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Published on December 27, 2007

These sites are selected on the basis of representing "outstanding universal values", which are considered to transcend national boundaries. Each site can thus be thought of as the collective inheritance of humankind, and therefore the responsibility for its protection rests in the hands of all parties - including government agencies in charge of cultural or natural heritage; municipalities; the private sector; local communities; youth and the international community. It is through this broad-based cooperation that the sustainability of World Heritage sites all around the world can be assured.

Throughout the world, there are now a total of 851 sites singled out and recognised as having outstanding universal value. These include 660 cultural, 166 natural and 25 mixed properties (combining both natural and cultural features) in 141 countries. Across the Asia-Pacific region, there are 174 sites.

In Thailand alone there are five World Heritage sites considered of universal significance. In addition to the Historic City of Ayutthaya, the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns (namely, Si Satchanalai and Kampheng Phet) and Ban Chiang Archaeological Site have been included on the World Heritage List as cultural sites. Together, these sites chart the sweep of human history in this region from prehistoric settlement, dating back over 5,000 years, to the rise of powerful and culturally sophisticated civilisations emerging in the 13th century. The country's rich biodiversity is also reflected in the listing of Thung Yai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, which spans Uthai Thani and Kanchanaburi, and the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, which stretches from Nakhon Rachasima to the Cambodian border.

Once inscribed onto the World Heritage List, sites have often become the focus of immense public interest and attention. This can bring with it positive benefits such as heightened awareness about the value of heritage, better protection and funding, investment from both the public and private sectors in needed infrastructure, as well as opportunities for increased revenue and social exchange from tourism and other forms of development. However, such attention can bring with it the dangers of over-development and over-visitation, which can strain resources, place a heavy burden on management, marginalise local communities, and sometimes exceed the site's carrying capacity.

Being included on the World Heritage List is not only a great honour but also a great responsibility. World Heritage sites are protected under the terms of the 1972 Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, popularly known as the World Heritage Convention, which Thailand ratified in 1987. In total, over 184 States Parties have ratified the Convention, out of 191 Member States of the UN, which makes it the most universal legal instrument for the protection of natural and cultural heritage.

The Convention calls upon its signatories to ensure that World Heritage sites maintain the qualities for which they have been inscribed onto the World Heritage List. This requires financial, technical, legal and administrative measures for both the protection and development of the site. This balance is critical for the sites to continue to play a central and viable role in a modern context, to accommodate contemporary needs, while at the same time not being frozen as museums or exploited as mere theme parks.

The need for comprehensive and effective mechanisms for protection is apparent in face of increasing threats, both from natural and man-made causes. With the upswing in natural disasters and the quickening pace of global environmental change, coupled with pressures from urbanisation, commercialisation and tourism, the onus of managing heritage sites has often exceeded both the capacity and the mandate of a sole ministry. Thus, for instance, the task of managing a marine natural park can no longer be limited to a wildlife agency.  Instead, it requires the closely coordinated cooperation of urban planning authorities, civil works departments, disaster mitigation centres, community planning agencies, along with local authorities and community members. Trans-boundary sites also require the additional input from the international community, especially immediate neighbours.

Such diverse input should be coordinated through management plans integrated with broader development plans at the regional, national, provincial or local level. This provides a unified scope of work for all parties and ensures that conservation of heritage sites is a concern shared by various ministries. The use of enabling technologies such as Geographic Information Systems provides a sophisticated mechanism for sharing and updating data across ministry lines, thus allowing for informed decision making and planning across different sectors.

In the case of Ayutthaya, such an integrated approach to managing the site will do much to protect the integrity of the historic city in the face of accelerating urban expansion around the monuments and archaeological remains. Clarifying the boundaries of the core and buffer zones on the basis of a statement of the site's outstanding universal values will be the first step. This will then form a clear framework for coordinating efforts by relevant parties to ensure the site will continue to "bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation which is living or which has disappeared", the criteria upon which Ayutthaya was inscribed onto the World Heritage List in 1991. Such urgent measures will allow a significant World Heritage site to be safeguarded not only for Thailand but for all humanity.

Montira Horayangura Unakul

Special to The Nation

Montira Horayangura Unakul is a culture programme specialist at Unesco in Bangkok.