2 February

• Alpine Convention and World Heritage Convention Secretariats Meet
  On 18 January 2010 a meeting took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France between the Secretariats of the Convention on the Protection of the Alps and the World Heritage Convention. The 'Alpine Convention' was signed by the 8 Alpine countries on 7th November 1991, recognizing the Alps as a unique, common area which needs a common development and preservation policy. A presentation about the working group on UNESCO World Heritage, mandated by a Ministerial Conference held in Evian, France, in March 2009 was followed by an exchange of views on World Heritage properties in the region, serial transnational and transboundary nominations, Tentative Lists and methodological approaches to a coherent framework. Some of these issues will be addressed by the forthcoming Experts Workshop on Serial World Heritage properties and Nominations, to be held in Switzerland.
  More information: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/584/

29 January

• World Heritage in Young Hands, UNESCO Workshops in Lebanon
  UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut and the Lebanese Ministry of Education with the Lebanese National commission for UNESCO organized three workshops for school teachers on using the educational kit “World Heritage in Young Hands”. The aim was to integrate the values of World Heritage in educational policies and practices, especially among youth through a wider diffusion of the ” World Heritage in Young Hands” kit. The three workshops took place in the areas affected by the July 2006 War in Lebanon and included the following themes:
  • World Heritage and Tourism
  • World Heritage and the environment
  • World Heritage and a culture of peace

  More information: http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/
  Beirut/pdf/UNESCO_Beirut_Jan_2010_newsletter.pdf

28 January

• Torrential rains cause death and damage at Peruvian World Heritage sites
  Torrential rains which have occurred in Peru over the last five days have caused the death of a tourist and a tour guide, and have impacted two World Heritage properties, City of Cuzco, and The Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, both inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1983. Peruvian regional and national authorities have declared a state of emergency following massive landslides and flooding in the departments of Cuzco, Apurimac, Puno, Huancavelica and Junín, and indicate that current weather conditions may continue during the week.
  More information: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/580/

27 January

• (in Italian) Website: www.istanbul2010.org
  Pochi giorni fa si sono inaugurate ad Istanbul le celebrazioni che fanno della città turca una delle tre Capitali Europee della Cultura per l’anno in corso, assieme ad Essen (Germania) e Peç (Ungheria). La tradizione degli ultimi anni vuole che ad ogni Capitale designata vi sia anche un interfaccia virtuale che racconti gli obiettivi del progetto culturale e le varie attività in programma, accompagnate da numerose notizie di tipo pratico, con informazioni per i visitatori, curiosità, immagini e video che documentano la ricchezza culturale della città. Elementi questi che si ritrovano anche nel sito www.istanbul2010.org, piattaforma ufficiale che è portavoce virtuale dell’Agenzia Istanbul 2010 ECOC, istituzione a cui si fa riferimento per la preparazione, gestione e coordinamento delle diverse attività previste per l’anno 2010. Ciò che sorprende è trovare il principale centro industriale e culturale della Turchia tra le Capitali della Cultura “Europee”, essendo proprio tale nazione non ancora ufficialmente parte dell’UE.
  More information: http://www.tafter.it/2010/01/20/www-istanbul2010-org/

• U.S. World Heritage Fellows
  The first U.S. World Heritage Fellowships were awarded and the first participants spent five weeks in the U.S. The goal of the U.S. World Heritage Fellowship is to provide opportunities for staff at World Heritage Sites in developing nations acquire onsite training to increase capacity building in their home countries. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park hosted a Fellow from Mount Kenya, while Everglades National Park hosted a Fellow from Brazil’s Pantanal National Park; all four sites are inscribed on the World Heritage List and a sister park relationship between Everglades and Pantanal was recently reinvigorated. For more information, contact Jon Putnam, at jonathan_putnam@nps.gov
  More information: http://www.nps.gov/

• Yosemite National Park
  The granting of the 3600 acres of Yosemite Valley and 2500 acres of the Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the state of California by the federal government in 1864 constitutes the first-in-the-world efforts of a central government to set aside land for non-utilitarian purposes, and set precedent for the National Park System in the United States. When California accepted the grant in 1864 and appointed an eight person Board of Commissioners, Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. became the chairman.
  More information: http://72.27.230.88/landscapes/yosemite-national-park

• OUR PLACE images key feature of 2010 UNESCO World Heritage Map
  The 2010 UNESCO World Heritage wall map features numerous images from the OUR PLACE Collection. The map, which is widely distributed by the World Heritage Centre, lists all the world heritage sites around the world and shows their location.
  More information: http://www.ourplaceworldheritage.com/custom.cfm?&action=projects

• OUR PLACE contributed twelve photos to the WHITRAP calendar
  OUR PLACE contributed twelve high-definition photographs, one for each month of the year, to the 2010 WHITRAP (World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and Pacific Region) calendar. WHITRAP's mission is to strengthen the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the Asia-Pacific region. The calendar will be widely distributed throughout this region.
  More information: http://www.ourplaceworldheritage.com/custom.cfm?action=news&newsid=503

• Can a blue dye help save the Aral Sea?
  Indigo. The word may sound exotic but this herb permeates our daily lives. You may even be wearing it. Many of us had our first encounter with indigo long ago, the day we bought our first pair of blue jeans. Indigo is the most ancient natural dye in the world. Four thousand years ago, the leaves of Indigofera tinctoria were already being used to dye cloth blue. Today, natural methods of producing indigo dye have given way to chemical manufacturing processes in all but southeast India. If a UNESCO project in Uzbekistan goes ahead as planned, however, natural indigo may soon also be produced in one of the most ecologically ravaged regions in the world, the Aral Sea Basin.
  More information: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001865/186519e.pdf

26 January

• Legendary Liverpool youth club Florence Institute reborn with lucrative Lottery win
  An impassioned campaign to save an iconic 19th century Liverpool boys' club (above) ravaged by decay and a wide-ranging environmental and economic regeneration plan for Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland’s only World Heritage Site, have had multi-million pound Lottery grants confirmed today (January 21 2010). The Florence Institute for Boys – affectionately known as the Florrie – served as Toxteth’s first youth club after being built in 1890 by a West Indies merchant and former city mayor in tribute to his daughter, who died in tragic circumstances at the age of 22.
  More information: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%2526+heritage/art75196

• Climate change could drown out Sundarbans tigers - study
  One of the world’s largest tiger populations could disappear by the end of this century as rising sea levels caused by climate change destroy their habitat along the coast of Bangladesh in an area known as the Sundarbans, according to a new WWF-led study published in the journal Climatic Change.
  More information: http://www.panda.org/wwf_news/?186621/Climate-change-could-drown-out-Sundarbans-tigers---study

• Russia makes way for dumping waste, sewage into Lake Baikal
  Russia has opted to reopen a notoriously polluting paper mill on Lake Baikal, reversing long-time protections to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last week issued a new decree on the inclusion of “corrections” to the List of Banned Activities in the Central Ecological Zone of Lake Baikal, which contained environmental safeguards to protect the lake. This list was first adopted in 2001, a major environmental victory at the time.
  More information: http://www.panda.org/wwf_news/?186702/Russia-makes-way-for-dumping-waste-sewage-into-Lake-Baikal

• Signing of an Agreement protocol for the restoration of the Lambert Hotel
  The signing of this protocol, which took place today at the Ministry of Culture and Communiation, in the presence of Frédéric Mitterrand, puts an end to the lawsuit between the current owner of the Lambert hotel, his highness Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani and the Association for the Protection and Development of Historic Paris, with Mr. Pierre Housieaux as its president.
  More information in French: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/mcc/Espace-Presse/Communiques/Signature-d-un-protocole-d-accord-pour-la-restauration-de-l-hotel-Lambert

25 January

• The Centre of Strategies and Development (CEYD), Valencia (Spain), has agreed unanimously, to publish the PhD Thesis “La Lonja de Valencia Patrimonio de la Humanidad: estudio histórico técnico y conservativo del alfarje de la Sala Dorada” ( La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia World Heritage: History-technical and preservation study of the ceiling of the Golden Room)
  The CEYD (http://www.ceyd.org/) is a strategy and development centre located in Valencia (Spain) chaired by Valencia City Council and constituted by the main stakeholders of the city. It is accessible to citizens and aims at generating activities and promoting projects based on inter-institutional collaboration, public-private cooperation and public participation. This centre counts a databank of studies (BEEST),
  (http://www.ceyd.org/beest/default.htm), where projects are displayed during a period of time and then considered in an annual contest. In its 2009 edition, exceptionally and unanimously, the commission of the jury agreed that the Publishing Department of Valencia City Council will publish the PhD Thesis “La Lonja de Valencia Patrimonio de la Humanidad: estudio histórico técnico y conservativo del alfarje de la Sala Dorada” ( La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia World Heritage: History-technical and preservation study of the ceiling of the Golden Room), by Dr. María Montserrat Martínez Valenzuela, Ph.D. in Fine Arts by the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. This research develops a historical review and a preservation and restoration study of the "alfarje" located in La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996. Since the defense of this Ph. D. Thesis on 30 January 2008, the study is displayed on the website of Forum UNESCO - University and Heritage (FUUH) in the research part as a thesis related to World Heritage:
  http://universidadypatrimonio.net/Thesis/2008/2008EspanaMontserratLonja.pdf
  More information: http://dspace.upv.es/manakin/handle/10251/2285

21 January

• OVPM Image Database of World Heritage Cities 2010
  With the purpose of enriching its image bank, the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) resorts to our network of members with the purpose of obtaining images of world heritage cities. These images show the peculiarities of the urban heritage of the chosen city, in detail or as a whole. The following webpage can give you an idea of the photographs already chosen: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ovpm. The selected photographs will be hosted in the site FLICKR, administered by the OWHC. These photographs will be used in our website and other promotional publications like written documents or exhibitions. They will not be used with commercial purposes. The OWHC is committed to mention the name of the author in any image used. These images will have to be free of rights and sent in hi-res (min. 1600 x 1200 dpi). Would you like to participate? Send your photographs with a short description and the name of the author to the following address: images@ovpm.org
  More information: http://www.ovpm.org/

• Heritage in Haiti
  While saving lives and providing humanitarian relief remain the absolute priority of the international community in helping Haiti deal with the devastation of the earthquake, information is beginning to arrive about the state of the country's heritage: the National History Park - Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers, situated in the north of the country, and about Jacmel, in the southeast. The National History Park, an early 19th century complex, which includes the ruins of a royal palace and the largest fortress of the western hemisphere, appears to have been largely spared by the quake. But UNESCO is still waiting for detailed information about the impact of the quake on the property which was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1982.
  More information: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/579/

19 January

• Archaeologists uncover medieval defences beneath Edinburgh Castle parade ground
  Archaeologists working beneath the parade ground of Edinburgh Castle ahead of this year's military tattoo have discovered the intact remains of the Castle's outer Medieval defences. The late Medieval walls and the foundations of a military spur dating to the 16th century were discovered on the castle esplanade during ongoing foundation works for the new tattoo stands. Digging to a depth of two metres, archaeologist discovered two service trenches, which revealed two separate structures including the remains of a wall, thought to be part of the north perimeter boundary wall between the city and the castle. Other remains, akin to the foundations of a Spur, are thought to be a 16th century defensive bastion which protected the castle entrance.
  More information: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/archaeology/art75060

15 January

• 2010 Calendar of Major Sites-Network of the Major Vauban Sites
  The online calendar of the Major Vauban Sites is on sale from July 6th in the numerous selling points of the Network. There is a photograph of a site for each month, in order to do a complete a French tour of the 12 fortifications of Vauban which have been included in the World Heritage List.
  More information in French: http://www.sites-vauban.org/article.php3?id_article=376

• UNESCO-Private Committees Programme for the Safeguarding of Venice
  The Association of the International Private Committees for the Safeguarding of Venice has been actively working for the monumental and cultural safeguarding of the City for more than 40 years. The Annual Meeting of the Private Committees took place at Palazzo Zorzi, on 23 October 2009. The completed restoration of Cristo morto sorretto da due angeli in the Church of the Gesuati, carried out by the British Committee of The Venice in Peril Fund and of the Monumento funebre dei dogi Lorenzo e Gerolamo Priuli, funded by the US Committee Venetian Heritage, in the Church of San Salvador was also inaugurated.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46745&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

• Ohrid region Cultural & Natural Heritage
  This workshop was intended to further facilitate the elaboration of a management plan and detailed action plan (generated by a body of key stakeholders) for implementation. Particular attention will be paid to the integration of action steps for sustainable tourism development and management. In addition to tourism and water resources management issues, the Ohrid cross border catchment will be discussed in a consultation meeting. This meeting will be facilitated by GWP (Global Water Partnership)-Med and UNESCO Venice Office and will also attempt to identify capacity building needs in the framework of the overall process for the integrated management of the Drin Basin.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=47048&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

• Museums and English Heritage unite for Stonehenge show to "draw on all the senses"
  A plan to actively encourage Stonehenge visitors to understand the wider archaeological landscape of Wiltshire through surrounding museum collections has been given the go-ahead. The new Stonehenge visitor centre at Airman’s Corner will tell the story of the stones in a dedicated exhibition space after English Heritage, the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum and the Wiltshire Heritage Museum agreed a joint project under a Memorandum of Understanding.
  More information: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/archaeology/
  megaliths+and+prehistoric+archaeology/art74812

Enhancing our Heritage Toolkit now available in Spanish
The publication 'World Heritage Paper Series n°23 - Enhancing our Heritage Toolkit, Assessing management effectiveness of natural World Heritage sites' is now available in Spanish. This document provides several tools to assist site managers or other stakeholders in identifying World Heritage site values and threats; in assessing management needs and processes, assessing outputs and many other aspects of managing heritage sites. The Toolkit is also available in English and French. For more information, write to wh-info@unesco.org, or consult the link below, where the documents can also be downloaded.
English version: http://whc.unesco.org/en/series/23/
French version: http://whc.unesco.org/fr/documents/102627/
More information: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/573

Interim report: Compilation of Case Studies for the Conservation and Management of Historic Cities
"Historic Cities in Development: Keys to Understanding and Taking Action”
The presentation of the interim report in the plenary of the World Congress in Quito was a resounding success thanks to the commitment of the contributing cities and to the work of the Steering Committee coordinated by the City of Lyon. This work of the exchange of know-how and the transfer of experience has developed a dynamic within the Organization that should be continued until the next World Congress in Sintra (Portugal) in 2011. In this perspective, you can contact the City of Lyon to propose a contribution by your city or to obtain more comprehensive information. Contact: bruno.delas@mairie-lyon.fr
http://www.ovpm.org/index.php?module=ovpm&func=news&pid=75

World Heritage Review n°54 - Astronomy and World Heritage
IN FOCUS

• Astronomy and World Heritage
  Astronomical heritage, or cultural heritage relating to the sky, recognizes the relationships between humanity and the cosmos.
• From the Maya to the Inca and beyond
  These ancient cultures confronted their particular vision of the universe.
• The heritage of Galileo
  400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s first astronomical use of a telescope.
• Teaching laboratories for positional astronomy: The Jantar Mantar Observatories of India
  Jantar Mantar instruments bring basic astronomy to life.
• Starlight Reserves and World Heritage: Scientific, cultural and environmental values
  Enjoying an unpolluted night sky as an inalienable right of humankind.
• Astronomy and World Heritage Education at Suzhou
  Educational activities were organized in line with the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
• Recognizing science and technology at World Heritage sites
  Great advances in science and technology are recognized on the World Heritage List, through such sites as the Mountain Railways of India and Varberg Radio station.
• Charles Darwin and the Galápagos: The evolution of a legacy
  2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/review/54/