Towards a UNESCO culture and development indicators suite Working document 3 Dimension n 3: Sustainable management of cultural heritage for development I. Summary list of indicators FULLY DEVELOPED INDICATORS 3.1. Register of cultural heritage assets 3.2. Employment in the cultural heritage sector 3.3. Public attitude towards heritage 3.4. Participation in heritage related activities INDICATORS NEEDING FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 3.5 Government resources dedicated to heritage 3.6 The existence and status of heritage legislation in the various countries 3.7 The status of the implementation of UNESCO conventions 3.8 Experiences in the participatory heritage management INDICATORS FOR WHICH NO DATA IS PROVIDED Sustainability components Sustainability components Sustainability components ECONOMIC EFFECTS SOCIAL EFFECTS PHYSICAL EFFECTS Income distribution Percentage income seepage into communities Employment and income multipliers on tourism expenditures Changes in rate of purchase of local products, value and variety Percentage of tourism contribution to local economy Comparative ratio of wages in tourism sector to local average wages Capital formation in communities/investment Percentage of local/foreign ownership of tourism establishments Percent of revenue/ profit reinvested in community development or heritage management Entrepreneurial opportunities for local communities Demand for Heritage Products Percent of repeat visitors Consumer spending by demographic variable Socio cultural fabric Retention of local customs and language Changes in the satisfaction with heritage integrity and security Cultural education Number and types of training opportunities available for heritage employees Level of promotion of heritage tourism Quantity and quality of heritage interpretative material Local oriented Policy Incorporation and implementation of local ideas in heritage management Presence of heritage authority or planner in local community Level of support for conservation/development projects in local communities Stakeholder collaboration Availability of resident advisory boards Level of public private partnership Preservation/Loss of heritage resources Level of erosion, vandalism, theft and destruction of heritage Level of protection of sites and other heritage resources Rate of ecosystem conservation Recycling rate Formal control required for development of sites and use densities Number of endangered species Level of loss of vegetation Assessment of environmental impact of tourism Natural environment accounting and life cycle analysis Use of renewable resources Recycling rate Use of environmental impact assessment Per capita discharge of solid waste Per capita discharge of waste water Working document prepared by the UNESCO Secretariat based on expert contributions 1
II. Description The Sustainable management of cultural heritage for development dimension attempts to examine the relationships between the processes of conservation, restoration and interpretation of cultural heritage (tangible and intangible, movable and immovable) and sustainable development. This would include care for heritage, sustainable benefits gained from heritage as well as ways of access and enjoyment of heritage. III. Proposed definition Cultural heritage is a product and process that provides society with physical and intangible, movable and immovable attributes that are either inherited from past generations or created in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. From a wider point of view, it can also be seen as production as well as a dynamic process that undergoes continuous change and that has changing values. Thus present generations can be seen to be active participants in the production of cultural heritage (some of which will only attain significance with age) and in bestowing cultural heritage values to elements from the past. Under this definition, cultural heritage manifests itself in a diversity of forms from large and complex structures such as historic cities, pyramids and museums to sacred landscapes, languages, art, music and customs. The concept of sustainable management is generally understood as encompassing three inter related dimensions: environmental, social and economic sustainability (see Adams, 2006 1 ) that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commission, 1987 2 ). The relative importance of each of these components may change from time to time and in different circumstances, but in the long run each of these must be fulfilled for sustainability to be achieved. The sustainable management of cultural heritage at the service of development bears at least two important dimensions that of longevity and that of economic, environmental and social viability. Thus in the first instance, the physical aspects of cultural heritage (the brick and mortar of historical buildings, the objects of material culture etc) are valued and their continued existence in good condition represents a form of sustainability of heritage management at the service of development. This longevity of cultural heritage can play an important role in building an attractive, confident or bold image of countries both inside and outside their own boundaries, for investors, tourists or their own population. Secondly, no management of cultural heritage is sustainable unless it is economically, environmentally and socially viable. Ensuring, for instance, that cultural heritage is only economically viable is dangerous since this can lead to the destruction of heritage and the erosion of its surrounding environment. On the other hand, social viability of cultural heritage in addition to its economic and environmental viability obtained through participation of local populations in its management, is essential to ensure collective and individual pride in heritage, interest and involvement in its protection. 1 Adams, M. 2006, The Future of Sustainability: Re thinking Environment and Development in the Twenty first Century. In: The Future of Sustainability. IUCN 2 Our Common Future, Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 Working document prepared by the UNESCO Secretariat based on expert contributions 2
IV. Proposed Indicators FULLY DEVELOPED INDICATORS 3.1. Register of cultural heritage assets This indicator aims to measure how much of the society s heritage resources receive official protection from alteration or destruction. The purpose of this indicator is to measure the longevity of heritage assets. Many countries have registers of heritage assets to ensure some protection and that they are handed down to future generations. At the international level, UNESCO maintains the World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists as well as the Memory of the World register. Definition The total population divided by the number of cultural heritage assets held in a country s register of protected items plus those from UNESCO World cultural and intangible heritage lists and register. Indicator = pop/(dp+u1) where Dp is the number of cultural assets on domestic lists and U1 is the number of items on UNESCO lists. This is a measure of the number of people per protected cultural assets so a decline in the indicator would suggest an improvement i.e. more protected sites per person. This indicator could only focus on one UNESCO List (either the World Heritage List or the Intangible Cultural Heritage List or the register), although this would be rather restrictive. Data sources Each country s registers of various heritage resources held by different agencies. A country without a register would have an indicator value of 0. Some registers may be found via online cultural policy database; however not all of them are online. UNESCO World and Intangible Heritage Lists and Memory of the World Register available online Issues and limitations It does not indicate the degree of protection of those registered items It does not account for the relative importance of different registered items, some items may have greater significance than others for different segments of society It assumes that population growth will lead to commensurate increase in heritage resources and protection It does not measure destruction of items. A measure of destruction may be able to be introduced, with the indicators taking on negative values e.g. the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger could be used to introduce a negative factor into the indicator Working document prepared by the UNESCO Secretariat based on expert contributions 3
Some cultural heritage items would appear on both the domestic and international lists. These may be netted out, although the specification above does not do this as the effect will be minor and it could be used as a crude way of measuring the importance of the heritage asset. Assuming that an asset on both the domestic and international list is likely of higher importance and double counting reflects this significance 3.2. Employment in the cultural heritage sector This indicator aims to measure the human resource dedicated to the management of country s cultural heritage. This is a measure of economic viability. As a sector of employment, heritage helps to reduce poverty as well as increase social integration and cohesion. Definition The number of people in full time employment in the heritage sector as a percentage of the total full time equivalent employment. Data source Employment data can be obtained from census results or surveys done for businesses using: the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) 9101 (Library and archives activities), 9102 (Museums and operation of historical sites and buildings) and International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) code 2632 (sociologist, anthropologists and related professionals) However, it may not necessarily be disaggregated enough to give data specific to the heritage sectors. It is thus possible for relevant agencies to create criteria by which measures specific to heritage could be obtained. FTE: The number in full time equivalent employment can be estimated as the number of fulltime employees plus half the number of people in part time employment Part time employment can be defined as those people employed who work less than 35 hours per week, or some other benchmark hours worked per week. Comparative context The current percentage of employment in heritage would be compared to past levels to determine whether resources dedicated to heritage have improved, worsened or remained the same. Issues and limitations It is necessary to include both occupations in cultural heritage domain stricto sensu and the cultural occupations in non cultural heritage sector (e.g. The ISIC classification 4390 Other specialized construction activities which can include restoration of heritage property) Employment does not account for voluntary and other forms of unpaid work undertaken in heritage activities New technologies that lead to greater productivity could reduce employment while maintaining levels of heritage conservation, management and communication. If so, the indicator would measure, over time, a worsening even though heritage activities were being maintained Working document prepared by the UNESCO Secretariat based on expert contributions 4
3.3. Public attitude towards heritage This indicator aims to assess the attitudes towards heritage to gauge individual and collective pride, esteem and interest in heritage and involvement in its protection. Pride and esteem are important positive attitudes that help individuals to include themselves and feel included within a nation. This is a measure of social viability. These positive attitudes do not need to be geared towards one restrictive type of heritage but towards a diversity of heritage, including those from ethnic and religious minorities. Data source and definition The International Social Survey Programme from 1995 and 2003, which focused on Identity, asked the following question: How proud people are of their country s achievements in the arts and literature How proud people are of their country s history www.gesis.org/en/services/data/survey data/issp/modules study overview/nationalidentity/ The indicator would indicate the percentage of respondents who are very proud of their country s achievements in the arts and literature or history The World Values Survey asks the following Question V89. Description of a person: Tradition is important to this person; to follow the customs handed down by one s religion or family. Is this person very much like you, like you, somewhat like you, not like you, or not at all like you? http://margaux.grandvinum.se/sebtest/wvs/articles/folder_published/survey_2005 The indicator would indicate the percentage of respondents who are very much like the person described in the statement 3.4. Participation in heritage related activities This indicator aims to measure attendance at heritage places and events and consumption of heritage goods and services Data Question from Barometer survey about visiting heritage sites both at home and abroad Limits Data only available for Europe. INDICATORS NEEDING FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 3.5. Government resources dedicated to heritage This would measure the degree of involvement of government in cultural heritage and its interest Data Government budgets Working document prepared by the UNESCO Secretariat based on expert contributions 5
Limitations This data might not be easily accessible. 3.6. The existence and status of heritage legislation in the various countries Data bases on legislation available 3.7. The status of the implementation of UNESCO conventions This would be supposedly based on periodic reports. Limitations Data wrong and unreliable 3.8. Experiences in participatory heritage management Data based on UNESCO reports and documents Working document prepared by the UNESCO Secretariat based on expert contributions 6