A Quick Look At Northern Ireland

The bulk of the time I was in Ireland was spent in the Republic of Ireland.  I did a day trip to Northern Ireland as part of an organized group.  It was a really long day but it was nice to be able to see a couple of sites in Northern Ireland. The tour included a visit to the Carrick-a-Rede island rope bridge, the Giant's Causeway, and short stop in downtown Belfast.

The Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge wasn't anything spectacular.  However, the views of the coastal region at the site and on the drive to the site were nice.  The rope bridge itself crosses a 20 meter gap, and is located in the spot that was traditionally used by salmon fishermen to cross to the island.  The original rope bridge used by the fisherman was much more rustic with only a single hand rail.  The bridge used today is fairly sturdy and wide.  The island and the pathway to the rope bridge have great views of the ocean and on a clear day you can see a portion of Scotland.

The Giant's Causeway is a UNESCO world heritage site made up of unique basalt rock formations which were created during an ancient volcanic eruption. There are a number of folk stories and legends surrounding the site and how it was formed.  One of the more well known stories suggests that the causeway is the remains of a bridge that a giant named Finn McCool built to cross from Ireland to Scotland.   The intersection of folk lore, natural heritage, and scientific explanations is interesting on this site, however very little signage is located near the actual site.

There is a formal visitors centre on site, however if you walk around the centre you can access the

causeway without paying a fee.  This resulting in missing out on some of the interpretative aspects but if you're on a budget or a time limit it might be the way to go. 

The Giant's Causeway is an extremely popular natural heritage site.  There are also very few restrictions on where visitors can explore.  There are a couple of different walking paths which approach the site and a number of shoots which climb up the surrounding rocks and hills.  Visitors are able to sit on the rock formations, climb up the honeycomb looking rock clusters, and walk freely along the rocky shore. 

Given how busy the site is and how unrestricted access is to the site I wonder about the long term impacts of turning the Giant's Causeway into a tourism destination.  The human element inevitably has some impact on the condition and maintenance of the site.  The Giant's Causeway is a beautiful piece of natural heritage tucked on the coast of Northern Ireland.  I could have easily spent a multiple hours walking around and exploring the site and the surrounding area.

Cultural Landscapes at NCPH 2013

Tongariro National Park, NZ

Thursday afternoon I attended the "Whose Public? Who speaks for Cultural Landscapes" session at  NCPH featuring Susan Gray, Elizabeth Pishief and Aurelie Gfeller.  This session was a more traditional format with the presenters each reading a formal paper.  The common theme in the session was the preservation of cultural landscapes and the connections that indigenous people have to traditional landscapes.

Pishief spoke about her experience in the development of  land use and cultural landscape policies in New Zealand.  Pishief's presentation provided insight into the cultural practices of the Maori people and the impact of their beliefs have had on the development heritage discourses.  Perhaps most signficantly, Pishief described the Maori understanding of land as being both material and spiritual and uniquely connected to a sense of place and belonging. This presentation provided food for thought regarding Canadian indigenous conceptions of land and stewardship. 

Gfeller's presentation was focused on the UNESCO world heritage designation process.  Though this presentation was not focused directly on indigenous conceptions of heritage, Gfeller did explain the roots of UNESCO designation and the difficulties many indigenous communities have getting their cultural landscapes recognized.  Gfeller indicated that indigenous communities are often hampered by the UNESCO application process, the need to apply through formal government channels, and the need to explain non-tangible conceptions of cultural landscapes. 

This panel concluded with Gray's description of her experience working as an expert witness during litigation surrounding the 1836 Treaty of Washington with an emphasis on the historical and contemporary definitions of settlement.  I found Gray's discussion of settlement as a European term which is closely linked to the transformation of forest into farms intriguing and appropriate considering the many land disputes that are still occurring in North America. Understanding  language used in original treaty documents is crucial to land dispute resolution.

Overall, I found this panel to contain a lot of interesting ideas about indigenous and settler conceptions of cultural landscapes across international boarders.  The only drawback of the panel was that the format left limited time for audience questions and interaction.

New UNESCO Sites

Ogasawara Islands, Japan

Each year the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) revises its list of world heritage sites.  The initiative to designate buildings, towns, landscapes, and other materials on an international scale began in 1972 following the ratification of the convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage.   

This year's UNESCO meeting was held in June in Paris, France.  During this meeting 25 additional heritage sites gained UNESCO designation.  A range of sites were added, however the majority of the sites fall under the cultural heritage type of designation.  The 25 additional sites include: 

• Natural properties:
• Ningaloo Coast (Australia)
• Ogasawara Islands (Japan)
• Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley (Kenya)

•  Mixed natural and cultural properties: 
• Wadi Rum Protected Area (Jordan)

• Cultural Properties
• Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison (Barbados)
• West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou (China)
• Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia (Colombia)
• The Persian Garden (Iran)
• Konso Cultural Landscape (Ethiopia)  
• The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean Agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape (France)
• Fagus Factory in Alfeld (Germany)
• Longobards in Italy. Places of the power (568-774 A.D.) (Italy)
• Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing The Buddhist Pure Land (Japan)
• Fort Jesus, Mombasa (Kenya)
• Petroglyphs Complexes of the Mongolian Altai (Mongolia)
• León Cathedral (Nicaragua)
• Saloum Delta (Senegal)
• Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana (Spain)
• Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe (Sudan)
• Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps (Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia)
• Ancient Villages of Northern Syria (Syrian Arab Republic)
• Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex (Turkey)
• Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas)               
• The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans (Ukraine)
• Citadel of the Ho Dynasty (Viet Nam)

 Additionally, the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras) and the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Indonesia) were added to the World Heritage in Danger list.

The Impact of UNESCO Designation in Djenné, Mali

A recent episode of The Current on CBC radio examined the impact of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on communities that are designated World Heritage Sites. The Current looked specifically at the designation of Dejenne. The episode looks at the contrast between preservation concerns and the needs of the people who live in the mud huts of Djenné.

The city of Djenné has existed since around 200-250 B.C., two thousand of the original mud based houses still exist today. The 'old town' is an example of the development from pre-Islamic civilization to a trading center, Sudanese-style architecture, and the well known Great Mosque. The Great Mosque and the other designated heritage buildings are all built from sun baked mud bricks. The visual appearance is stunning. However mud based bricks have inherent problems, especially in a region which frequently suffers from flooding.

The most prominent theme of the Current segment was the disconnect between UNESCO and some of the government bodies which agree to UNESCO designation. UNESCO designates heritage sites but it is not directly involved with the general upkeep and preservation of heritage sites. However, UNESCO does provide governing and preservation guidelines and governments agree to these guidelines when they agree to designation.

I haven't previously put a lot of thought into how UNESCO sites are maintained and the potential problems which can arise from designation. There seems to be a clash between the desire of UNESCO to preserve heritage and the rise of tourism which comes from UNESCO designation. A number of countries see UNESCO designation as an instant way to increase tourism and revenue. Since the Great Mosque in Djenné was designated, millions of dollars have went into it's upkeep and the city has also greatly benefited from an influx of tourism dollars. However, an influx of people visiting a heritage site has the potential to cause damage to the site itself. Emissions from motor vehicles, human contact, and careless but well intentioned visitors increase the risk of deteriorating heritage value.

There needs to be a balance between preservation, tourism, and accommodating the people who live in a UNESCO site. There are so many factors and parties involved that pleasing everyone without compromise is somewhat unrealistic. Places being considered for UNESCO or other heritage designation need to look at the concerns of all of the people that will be impacted by designation and how heritage can be preserved while still maintaining an acceptable standard of living.