Topic: the lens of World Heritage can be used to shape Spatial planning, Powersharing and Engagement to turn disadvantageous consequences of designations into advantages Date 28/11/2019 Relevant to because Politicians it highlights the potentials of World Heritage designations in the case of existing or tentative sites Spatial planners it explores governance, inclusion and fragmentation issues in planning for planners involved with designated sites Local community it shows the importance of active engagement in decision-making organisations to raise awareness towards heritage and helps realising its benefits for local communities Recommendations Recommendation 1: Spatial planning: it can provide an integrative framework for aligning World Heritage management policies with development aims and intentions of the various actors, from the nomination through the management phase of the designated sites. Recommendation 2: Powersharing: to ensure of the economic, environmental and social sustainability of involved local communities, the various actors and stakeholders have to be able to come forward with ideas and interests in order to achieve support for the heritage policies, balance competing interests and share benefits. Recommendation 3: Engagement: acknowledgement of the World Heritage values and understanding of possible consequences for the local community is necessary to align the different goals of the different actors. Outreach to local communities and other stakeholders and knowledge-sharing helps committing to the overall aims of the heritage management. Overview Designated world heritages don’t stand in isolation, their success in safeguarding Outstanding Universal Values while benefitting local communities depends on their social, environmental and economic contexts. World Heritage Cultural Landscapes are prime tourism destinations (Mercer, 2019) and unique examples of designated sites. They are subjects of pressures arising from urban development activities, land fragmentation and changes in land uses, social and environmental problems, the lack of participatory strategies and issues relevant to powersharing. This policy brief outlines recommendations for using the lens of World Heritage designation to improve spatial planning, power sharing and engagement efforts for existing sites like the Tokaj Wine Region and upcoming nominations such as the Balaton Uplands.
Introduction The World Heritage designation places the site and the involved communities on the global stage. It can be a ‘blessing or a burden’ (Caust and Vecco, 2017), but various actors are measuring it differently (Meskell and Brumann, 2015). For politicians, it means mainly economic success, for spatial planners it is about the act of balancing competing interests in the spheres of the built and natural environment, for the public is about connecting to their heritage and gaining benefits for the society. The advantages and disadvantages are perceived differently, depending how consequences of the designation are being dealt with. Key Points By using the example of the Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape (Figure 1) and similar sites in France and Italy as well as investigating UNESCO and industry reports, this policy brief identifies how spatial planning, powersharing and engagement can help dealing with issues in the case of World Heritage designated Cultural Landscapes in the European context.
Figure 1 Map of the Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape. The World Heritage designates area covers 27 local municipalities within the boundaries of the core and buffer zones. Source: Lechner Non-profit Ltd. (2018)
Gullino, Beccaro, and Larcher (2015) observed that all cultural landscapes are subjected to constant changes and similar factors of development pressures. These factors include urban development activities, land fragmentation and changes in land uses, social and environmental problems, and the lack of participatory strategies and powersharing. Recommendation 1: Spatial planning: it can provide an integrative framework for aligning World Heritage management policies with development aims and intentions of the various actors, from the nomination through the management phase of the designated sites. The global attention may have various consequences for the local communities. In Italy, Labadi and Gould described difficulties in revitalising the rural region in the case of the Val di Cornia (2015), while Canale et al. (2019) showed a direct correlation between the rise of international tourist numbers and World Heritage inscriptions. In the case of the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont (Italy) the municipalities involved signed an Agreement Act and planning framework here works through regional plans (ICOMOS, 2014). In the Climats, terroirs of Burgundy (France) the planning framework, the SCOT (plan for territorial coherence) ensures the coordination of the planning system to the area (ICOMOS, 2015a). Fragmentation of spatial planning in Tokaj region is also evident (Teampannon, 2016), as the increasing presence of the direct investment causes conflict with the world heritage management (Kolozsvรกry-Kiss, 2019) and put stress on the framework of local spatial plans, which were not equipped to deal with it alone. By using the World Heritage as geographical framework, we can see another approach taking shape in the form of the recently adopted Architectural Landscape Design Handbook (Lechner Non-profit Ltd., 2018), crossing over administrative boundaries and establishes a guidance based on the outstanding universal values of the World Heritage site. The evidence shows the importance of spatial planning as it is an interdisciplinary and crosscutting coordinator of sectoral policies and decisions concerned with spatial impacts including the environment, infrastructure and economic promotion (Reimer, Panagiotis and Blotevogel, 2014, p.1). Spatial planning, when applied on the appropriate scale and using the World Heritage as a focus, can be a carefully targeted tool of integrating the heritage related considerations into the different development aims and future visions through the processes of policymaking.
In Hungarian context it could help in the nomination process of the Balaton Uplands Cultural Region currently on the Tentative List, to re-arrange the fragmented spatial planning framework by using the focus of the World Heritage and handling the World Heritage site as a unit, instead of separate entities with diverging development aims. Recommendation 2: Powersharing: to ensure of the economic, environmental and social sustainability of involved local communities, the various actors and stakeholders have to be able to come forward with ideas and interests in order to achieve support for the heritage policies, balance competing interests and share benefits. Through sharing power with the local communities and the local private and public spheres a local ‘governance network’ can be formed (Adams and Tiesdell, 2013, p.106). World Heritage designation could help turn this over into advantage by placing emphasis on powersharing and on establishing governance networks to let local communities and stakeholders have a platform to meet with experts and heritage institutions and to express, discuss and evaluate different option and scenarios for the future together. In the case of Champagne over 300 towns and villages has been defined as a “commitment zone” within the management system. Here, the local communities, the wine growing profession and other stakeholders form a governance network on a voluntary basis undertake to conserve and enhance their landscape and heritage (ICOMOS, 2015b). Because of the World Heritage, there is an engagement between the different actors for aligning development ideas and creating synergies of shared interests. In the case of Tokaj, powersharing could help to form a governance network for the various actors and stakeholders to engage into policy-making processes and to have their own ideas and future visions included. It would not only inform the planning system and the spatial planners about local knowledge but could ensure that members of the network are committed to see through the aims outlined together (Kolozsváry-Kiss, 2019). Recommendation 3: Engagement: acknowledgement of the World Heritage values and understanding of possible consequences for the local community is necessary to align the different goals of the different actors. Outreach to local communities and other stakeholders and knowledge-sharing helps committing to the overall aims of the heritage management. World Heritage designation can direct the attention to local issues and their interdependence with heritage affairs. To engage with future of heritage, people first need to understand the value of heritage, because without understanding there is a lack of appreciation and commitment to align their personal choices and intentions (Salazar and Zhu, 2015). Informal debate on what the World Heritage designation and outstanding universal values means is a basic steppingstone to get local communities involved. Without participation, there is no engagement, there is no flow of information from the local community towards the decision -makers, world heritage managers and planners. The more people engage, the more
informed the system becomes, and this gives the local community more control about the promotion of functions and uses which are potentially benefiting them. Global and European policies such as the International Guidelines of Urban and Territorial Planning (UN-Habitat, 2015) or the European Land Convention can give guidance for local communities on how to use their voice and what they can achieve through it. For World Heritage management the UNESCO guidance (2012) on community development offers ways to establish effective outreach to people. For people to engage with the world heritage and participate in policymaking, they need to know about how it is connected to their own heritage. In order to know that, they have to be aware of the heritage values and need to know where they can get information about what is happening, and who is in charge of the heritage. Sometimes it doesn’t require more than an accessible online presence, with an informative website about the heritage and local identity and strong social media activity. The World Heritage Offices of Edinburgh and Bordeaux, as well as the Piedmont or Champagne all are good, even though different examples in using the World Heritage designation to engage with the wider audience. Summary World Heritage designation could have many disadvantages and advantages but could also spark different approaches in order to tackle these challenges, leading to improved solutions or new perspectives. Cultural Landscape sites are facing with unique challenges, arising from the complexity of their stakeholder networks, and the fact that their geographical extents go beyond administrative boundaries. In this context, politicians, planners and indeed local communities often struggle to find their place in the development of the World Heritage area. This report explores the potentials of using the lens of World Heritage to shape Spatial Planning, Powersharing and Engagement on World Heritage designated Cultural Landscapes. Spatial planning on the appropriate scale, using the World Heritage as a focus, can be a carefully targeted tool of integrating the heritage related considerations into the different development aims and future visions. Emphasis on powersharing and on establishing governance networks lets local communities and stakeholders to have a platform to meet with experts and heritage institutions and gives the local community more control about the promotion of benefitting functions and uses. Engagement with the World Heritage is the key to get local communities involved. The more people engage, the more informed the system becomes.
References Adams, T., Tiesdell, S. (2013) Shaping Places, London: Routledge Canale, R. R., De Simone, E., Di Maio, A., Parenti, B. (2019), ‘UNESCO World Heritage sites and tourism attractiveness: The case of Italian provinces’ Land Use Policy [online], vol. 85, 5 April 2019, p. 114-120, Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.03.037 (Accessed: 08 November 2019) Caust, J., Vecco, M. (2017) ‘Is UNESCO World Heritage recognition a blessing or burden? Evidence from developing Asian countries’, Journal of Cultural Heritage [online], vol. 27, 22 March 2017, p. 1-9, Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2017.02.004 (Accessed: 08 November 2019) Chris Mercer (2019) ‘UNESCO world heritage wine regions to visit: Updated’. Decanter [online], 19 July. Available from: https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/decanter-travelguide-world-heritage-regions-25003/#Y9yowJbI1iJrgCA3.99 Accessed: 26 November 2019) Council of Europe (2000) European Landscape Convention and reference documents, [online], Available from: https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId= 09000016802f80c6 Accessed: 21 November 2019 Gullino, P., Beccaro, G. L., Larcher, F. (2015) ‘Assessing and Monitoring the Sustainability in Rural World Heritage Sites’ Sustainability, [online] 7 (10), pp.14186–14210. Available from: https://doaj.org/article/fb068bf92cf64805937a01e6799dc182 Accessed: 15 November 2019 ICOMOS (2014) Advisory Body Evaluation: Vineyard Landscape of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato (Italy) No 1390 rev, [online] Available from: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1390/documents/ Accessed: 19 November 2019 ICOMOS (2015) Advisory Body Evaluation: The Burgundy Climats (France) No 1425, [online] Available from: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1425/documents/ Accessed: 19 November 2019 ICOMOS (2015) Advisory Body Evaluation: Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars (France) No 1465, [online], Available from: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1465/documents/ Accessed: 27 November 2019 Kolozsváry-Kiss, Á. (2019) Experiences of world heritage management in the Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape [Facebook Messenger], Interview conducted via Facebook Messenger. Conducted: 15 November
KSH (2016) A világörökség részét képező Tokaji borvidék, [online], Available from: http://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xftp/idoszaki/pdf/tokaji_borvid.pdf Accessed: 15 November 2019 Labadi, S., Gould, P. G. (2015) ‘Sustainable Development: Heritage, Community and Economics’, in Meskell, L. (ed.) Global Heritage : A Reader, [online] Somerset: John Wiley & Sons, Available from: https://ebookcentral-proquestcom.ezproxy1.hw.ac.uk/lib/hw/detail.action?docID=2011346 (Accessed: 08 November 2019) Lechner Non-profit Ltd. (2018) Tokaj-Hegyalja Építészeti Tájegységi Arculati Kézikönyv, [online], Available from: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9om23inxcac25qg/TOKAJ_ETAK.pdf?dl=0 Accessed: 19 November 2019 Meskell, L., Brumann, C. (2015), ‘UNESCO and New World Orders’, in Meskell, L. (ed.) Global Heritage : A Reader, [online] Somerset: John Wiley & Sons, Available from: https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy1.hw.ac.uk/lib/hw/detail.action?docID=2011346 (Accessed: 06 October 2019) Reimer, M., Panagiotis, G., Blotevogel, H. (ed.) (2014) Spatial Planning Systems and Practices in Europe, Abingdon: Routledge Salazar, N.B.,Zhu, Y. (2015) ‘Heritage and Tourism’, in Meskell, L. (ed.) Global Heritage : A Reader, [online] Somerset: John Wiley & Sons, Available from: https://ebookcentralproquest-com.ezproxy1.hw.ac.uk/lib/hw/detail.action?docID=2011346 (Accessed: 08 November 2019) Teampannon (2016) Tokaj-Hegyalja Történelmi Borvidék Kultúrtáj Világörökségi helyszínre és védőövezetére vonatkozó Világörökségi Kezelési terv, [online] Available from: http://www.tbft.hu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/TOKAJ_KET_Alatamaszto_1612.pdf Acessed: 12 November 2019 UNESCO (2012) ‘Community development through World Heritage’, World Heritage Papers, vol 31., [online] Available from: https://whc.unesco.org/document/117040 , 16 November 2019 UN-Habitat (2015) IGUTP - International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning [online]. Available from: https://new.unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/download-managerfiles/1486109872wpdm_IG-UTP_English.pdf (accessed on 29/10/2019) Author Roland Láposi MSc Cultural Heritage Management with Tourism (Heriot-Watt postgraduate student) MSc Real Estate and Planning BSc Településmérnök