect cultural landscapes.1 This innovative decision related to such a complex type of heritage ― focused on the interaction between nature and culture and, at the same time, so closely linked to traditional ways of living ― was a testimony of the advanced and dialectic character of the Convention. For both UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee, the new approach represented an achievement as a contribution to sustainable development and community involvement.2 Under the Committee’s recommendations and in order to make an overall analysis of the different kinds of cultural landscapes and their potential universal value as well as to include them in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the Convention, an expert meeting was held in Petit Pierre, France, in 1992, organized by the World Heritage Center in coordination with ICOMOS, UICN and other partners. As a result of the meeting, the Operational Guidelines defined these landscapes as follows: “Cultural landscapes represent the combined work of nature and of man designated in Article 1 of the Convention. They are illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under the influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social, economic and cultural forces, both external and internal. They should be selected on the basis both of their outstanding universal

1 Rossler Mechtild. La convención del patrimonio mundial y los paisajes culturales. En Reunión de Expertos sobre Paisajes

Culturales en Meso América. Centro del Patrimonio Mundial/ Oficina UNESCO para América Central. San José, Costa Rica, septiembre 2000.

2 Bandarin Francesco. Foreword. In World Heritage Cultural Landscapes 1992-2002 by P.J. Fowler World Heritage Paper 6. UNESCO World Heritage Center. Paris, 2003.

value and of their representativity in terms of clearly defined geocultural region and so for their capacity to illustrate the essential and distinct cultural elements of those regions”3 “The term cultural landscape embraces a diversity of manifestations of the interactions between humankind and its natural environment.”4 “Cultural landscapes often reflect specific techniques of sustainable land use, considering the characteristics and limits of the natural environment they are established in, and a specific spiritual relation to nature. Protection of cultural landscapes can contribute to modern techniques of sustainable land use and can maintain or enhance natural values in the landscape. The continued existence of traditional forms of land use supports biological diversity in many regions of the world. The protection of traditional cultural landscapes is therefore helpful in maintaining biological diversity.”5

However, the abundant variety of cultural landscapes of the world required a classification for their better understanding and treatment. With this purpose, the above-mentioned Operational Guidelines reflected them according to the following typologies:6 (i) The most easily identifiable is the clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man. This embraces garden and parkland landscapes constructed for aesthetic reasons which are often (but not always) associated with religious or other monumental buildings and ensembles. (ii) The second category is the organically evolved landscape. This results from an initial social, economic, administrative and/or religious imperative and has developed its present form by association with and in response to its natural environment. Such landscapes reflect that process of evolution in their form and component features. They fall into two sub-categories: - A relic (or fossil) landscape is one in which an evolutionary process came to an end at some time in the past, either abruptly or over a period. Its significant distinguishing features are however, still visible in material form. - A continuing landscape is one which retains an active social role in contemporary society closely associated with the traditional way of life, and in which the evolutionary process in still in progress. At the same time, it exhibits significant material evidence of this evolution over time. (iii) The last category is the associative cultural landscape. It is justifiable by virtue of the powerful religious, artistic or cultural associations of the natural element rather than material cultural evidence, which may be insignificant or even absent.

3 Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. World Heritage Center, 1999. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 Operational guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, World Heritage Center, Paris, 1999.

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The International Experts Meeting on Cultural Landscapes of Outstanding Universal Value held in Templin, Germany, in 1993, drafted an action plan that would help the States Parties on the identification, assessment, nomination and management of these properties for their inclusion in the World Heritage List. Later on, the Committee, in its 17th session, held in Cartagena, Colombia, in 1993 approved an Action Plan for Cultural Landscapes, emphasizing the need for their inclusion in the respective national tentative lists for World Heritage nominations. Very soon, the first inscriptions of cultural landscapes started to occur. The associative cultural landscape of the Maori sacred mountains in Tongariro National Park, New Zealand was the first site inscribed. Between 1993 and 2005, more than forty cultural landscapes have been designated as World Heritage sites. In Annex 1. World Heritage Cultural Landscapes (1993-2005), it is possible to appreciate that the three categories above mentioned, designed, evolutive and associative cultural landscapes are currently represented in the List. It is also evident that still in 2005, though some cultural landscapes from other regions have been included, their amount is small in comparison with the majority of European sites inscribed. With the aim to debate and better clarify the essence of the new patrimonial category, to identify these landscapes as sites of outstanding universal value as well as to understand the specific perils and threats they face, considerable amount of experts meetings, seminars or workshops sponsored by the World Heritage Center and other related entities, were subsequently held in Europe, Asia Pacific and other regions. There has been, of course, an increasing interest from many sectors and experts related to the World Heritage processes and from organizations like ICOMOS, ICCROM, IUCN, universities as well as from some States Parties. Probably, one of the most stimulating facts that have motivated the discussion on the different aspects of cultural landscapes has been the Global Strategy formulated by the World Heritage Committee in 1994, in order to achieve a more representative List both by geographic regions and by categories and historic periods. On such occasion, the Committee had recognized the clear predominance of European sites and monumental urban and architectural complexes in the List, while many important regions of the world like Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, were insufficiently represented and their specific kinds of heritage properties had not even yet been assumed as potential sites for their nomination.7 A European meting of experts held in Vienna, Austria, in 1996, arrived to the conclusion that even though Europe has a significant amount of cultural landscapes, only a few could be inscribed as World

7 Fowler P.J. World Heritage Cultural Landscapes 1992-2002. World Heritage Paper 6. UNESCO World Heritage Center.

Paris, 2003

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Heritage Sites, following the principles of the Global Strategy. Therefore, they concluded, national regulations and programs should anyway protect these cultural landscapes.8 As a sign of growing interest on cultural landscapes, the Greek Government and UNESCO have established the Melina Mercouri International Prize aimed at rewarding outstanding examples of actions to safeguard and enhance the world’s major cultural landscapes. The prize, presented for the first time in 1999, is awarded every two years by the Director-General of UNESCO. Among the recipients are the historic village of Maymand in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Park of Koga in Japan, the Open-Air Art Museum at Pedvale, Latvia, and the Viñales Valley in Cuba. One of the most interesting events held recently, was the Seventh International Symposium of US ICOMOS “Learning from World Heritage. Lessons from International Preservation & Stewardship of Cultural and Ecological Landscapes of Global Significance,“ held in Natchitoches, Louisiana, in March 2004. The Symposium issued the comprehensive Declaration of Natchitoches, which acknowledges the need for actions to deepen the understanding of the complexity of heritage landscapes, whether productive, commemorative, inspirational, rural or urban, countryside, seascapes, cityscapes, industrial landscapes, routes, or linear corridors, needed at the international, national and regional levels.9

It also warned that threats are multiple and pervasive and require attention.10 In addition, it stressed the need to recognize and pursue planning for global changes in land use that pose specific challenges to cultural landscapes, such as agricultural change and tourism pressure, develop a stronger system to ensure rapid intervention and mobilizing resources for heritage landscapes under threat, focus additional attention on the issues of heritage landscapes in the response to catastrophic events.11

Many other recommendations completed the Natchitoches Declaration, which definitely calls for increased commitment to the gamut of preservation and conservation planning and management efforts to preserve the universally significant heritage landscapes of our planet.12

The Tenth International Seminar of Forum UNESCO on “Cultural Landscapes in the 21st Century. Laws, Management and Public Participation: Heritage as a Challenge of Citizenship” held on April 11th to 16th, 2005 in the United Kingdom,13 had as its major goal

8 Rossler Methchild. Los paisajes culturales y la convención del Patrimonio Mundial Cultural y Natural. En Paisajes

Culturales en los Andes. Memoria narrativa, casos de estudio, conclusiones y recomendaciones de la reunión de expertos. Arequipa y Chivay. Perú, mayo de 1998. Centro del Patrimonio Mundial y UNESCO/ Perú, 2002.

9 Natchitoches Declaration. Seventh International Symposium of US ICOMOS “ Learning from World Heritage .Lessons from International Preservation & Stewardship of Cultural and ecological landscapes of global significance” Natchitoches, Louisiana, 2004.

9 Ibid. 10 Ibid 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 Organized by Forum/UNESCO University and Heritage (FUUH) and the International Centre for Cultural and Heritage

Studies of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

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the development of knowledge on cultural landscapes management and protection. It also focused on landscapes in all their manifestations, through an interdisciplinary approach and through the voices of those who live in or interact with landscapes. A considerable number of presentations from key international organizations and relevant worldwide experts addressed the most up to date topics with regard to cultural landscapes in this twenty first century. For example, Methschild Rossler, from the UNESCO World Heritage Center, expressed that: “The maintenance of the social fabric, traditional knowledge, land-use systems and indigenous practices are essential to their survival. In many cases, cultural landscapes are also of critical importance to the protection of intangible values and heritage. World Heritage cultural landscapes can be models in effective landscape management, excellence in conservation practices and innovation in legal protection. They are places where we can learn about the relation between people, nature and ecosystems and how this shapes culture, identity and enriches cultural and biological diversity.”14 Susan Denyer´s prediction for the future was that ”Cultural landscapes account for around a third of all nominations for World Heritage status in some years”.15 Within the context of the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan, a transcendental international symposium dedicated to “Conserving Cultural and Biological Diversity. The Role of Sacred Natural Sites and Cultural Landscapes” concluded last June 2005 in Tokyo, with the sponsorship of UNESCO, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), United Nations University (UNU), the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). As the latest doctrinal text on Cultural Landscapes, the Tokyo Declaration,16 recommended vital issues as the promotion of the role of indigenous peoples and local communities, as custodians of sacred natural sites and cultural landscapes, through the rights-based approach, in order to contribute to their well-being and to the preservation of cultural and biological diversity of such sites and landscapes, the participation of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the scientific community and the private sector, to enhance cooperation and to continue collaborative work for safeguarding the cultural and biological diversity embodied in sacred natural sites and cultural landscapes, and to better understand nature-culture interaction through comparative research.17

Among other important aspects, it also requested from UNESCO the establishment, in order to ensure the holistic protection of sacred natural sites and cultural landscapes, of a mechanism of cooperation between the 1972 and 2003 Conventions. 18

14 Ibid. 15 Ibid 16 Symposium “Conserving Cultural and Biological Diversity. The Role of Sacred Natural Sites and Cultural Landscapes”

UNESCO, World Conservation Union (IUCN), United Nations University (UNU), the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Tokyo, 2005.

17 Ibid. 18 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopted by the UNESCO General Conference on 17

October 2003 by the UNESCO General Conference at its 32nd Session.

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Additionally, it invited intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions and the private sector to continue cooperating with governments, local authorities, and indigenous peoples and local communities, with their free, prior and informed consent and their full and effective participation, for safeguarding cultural, linguistic and biological diversity, through the protection of sacred natural sites and cultural landscapes.19

It urged the development of holistic approaches that take into account, respect different knowledge systems, and integrate ethical, social, technical and economic dimensions, recognizing the historical dynamics of cultures and landscapes, while acknowledging the need of indigenous peoples and local communities for their sustainable livelihoods.20

The Declaration “calls upon governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, religious institutions, indigenous and local communities to work together to ensure respect for religious and spiritual traditions and practices linked to sacred natural sites, and to protect such sites against desecration and destruction.”21

Evidently, Cultural Landscapes currently represent a fundamental and comprehensive concept that integrates the different manifestations of heritage, whether natural or cultural, tangible or intangible. As expressed by Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO, the inclusion of these landscapes within the categories related to the universal legacy, means a recognition of the living and enduring traditions that work as a nexus between people and sites.22 B. At the Latin American and Caribbean Level Bearing in mind the abovementioned backgrounds, what has happened in Latin America and the Caribbean with respect to cultural landscapes? Latin America and the Caribbean have undoubtedly retained many of the different typologies of cultural landscapes, yet to be recognized not only by the international community but also, above all, by the States Parties themselves. Viñales Valley, a Cuban evolved continuing landscape, basically related to tobacco production was the first cultural landscape from this region to be included in the World Heritage List in 1999 and also to receive the Melina Mercouri Award from the Greek Government. To this date, only two other cultural landscapes have been inscribed in the List: the Coffee Plantations of Southeast of Cuba and the Quebrada de Humahuaca in Argentina. In 2002, the Peruvian expert Elias J. Mujica, while regretting that only two cultural landscapes from the region had been included in the list at that moment, had accurately pointed out: “Nevertheless, some World Heritage sites inscribed on the List

19 Ibid 20 Symposium “Conserving Cultural and Biological Diversity. The Role of Sacred Natural Sites and Cultural Landscapes”

UNESCO, World Conservation Union (IUCN), United Nations University (UNU), the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Permanent, Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Tokyo, 2005

21 Ibid. 22 Koichiro Matsuura, Foreword to Museum International 222-223

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prior to the development and approval of the cultural landscape concept, such as the mixed site of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (Peru), comprise significant cultural landscapes, while others such as the Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Pampas de Jumana (also in Peru) may be considered as ‘the most dramatic relic cultural landscape of all on the World Heritage List’, according to Henry Cleere.23 Since 1998, various meetings sponsored by the World Heritage Center have addressed this significant topic in the Latin American and Caribbean Region:

-Workshop on the Cultural Heritage of the Caribbean and the World Heritage Convention. Fort de France Martinique, April 1998. World Heritage Center

-Cultural landscapes in the Andean Region. Arequipa and Chivay, Peru, May 1998. World Heritage Center and UNESCO Lima.

-Thematic Meeting on Cultural Landscapes of the South Cone, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1999. Centro Internacional para la Conservación del Patrimonio (CICOP) and World Heritage Center.

-Cultural Landscapes in Mesoamerica, San José Costa Rica, September 2000.

-Regional Expert Meeting on Plantation Systems in the Caribbean. Paramaribo, Suriname 17-19 July 2001. World Heritage Center and the Slave Route Project.

The Workshop held in Fort de France in 1998, according to Herman van Hooff, had initiated “a process of more in-depth reflection on the cultural heritage of the Caribbean and how this heritage in all its diversity could be better represented in the World Heritage List.”24 Among the various presentations related to all the Caribbean patrimony, one of them focused on cultural landscapes and recognized the treasure and variety of sites of this kind in the sub-region, the scarce knowledge on this topic, the lack of research and specialized training, their insufficient protection and other difficulties. In addition, several recommendations for the immediate future suggested the introduction of this topic at the governmental levels and international entities, the organization of training activities on cultural landscapes for local authorities, tourism managers and other sectors potentially involved, and the promotion of the first World Heritage nominations of Caribbean landscapes in order to achieve a multiplying effect.25 The Twenty Fifth Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in December 2001, in Helsinki, Finland, analyzed the significant conclusions of the Suriname meeting on Plantation Systems in the Caribbean, and recognized that an important achievement of this encounter had been that “The concept of cultural landscapes adopted by the Committee in 1992 was suggested as an answer to the complexities of the Caribbean heritage and specifically the 23 Mujica, Elías. Cultural Landscapes and the Challenges of Conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Cultural

Landscapes. The Challenges of Conservation Pp 82-91 Ferrara, Italy, World Heritage Papers No 7. World Heritage Center Paris, 2002.

24 van Hooff, Herman “The State of Implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the Caribbean.” In The Cultural Heritage of the Caribbean and the World Heritage Convention. Editions du CTHS. UNESCO, Paris, 2000.

25 Rigol, Isabel. “Cultural Landscapes in the Caribbean”. In The Cultural Heritage of the Caribbean and the World Heritage Convention. Editions du CTHS. UNESCO, Paris, 2000.

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plantations systems.”26 The Committee also recognized that “it was emphasized that the cultural landscape categories in the framework of the World Heritage Convention are of great interest when trying to come to grasp with heritage as complex as that of the Caribbean.”27

For the first time, the World Heritage Committee had put together the idea of the Caribbean heritage and that of the cultural landscapes. In the last five years, a series of documents on the identification and safeguarding of the invaluable Caribbean heritage have been produced as a result of the different training activities and thematic meetings organized by the World Heritage Center. A specific doctrine focusing in the diversity of this patrimony and the multiple geographic, climatic, social and cultural or economic factors that affect it is undoubtedly emerging. The Dominica Document, an outcome of the Training Course on the Application of the World Heritage Convention in the Caribbean and its Role in Sustainable Development, held in Roseau, Dominica in 2001, for example, claimed for the “preservation and conservation of Caribbean heritage as an expression of identity and a basic resource for sustainable development”28 Three years later, in 2004, the Declaration of Castries, issued by the Saint Lucia Conference on the Development of a Caribbean Action Plan in World Heritage, reaffirmed this Document and emphasized “that our ability to survive as Caribbean and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) will depend on developing a new paradigm which is driven by strategies that take into consideration our diverse natural and cultural resources, our inspiring landscapes, our climate, our unique identity and the resilience and creativity of our people who have overcome centuries of hardship and exploitation.”29

At the same time, the Capacity Building Programme for Cultural and Natural heritage in the Caribbean Region launched in 2003 by the World Heritage Center while “seeking a better integration of the conservation and management of natural and cultural heritage,”30 among its main objectives, has indeed helped to provide an adequate framework for an overall and integrated approach to the Caribbean legacy and, fundamentally, to start jointly focusing the cultural landscapes of this sub-region. This fruitful process, on which UNESCO has been definitely involved, certainly supports the States Parties´ efforts to link cultural and natural resources, cultural and biological diversity, tangible and intangible expressions, heritage and sustainable development, and might, therefore, determine a new stage of achievements for the Caribbean. 2. Justification: 26 World Heritage Committee 25th Session, Helsinki, Finland, 2001 26 Ibid. 27 Dominica Document. Training Course on the Application of the World Heritage Convention in the Caribbean and its Role

in Sustainable Development, Roseau, Dominica, 2001. 29 Declaration of Castries, Saint Lucia Conference on the Development of a Caribbean Action Plan in World Heritage. World

Heritage Center. Saint Lucia, 2004. 30 Capacity Building Programme for Cultural and Natural Heritage in the Caribbean Region. World Heritage Center, Paris,

2003.

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Cultural landscapes have become a rather common category for scholars and for many of those acquainted with the World Heritage processes. Nevertheless, due to the complexities of this category and its typological diversity, a broader clarification and better understanding at all levels, is still necessary. The Periodic Report for World Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean, concluded in 2004, and approved by the World Heritage Committee during its 28th Session in Suzhou, China, 2004, stated: The very first inscriptions on the World Heritage List were nominations from Latin America. The total number of properties from the region now stands at 107 out of a total of 754 worldwide. However, an analysis of the representativity of the World Heritage List as well as of the properties included in the Tentative Lists – the States Parties’ inventories of properties that may be considered for future World Heritage listing - shows that the full range of cultural and natural diversity that the region has to offer is not adequately reflected on these lists and that there are geographical areas that are seriously under-represented. The latter is particularly applicable to the Caribbean sub-region. Therefore, over the past ten years, the World Heritage Committee and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre have paid particular attention to the Caribbean in the context of the Committee’s Global Strategy for a Representative World Heritage List. “31

Among the findings32 of this report, concerning the credibility of the World Heritage List, the following are especially applicable to the Caribbean and of particular interest in order to justify the celebration of a Meeting of Experts on Cultural Landscapes in the sub-region:

-The World Heritage concepts of Outstanding Universal Value, significance, authenticity and integrity are not well understood, which compromises the very foundation of World Heritage conservation and management.

-Specific property categories as well as the sub-region of the Caribbean are under-represented on the World Heritage List.

-Tentative Lists do not fully reflect the diversity of the cultural and natural heritage of the States Parties and region and are not harmonized among States Parties.

In the Caribbean, there is a huge wealth of cultural landscapes basically related to sugar, coffee, tobacco and other historic productions, as well as to slavery. Two of the three cultural landscapes included in the World Heritage List up to 2004 belong to this sub-region. However, even though, this rich and varied complex seems to be in permanent or potential danger will be soon irreversibly deteriorated or might even disappear if urgent measures are not taken by the states and other decision-making sectors.

31 Periodic Report for World Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean. 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee,

Suzhou, China, 2004. 32 Ibid.

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Most threats are due to the vulnerability of the islands, their reduced surface, their geographic situation, their geological composition, the scarcity of resources and the natural disasters to which they are constantly exposed. In addition, the erosion of soils, the pollution of subterranean water layers, the deforestation of highland territories, the abuse of herbicides and the contamination of rivers and coastal regions make the situation tougher. More specifically, among the main negative impacts and difficulties for their preservation we could mention uncontrolled development of urbanization, and use of land without any territorial planning as a background, uncontrolled industrial or massive tourism growth, disappearance of historic crops, plagues, insufficient knowledge of farmers, administrators and workers on management techniques, lack of awareness on their significance as a sustainable way of living for many communities and as an attraction for culture, tourism and science. 3. Objectives and Topics to debate. The Global Strategy for a Representative World Heritage List was launched by the World Heritage Committee in 1994 in order to ensure the inclusion of the cultural and natural diversity of outstanding universal values in the world. The four Strategic Objectives, known as the four C´s (Credibility, Conservation, Capacity and Communication) enunciated by the Committee in Budapest 2002, have been instrumental for the formulation of the Action Plan for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2004. Consequently, the different objectives of the Meeting of Experts on Cultural Landscapes in the Caribbean and the topics to be discussed have been formulated according to the above-mentioned Strategic Objectives.

SSttrraatteeggiicc oobbjjeeccttiivveess OObbjjeeccttiivveess ooff tthhee wwoorrkksshhoopp TTooppiiccss ttoo ddeebbaattee

Promote the clarification, understanding, adaptation to the sub-regional context and broad recognition of concepts as cultural landscape and outstanding universal value.

The scope of concepts as cultural landscape, authenticity, integrity, outstanding universal values. Their application to the Caribbean.

To identify the Caribbean cultural landscapes and promote their better recognition and safeguarding by the States Parties and stakeholders.

Identification of the different typologies of cultural landscapes in the Caribbean and their different scales of local, national or universal values.

Contribute to the enrichment of the tentative lists of the Caribbean by the States Parties and thus help achieve a more representative World Heritage List.

Representativeness of the Caribbean cultural landscapes in the World Heritage List and the indicative lists submitted by the States Parties.

Credibility

Promote the nomination of those cultural landscapes of a proved outstanding universal value for their inclusion in the World Heritage List and focus, in those related to slavery, as unique in the World.

The World Heritage process, its different stages (nomination, evaluation, inscription, etc.) the role of the World Heritage Center, the World Heritage Committee, advisory bodies UICN and ICOMOS.

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Identify the main factors and threats affecting Caribbean cultural landscapes and promote their conservation and proper use.

Conservation of a complex and, in general, territorially vast heritage as cultural landscapes. Specific problems in small islands. Preserving authenticity and integrity.

Promote the wise management of cultural landscapes. Propose effective trends, premises and, if possible, guidelines for site management and conservation.

The scope, limitations and perspectives of cultural landscapes management in the Caribbean. Best practices worldwide in this field and analysis from a Caribbean point of view.

Facilitate the proper orientation and control of tourism impact on cultural landscapes considering this activity as essential for Caribbean sustainable development.

Impacts, benefits and perils posed by tourism. Control of visitors. The UNESCO Programme for Cultural Tourism and others related.

Prevent the effects of the frequent natural disasters and other risks on cultural landscapes of the sub-region as well as learn how to treat these properties in case they are affected.

Disasters and risk preparedness as an essential activity in the Caribbean.

Conservation

Promote the insertion of cultural landscapes within an integrated territorial planning, according to national and local development policies.

The harmonic integration of cultural diversity and biological diversity, of tangible and intangible heritage, of culture/ nature, economics and development.

Stimulate a permanent capacity of highly skilled and specialized national and local entities for heritage preservation and management and, within them, a space for cultural landscapes.

The need for stability and continuity of the specialized entities and their staff. The preservation and updating of an institutional memory.

Contribute to the adequate training of the responsible authorities at all levels, including the local site managers as well as identify gaps and potential opportunities with this purpose, distance training/e.learning for instance.

Training needs and opportunities according to international trends and national / local requirements

Associate universities and research institutions with the processes of identification and protection of cultural landscapes.

Research needs. The potential of universities and research entities.

Search for feasible alternatives of fund-raising in the Caribbean.

Partnerships, revenues from tourism, donations and others.

Capacity

Promote the fruitful employment of available resources and mechanisms for cooperation.

International cooperation, Caribbean integration.

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Contribute to the improvement of living conditions, poverty alleviation and jobs provision by means of preserving cultural landscapes.

Sustainability of cultural landscapes based on the preservation of cultural traditions, production and natural assets. Participation of stakeholders.

Demonstrate the possibility of linking nature and culture, tangible and intangible values as important assets for local sustainable development and increasing living conditions.

Examples of best practices worldwide regarding cultural landscapes.

Facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to this heritage, stimulating the participation of entities dedicated to agriculture, landscaping, land use, local industries, tourism and others to be potentially involved.

Participation of the stakeholders on preserving cultural landscapes, sustainability and improvement of living conditions.

Promote understanding by the residents on their tangible and intangible values, as well as on the cultural and biological diversity of their context.

Special education programmes and tools for youth and children. The role of Caribbean women on preserving their heritage. Mass media and other means for the dissemination of knowledge. Site presentation and interpretation.

Promote networking, debating and exchange of experiences, considering the specific cultural, geographical and economic conditions of the sub-region.

Available means of exchange.

Communication

Promote the publication and dissemination of specialized manuals and other illustrative documents reflecting the specific characteristics, threats, and management issues.

Availability of books and other publications, digital technologies for information, presentation and interpretation in the Caribbean.

4. Organization and Structure. The meeting is organized by the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean in coordination with the World Heritage Center and UNESCO Office in Kingston. Consultants from Caribbean countries have assisted this Office during the whole organizational process. It will take place in Santiago de Cuba, co sponsored by the local Office of the Conservator of the City. Santiago de Cuba, apart from its vastly recognized Caribbean character has two World Heritage Sites, the San Pedro de la Roca Fortress overlooking the Harbor of Santiago and the Archaeological landscapes of the Coffee Plantations of the Southeast of Cuba. This last one is a paradigmatic cultural landscape inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2000. The experience obtained visiting this unique and magnificent site will be of great significance for the participants.

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The Meeting will comprise several lectures on basic topics by well-known international and regional experts as well as specialists and officers from the UNESCO system and the World Heritage Center. The various case studies from the Caribbean countries that will be presented respond to the different classifications established by the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention with regard to cultural landscapes (designed, evolutive and associative cultural landscapes). Each day, interactive panels and sessions of discussion will be organized. The Meeting of Experts aims at raising awareness on the complexities of the cultural diversity of cultural landscapes in the Caribbean and advocates for the necessary Pan-Caribbean integration in order to achieve a broader knowledge on the outstanding values of this patrimony and to address its effective conservation and sustainable use. Contacts: UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean Calzada # 551 esquina a D, Vedado, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba Phone: (537) 8333438 Fax: (537) 8333144 Ms. Montserrat Martell Domingo Programme Specialist E-mail: m.martell@unesco.org.cu Mr. Victor Marin National Professional Officer E-mail: v.marin@unesco.org

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AANNNNEEXX 11.. WWOORRLLDD HHEERRIITTAAGGEE CCUULLTTUURRAALL LLAANNDDSSCCAAPPEESS Year Country Name 1993

New Zealand

Tongariro National Park The first property to be inscribed on the World Heritage List as cultural landscape. The mountains in the heart of the park have cultural and religious significance for the Maori people and symbolize the spiritual links between this community and its environment. The park has active and extinct volcanoes, a diverse range of ecosystems and some spectacular landscapes.

1994

Australia

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Formerly known as Uluru (Ayres Rock, Mount Olga) National Park, features spectacular geological formations that dominate the vast red sandy plain of Central Australia. Uluru, an immense monolith and Kata Tjuta, form part of the traditional belief system of one of the oldest human societies in the world. The traditional owners are the Anangu aboriginal people.

1995

Philippines

Rice Terraces For 2,000 years, the high rice fields of the Ifugao have followed the contours of the mountains. The result of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next, and the expression of sacred traditions and a delicate social balance, they have helped to create a landscape of great beauty that expresses the harmony between humankind and the environment.

Portugal

Cultural landscape of Sintra

In the 19th century, Sintra became the first centre of European Romantic architecture. Ferdinand II turned a ruined monastery into a castle where this new sensitivity was displayed in the use of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renaissance elements and in the creation of a park blending local and exotic species of trees. Other fine dwellings, built along the same lines in the surrounding serra, created a unique combination of parks and gardens that influenced the development of landscape architecture throughout Europe.

2

1996

Czech Republic

Lednice-Valtice Between the 17th and 20th centuries, the ruling dukes of Liechtenstein transformed their domains in southern Moravia into a striking landscape. It married Baroque, Neo-Classical and Neo-Gothic architecture of the castles of Lednice and Valtice with the countryside fashioned according to English romantic principles of landscape architecture. A 200 sq. km property, it is one of the largest artificial landscapes in Europe. The site is of outstanding universal value as a cultural landscape, an exceptional example of the designed landscape evolved in the Enlightenment and afterwards. It succeeds in bringing together in harmony cultural monuments from successive periods and both indigenous and exotic natural elements to create an outstanding work of human creativity.

1997

Austria

Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut cultural landscape Human activity in the magnificent natural landscape of the Salzkammergut began in prehistoric times, with the salt deposits being exploited as early as the 2nd millennium B.C. The Alpine region is an outstanding example of a natural landscape of great beauty and scientific interest that also contains evidence of a fundamental human economic activity, everything integrated in a harmonious and mutually beneficial manner.

France/ Spain

Pyrénées-Mont Perdu

Area between France and Spain. The calcareous massif of the Mount Perdu displays classic geological landforms, including deep canyons and spectacular cirque walls. It is also an outstanding scenic landscape with meadows, lakes, caves and forests on mountain slopes. In addition, the area is of high interest to science and conservation. An outstanding cultural landscape combines scenic beauty with a socio-economic structure that has its roots in the past and illustrates a mountain way of life that has become rare in Europe.

Italy

Cinque Terre The Ligurian coast between Cinque Terre and Portovenere is a cultural site of outstanding value, representing the harmonious interaction between people and nature to produce a landscape of exceptional scenic quality that illustrates a traditional way of life that has existed for a thousand years and continues to play an important socio-economic role in the life of the community. The layout and disposition of the small towns and the shape of the surrounding landscape, overcoming the disadvantages of a steep, uneven terrain, encapsulate the continuous history of human settlement in this region.

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Italy

Costiera Amalfitana. The Amalfi Coast is an outstanding example of a Mediterranean landscape, with exceptional cultural and natural scenic values resulting from its dramatic topography and historical evolution great physical beauty and natural diversity. It has been intensively settled by human communities since the early Middle Ages. There are a number of towns such as Amalfi and Ravello with architectural and artistic works of great significance. The rural areas show the versatility of the inhabitants in adapting their use of the land to the diverse nature of the terrain, which ranges from terraced vineyards and orchards on the lower slopes to wide upland pastures.

1998

LAC Cuba

Viñales Valley It is surrounded by mountains, and its landscape is interspersed with dramatic rock outcrops. Traditional techniques are still in use for agricultural production, particularly of tobacco. The quality of this cultural landscape is enhanced by the vernacular architecture of its farms and villages, where a rich multi-ethnic society survives, illustrating the cultural development of the islands of the Caribbean, and of Cuba. The Viñales valley is an outstanding karst landscape in which traditional methods of agriculture (notably tobacco) have remained unchanged for several centuries. The region also preserves a rich vernacular tradition in its architecture, its crafts, and its music.

Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion.

Viticulture was introduced to this fertile region of Aquitaine by the Romans, and intensified in the Middle Ages. The Saint-Emilion area benefited from its location on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Many churches, monasteries, and hospices were built there from the 11th century onwards. It was granted the special status of a jurisdiction during the period of English rule in the 12th century. It is an exceptional landscape devoted entirely to vine growing, with many fine historic monuments in its towns and villages.

Hungary

Hortobágy National Park.

The cultural landscape of the Hortobágy Puszta is a vast area of plains and wetlands in eastern Hungary that preserves intact the Traditional forms of land use, such as the grazing of domestic animals, have been present in this pastoral society for more than two millennia. The Hungarian Puszta is an outstanding example of a cultural landscape shaped by a pastoral human society. The landscape of the Hortobágy National Park represents the harmonious interaction between human beings and nature.

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Nigeria

Sukur Cultural Landscape. A remarkably intact physical expression of a society and its spiritual and material culture, with the Palace of the Hidi (Chief) on a hill dominating the villages below, its terraced fields and their sacred symbols, and the extensive remains of a former flourishing iron industry.

Poland

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Architectural and Park Landscape Complex and Pilgrimage Park

A cultural landscape of great beauty and spiritual quality. Its natural setting, in which a series of symbolic places of worship relating to the Passion of Jesus Christ and the Life of the Virgin Mary was laid out at the beginning of the 17th century and has remained virtually unchanged. It is still today a place of pilgrimage.

2000

Austria

Wachau. A stretch of the Danube Valley between Melk and Krems, a landscape of high visual quality. It preserves in an intact and visible form many traces - in terms of architecture, urban design, and agricultural use, mainly for the cultivation of vines - of its evolution since prehistoric times.

China

The Gardens of Suzhou. Inscribed in 1997 and extended in 2000. Four classical masterpieces of Chinese landscape garden design in which art, nature, and ideas are integrated perfectly to create ensembles of great beauty and peaceful harmony, and four gardens are integral to the entire historic urban plan.

LAC Cuba

Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the Southeast of Cuba

The remains of the 19th-century French Haitian coffee plantations in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra are a unique evidence of a pioneer form of agriculture in a difficult terrain of virgin forest, the traces of which have disappeared elsewhere in the world. They throw considerable light on the economic, social, and technological history of the Caribbean and Latin American region. This production of coffee in southeastern Cuba during the 19th and early 20th centuries resulted in the creation of a unique cultural landscape, illustrating a significant stage in the development of this form of agriculture.

The Loire Valley An outstanding cultural landscape of great beauty, containing historic towns and villages, great architectural monuments (the châteaux), and cultivated lands formed by many centuries of interaction between their population and the physical environment, primarily the river Loire itself. The site includes the Château and Estate of Chambord, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981.The landscape of the Loire Valley, and more particularly its many cultural monuments, illustrate to an exceptional degree the ideals of the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment on Western European thought and design.

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Germany

Dessau-Wörlitz. The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz is an exceptional example of landscape design and planning in the Age of Enlightenment, in the 18th century. Its diverse components - outstanding buildings, landscaped parks and gardens in the English style, and subtly modified expanses of agricultural land - serve aesthetic, educational, and economic purposes in an exemplary manner.

Lithuania / Russian Fed.

Curonian Spit

Human habitation of this elongated sand dune peninsula, 98km long and 0.4-4km wide, dates back to prehistoric times. Throughout this period, the natural forces of wind and tide have threatened it. Its survival to the present day has been made possible only as a result of ceaseless human efforts to combat the erosion of the Spit, dramatically illustrated by continuing stabilization and reforestation projects.

Spain

Palmeral of Elche.

A landscape of groves of date palms was formally laid out, with elaborate irrigation systems, during the Arab occupation in the Iberian peninsula, starting in the 8th century AD. However, there is evidence that their origins are much older, dating back to the Phoenician and Roman settlement of the region. A unique example of Arab agricultural practices in the European continent.

Sweden

Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland

The southern part of the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea is dominated by a vast limestone plateau. Human beings have lived there for some five thousand years and adapted their way of life to the physical constraints of the island. Consequently, the landscape is unique, with abundant evidence of continuous human settlement from prehistoric times to the present day.

United Kingdom

Blaenavon Industrial Landscape

The area around Blaenavon is proof of the pre-eminence of South Wales as the world's major producer of iron and coal in the 19th century. All the necessary elements can still be seen - coal and ore mines, quarries, a primitive railway system, furnaces, workers' homes, and the social infrastructure of their community.

2001

Austria/ Hungary

Fertö / Neusiedlersee The Fertö/ Neusiedlersee Lake area has been the meeting place of different cultures for eight millennia. This is graphically demonstrated by its varied landscape, the result of an evolutionary symbiosis between human activity and the physical environment. The remarkable rural architecture of the villages surrounding the lake and several 18th- and 19th-century palaces adds to the area's considerable cultural interest.

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Laos

Temple Complex of Vat Phou Exceptional testimony to the cultures of Southeast Asia, and in particular to the Khmer Empire that dominated the region in the 10th–14th centuries. An outstanding example of the integration of symbolic landscape of great spiritual significance to its natural surroundings. Contrived to express the Hindu version of the relationship between nature and humanity, Vat Phou exhibits a remarkable complex of monuments and other structures over an extensive area between river and mountain, some of outstanding architecture, many containing great works of art, and all expressing intense religious conviction and commitment.

Portugal

Alto Douro wine region

It has been producing wine for nearly two thousand years and its landscape has been molded by human activities. The components of the Alto Douro landscape are representative of the full range of activities associated with winemaking – terraces, quintas (wine-producing farm complexes), villages, chapels, and roads. The cultural landscape of the Alto Douro is an outstanding example of a traditional European wine-producing region, reflecting the evolution of this human activity over time.

Spain

Aranjuez cultural landscape

An entity of complex relationships: between nature and human activity, between sinuous watercourses and geometric landscape design, between the rural and the urban, between forest landscape and the delicately modulated architecture of its palatial buildings. Three hundred years of royal attention to the development and care of this landscape have seen it express an evolution of concepts from humanism and political centralization, to characteristics such as those found in its 18th century French-style Baroque garden, to the urban lifestyle which developed alongside the sciences of plant acclimatization and stock-breeding during the Age of Enlightenment.

2002

Hungary

Tokaj wine region

It graphically demonstrates the long tradition of wine production in this region of low hills and river valleys, that has existed for at least a thousand years and which has survived intact up to the present. The intricate pattern of vineyards, farms, villages and small towns, with their historic networks of deep wine cellars, illustrates every facet of the production of the famous Tokaj wines, the quality and management of which have been strictly regulated for nearly three centuries. The entire landscape of the Tokaj wine region, including both vineyards and long established settlements, vividly illustrates the specialized form of traditional land-use that it represents.

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Germany

Upper Middle Rhine Valley The 65km-stretch of the Middle Rhine Valley, with its castles, historic towns and vineyards, graphically illustrates the long history of human involvement with a dramatic and varied natural landscape. As one of the most important transport routes in Europe, the Middle Rhine Valley has, for two millennia, facilitated the exchange of culture between the Mediterranean region and the north. The Middle Rhine Valley is an outstanding example of an evolving traditional way of life and means of communication in a narrow river valley. The terracing of its steep slopes in particular has shaped the landscape in many ways for more than two millennia. However, this form of land-use is under threat from the socio-economic pressures of the present day.

2003

Afghanistan

Remains of Bamiyan Valley

The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the represent the artistic and religious developments, which from the 1st to the 13th centuries, characterized ancient Bakhtria, integrating various cultural influences into the Gandhara, school of Buddhist art. The area contains numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified edifices from the Islamic period. The site is also testimony to the tragic destruction by the Taliban of the two standing Buddha statues, which shook the world in March 2001.

LAC

Argentina

Quebrada de Humahuaca It follows the line of a major cultural route, the Camino Inca and has been used over the past 10,000 years as a crucial passage for the transport of people and ideas from the high Andean lands to the plains. It features visible traces of prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities, of the Inca Empire (15th to 16th centuries) and of the fight for independence in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Quebrada de Humahuaca valley reflects the way its strategic position has engendered settlements, agriculture and trade. Its distinctive pre-Hispanic and pre-Incan settlements, as a group with their associated field systems, form a dramatic addition to the landscape and one that can certainly be called outstanding.

South Africa

Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape. Set hard against the northern border of South Africa, joining Zimbabwe and Botswana. It is an open, expansive savannah landscape at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers, which developed into the largest kingdom in the sub-continent before it was abandoned in the 14th century. The remains in the Mapungubwe cultural landscape are a remarkably complete testimony to the growth and subsequent decline of the Mapungubwe state, which at its height was the largest kingdom in the African sub-continent. This cultural landscape graphically illustrates the impact of climate change and records the growth and then decline of the kingdom of Mapungubwe as a clear record of a culture that became vulnerable to irreversible change.

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United

Kingdom

Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew This historic landscape garden features elements that illustrate significant periods of the art of garden landscaping from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The gardens house botanic collections considerably enriched through the centuries. Since the 18th century, the Botanic Gardens of Kew have been closely associated with scientific and economic exchanges throughout the world in the field of Botany. Kew Gardens have largely contributed to advances in many scientific disciplines, particularly Botany and Ecology. The landscape features and architectural features of the gardens reflect considerable artistic influences both with regard to the European continent and to regions that are more distant.

2004

Andorra

Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley It offers a microcosmic perspective of the way people have harvested the resources of the high Pyrenees over millennia to create a sustainable living environment in harmony with the mountain landscape. Its dramatic glacial landscapes of craggy cliffs and glaciers, with high open pastures and steep wooded valleys covers an area of 4,247-ha., 9% of the total area of Andorra. It reflects past changes in climate, economic fortune and social systems, as well as the persistence of pastoralism and a strong mountain culture. The site features houses, notably summer settlements, terraced fields, stone tracks, and evidence of iron smelting. The Valley is a reflection of an ancient communal system of land management that has survived for over 700 years.

Germany

Dresden Elbe Valley

It is an outstanding example of land use that shows the exceptional development of a major Central-European city .It integrates the celebrated Baroque setting and suburban garden city into an artistic whole within the river valley. It also contains renowned examples of middle-class architecture and industrial heritage representing European urban development into the modern industrial era. Terraced slopes along the river are still used for viticulture.

Germany/ Poland

Muskauer Park / Park Muzakowski A landscaped park of 559.90-ha astride the Neisse river and the border between Poland and Germany, it was created by from 1815 to 1844. Blending seamlessly with the surrounding farmed landscape, the park pioneered new approaches to landscape design and influenced the development of landscape architecture in Europe and America. Designed as a ‘painting with plants’, it did not seek to evoke classical landscapes, paradise, or some lost perfection, instead it used local plants to enhance the inherent qualities of the existing landscape. This integrated landscape extends into the town of Muskau with green passages that formed urban parks framing areas for development. The town thus became a design component in a utopian landscape. The site also features a reconstructed castle, bridges and an arboretum.

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Iran

Bam and its cultural landscape. It is situated in a desert environment on the southern edge of the Iranian high plateau. The origins of Bam can be traced back to the Achaemenid period (6th to 4th century. BC). Its heyday was from the 7th to 11th centuries, being at the crossroads of important trade routes and known for the production of silk and cotton garments. The existence of life in the oasis was based on the underground irrigation canals, the qanāts, of which Bam has preserved some of the earliest evidence in Iran. (Chineh). The cultural landscape of Bam is an outstanding representation of the interaction of man and nature in a desert environment, using the qanats. The system is based on a strict social system with precise tasks and responsibilities, which have been maintained in use until the present, but has now become vulnerable to irreversible change.

Mongolia

Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape The 121,967-ha valley encompasses an extensive area of pastureland on both banks of the Orkhon River. Includes numerous archaeological remains dating back to the 6th century and also Kharkhorum, the 13th and 14th century capital of Genghis Khan’s vast Empire. The remains in the site reflect the symbiotic links between nomadic, pastoral societies and their administrative and religious centers. It clearly demonstrates how a strong and persistent nomadic culture, led to the development of extensive trade networks and the creation of large administrative, commercial, military and religious centers. This culture is still a revered and indeed central part of Mongolian society and is highly respected as a ‘noble’ way to live in harmony with the landscape.

Portugal

Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture The 987-ha site on the volcanic island of Pico, the second largest in Azores archipelago, consists of a remarkable pattern of spaced-out, long linear walls running inland from, and parallel to, the rocky shore. The walls were built to protect the thousands of small, contiguous, rectangular, plots (currais) from wind and seawater. Evidence of this viniculture is manifest in the extraordinary assembly of the fields, in houses and early 19th century manor houses, in wine cellars, churches and ports. The extraordinarily beautiful man-made landscape reflects a unique response to viniculture on a small volcanic island and one that has been evolving since the arrival of the first settlers in the 15th century. The small, stone walled fields are testimonies to generations of small-scale farmers who, in a hostile environment, created a sustainable living and much-prized wine.

Togo

The Koutammakou, Land of the Batammariba. A landscape in northeastern Togo, which extends into neighboring Benin, is home to the Batammariba. In this landscape, nature is strongly associated with the rituals and beliefs of society. The 50,000-ha cultural landscape is remarkable due to the architecture of its tower-houses, which are a reflection of social structure; its farmland and forest; and the associations between people and landscape. The buildings have flat or conical thatched roofs. They are grouped in villages, which also include ceremonial spaces, springs, rocks and sites reserved for initiation ceremonies.

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2005

Nigeria

Osun Osogobo Sacred Grove The dense forest of the Osun Sacred Grove, on the outskirts of the city of Osogbo, is one of the last remnants of primary high forest in southern Nigeria. Regarded as the abode of the goddess of fertility Osun, one of the pantheons of Yoruba gods, the landscape of the grove and its meandering river is dotted with sanctuaries and shrines, sculptures and art works in honor of Osun and other Yoruba deities. The Grove, which is now seen as a symbol of identity for all Yoruba people, is probably the last sacred grove in Yoruba culture. It testifies to the once widespread practice of establishing sacred groves outside all settlements.

United Kingdom

Saint Kilda

Initially inscribed on the World Heritage List for its outstanding natural features and wildlife in 1986, the site’s inscription was extended today to cover its cultural value, thus becoming a mixed site. This volcanic archipelago, comprising the islands of Hirta, Dun, Soay and Boreray, uninhabited since 1930, bears the evidence of more than 2,000 years of human occupation in the extreme conditions prevalent in the Hebrides. Human vestiges include built structures and field systems, the cleits and the traditional Highland stone houses. They feature the vulnerable remains of a subsistence economy based on the products of birds, agriculture and sheep farming.

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