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)