Marie-Theres Albert Livres

The publication is the first in a new series on existing and innovative paradigms in Heritage Studies. The series aims at systematising and developing the academic discourse on heritage, which has yielded a wealth and breadth of contributions over the past few years. The publication offers its own emphasis by developing heritage studies with a perspective towards and as a contribution to human development. It thus offers a vision for the construction and establishment of a new discipline. The academic mainsprings and research interests of this repositioning of heritage studies as an academic discipline are discussed by internationally renowned thinkers and heritage practitioners. The publication thus establishes first important points for discussion. Central to this publication are questions concerning the sustainable protection and use of heritage, focussing on the world cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage, but equally questions on the relation of heritage and memory and how these could mutually enrich our understanding of heritage.

This open access book identifies various forms of heritage destruction and analyses their causes. It proposes strategies for avoiding and solving conflicts, based on integrating heritage into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It reflects on the identity-building role of heritage, on multidimensional conflicts and the destruction of heritage, and considers conflict-solving strategies and future perspectives. Furthermore, it engages theoretically and practically with the concepts of responsibility, reconciliation and sustainability, relating mainly to four Sustainable Development Goals, i. e. SDGs 4 (education), 11 (e. g. World Heritage), 13 (climate action) and 17 (partnerships for the goals). More than 160 countries have inscribed properties on the UNESCO World Heritage list since the World Heritage Convention came into force. Improvements in the implementation of the Convention, such as the Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and Credible World HeritageList, have occurred, but other conflicts have not been solved. The book advocates for a balanced distribution of properties and more effective strategies to represent the global diversity of cultural and natural heritage. Furthermore it highlights the importance of heritage in identity building.

With contribiutions Francesco Bandarin, Minja Yang and Mechthild Rössler This publication is the fourth in the Heritage Studies series and aims to reflect upon the many dimensions of sustainability and sustainable development within the Heritage Studies discourse. Sustainability as a concept and sustainable development as a goal are presented in official policies within UNESCO's understanding of heritage, in its paradigmatic reflections and in the diversity of theories and methods, including many different and sometimes conflicting understandings of sustainability within this discourse. Thus, the contributors to this publication discuss sustainability as it directly concerns the potential of different approaches to World Heritage and Intangible Heritage. The inclusion of the four dimensions of sustainability - environmental, economic, social and cultural - into the Heritage Studies discourse opens a new perspective on the discourse itself.

Since the adoption of the World Heritage Convention in 1972, the notion that cultural and natural heritage need to be protected and properly utilized has gained popularity. Over time, however, such utilization concepts were less focused on ideas of sustainability and became increasingly influenced by commercial interests. For the first time, this publication attempts to elaborate the development of the World Heritage Convention, the Convention itself in its different facets and how it evolved into one of the most important UNESCO instruments for the protection of cultural and natural heritage. It will be shown that the protection and utilization of heritage is a highly complex political, participatory and interdisciplinary process. This publication discusses these developments and suggests potential solutions in order to deal with such unintended trends.

Seit Verabschiedung der Welterbekonvention 1972 erfreuen sich Schutz und Nutzung des Kultur- und Naturerbes zunehmender Beliebtheit. Im Laufe der Zeit wurden jedoch Nutzungskonzepte entwickelt, die nicht mehr allein vom Gedanken der Nachhaltigkeit getragen wurden, sondern zunehmend durch wirtschaftliche Interessen geprägt sind. In der vorliegenden Publikation werden erstmals der Entstehungsprozess der Welterbekonvention, die Konvention selbst mit ihren diversen Facetten sowie ihre Entwicklung zu einem der bedeutendsten Instrumente der UNESCO für den Kultur- und Naturgüterschutz aufgezeigt. Dabei wird deutlich, dass der Erhalt und die Nutzung von Erbe ein außergewöhnlich komplexer politischer, partizipativer und interdisziplinärer Prozess ist. In der Veröffentlichung werden diese Entwicklungen skizziert und Lösungsansätze für problematische Auswirkungen entwickelt.