World Heritage reports 12

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reports

The State of World Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region

The State of World Heritage

in the Asia-Pacific Region

papers

2003

Wo r l d H e r i t a g e

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World Heritage

2003

reports

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Wo r l d He r i t a ge

Cover photo: Mountain Resoal and its temples, Yanyu Tower (Resoal, China) ? UNESCO.

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The State of World Heritage

in the Asia-Pacific Region

2003

Disclaimer

The authors are responsible for the choice and presentation of the facts contained in this publication and for the opinions

therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material throughout this publication do not imply the expression

of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of

its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

All pictures, maps and drawings contained in this Report have been either provided by UNESCO or by the States Parties¡¯

authorities at the nomination stage of their World Heritage properties, or specifically for the purposes of the Periodic

Reporting exercise. All rights are reserved on these images.

Reproduction is authorised, providing that appropriate mention is made of the source, and copies are sent to the UNESCO

(Paris) address below.

Published in 2004 by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre with financial contribution

from the Japan Funds-in-Trust

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Preface

The 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World

Cultural and Natural Heritage was established to safeguard cultural and

natural heritage of outstanding universal value for future generations. To

succeed in this goal, it is vital that the people of each nation are aware not

only of their own particular heritage but also of the tremendous wealth

and diversity of our World Heritage - from the Pyramids of Egypt to the

Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, from the Acropolis in Greece to the Rice

Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras.

The 177 countries that have signed the World Heritage Convention have

embarked on an ongoing mission to safeguard our world¡¯s heritage. They

have become part of a network of countries dedicated to the international

protection of World Heritage properties, and hold a common belief that it

is our shared responsibility to preserve our cultural and natural resources. In the more than thirty years

that have passed since its adoption by the UNESCO General Conference, the World Heritage Convention

has become the leading international legal instrument for the protection of our world¡¯s cultural and natural heritage.

The World Heritage Committee, at its twenty-second session held in December 1998, launched Periodic

Reporting in all regions of the world, in accordance with the 1997 Resolution of the twenty-ninth UNESCO

General Conference. Periodic Reporting is intended to increase awareness about the World Heritage

Convention within the largest audience possible, and to assess the application of the Convention by the

States Parties, as well as the state of conservation of their cultural and natural properties inscribed on the

World Heritage List.

With the publication of The State of World Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region, including a CD-Rom

containing the summaries of the national Periodic Reports of Asia-Pacific States Parties, we now have an

important reference tool to further develop regional co-operation for World Heritage conservation and

for the exchange of information and experiences between States Parties concerning the implementation

of the Convention.

The purpose of this publication is to present the reader with a panorama of the application of the World

Heritage Convention by the States Parties, and of the state of conservation of the World Heritage properties inscribed on the World Heritage List up to and including 1994 (the cut-off date decided by the World

Heritage Committee for the first phase of the Periodic Reporting process). Its aim is also to provide all those

involved in the identification and conservation of World Heritage properties ¨C whether site managers, local

authorities or civil society ¨C with adequate tools to manage, protect and present their properties.

The cultural and natural heritage of the Asia-Pacific Region has proudly survived the effects of climate,

the ravages of conflict, and other challenges to its conservation. Many threats and risks have been identified and addressed, as a result of the combined efforts of the international community, not least those

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of UNESCO itself, and of national governments and other agencies. However, much remains to be done,

and follow-up activities are being identified by the World Heritage Centre and the States Parties, in accordance with the recommendations and conclusions of the Periodic Report for the Asia-Pacific Region.

Recognising the importance of this publication, I take the opportunity to express my appreciation to all

the Asia-Pacific States Parties and World Heritage site managers and the Advisory Bodies to the World

Heritage Committee (ICOMOS, IUCN, and ICCROM), all of whose active support has helped to make this

publication possible. I wish to thank the many national focal points, site managers and heritage specialists

across the region, as well as the United Nations Foundation and the Governments of Italy and Japan for

their financial support channelled through the UNESCO Funds-in-Trust co-operation mechanism.

I hope that this publication will enrich your knowledge of the outstanding World Heritage of the AsiaPacific Region. More importantly, I hope that it will also be a reminder of our shared duties and responsibilities towards the preservation of the outstanding universal value of our World Heritage.

Ko?chiro Matsuura

Director General of UNESCO

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