The ongoing 15th General Assembly of the International Council
on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) approved the Xi'an Declaration on
Friday in Xi'an, an ancient imperial city in northwest China's Shaanxi
Province.
The declaration provides guidelines that safeguard heritage
structures, sites and areas around the world.
Case studies and opinions exchanged during the General
Assembly's international symposium on Monuments and Sites in Their
Settings -- Conserving Culture Heritage in Changing Townscapes and
Landscapes, contributed to the drafting of the declaration, which
is to "ensure the protection and conservation of the world's
cultural heritage as part of its sustainable and human
development," Dr. Nishumura Yukio from the Tokyo University, vice
president of ICOMOS, said at the assembly.
Some of the key provisions of the declaration include:
The encouragement of inter-disciplinary engagement as standard
practice in conserving and managing settings;
The implementation of effective planning and legislative tools,
policies, strategies and practices to manage settings and
environments requires consistency and continuity in application,
while reflecting the local or cultural contexts in which they
function; and
Planning instruments should include provisions to effectively
control the impact of incremental or rapid change on settings.
Elections for new officers of the ICOMOS and its Executive
Committee for the 2005-2008 mandate were also held yesterday
afternoon. Michael Petzet of Germany was reelected as president;
Guo Zhan of China, along with four professionals from the US,
Australia, Hungary and Argentina were elected vice presidents of
the ICOMOS.
At the same time, a total of 36 resolution documents were
drafted and approved by the assembly. The documents focus on
organizing the framework and theoretical principles discussed and
agreed upon during the assembly.
Xi'an, the host city of the assembly, is the starting point of
the ancient Silk Road. It is also home to the mausoleum of the
First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty (BC 221-206) and the army of
terracotta warriors and horses, which were entered on the list of
world heritage sites in 1987.
Commenting on historical city conservation, Yukio, also one of
the declaration's drafters, told China.org.cn that local
legislative tools should play a more involved role in safeguarding
the traditional elements of ancient cities. He said Kyoto, the
former capital of Japan, for example, is well protected by local
regulations.
He said that one of the ways that Kyoto's local legislation
authority has protected the city is to control property
development.
Zhang Bai, president of ICOMOS China, said that the Yin Ruins in
Anyang in central China's Henan
Province will be the only site recommended for world heritage
listing next year.
To date, 31 sites in China are included on the World Cultural
Heritage List maintained by the UNESCO.
President Petzet said that more sites in China should be listed
as world heritage sites.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Wang Zhiyong, October 22,
2005)
