HERITAGE NEWS Italy calls for UN force to protect world’s ancient heritage sites
Italy’s minister for culture has backed plans for the creation of a UN peacekeep- ing force to protect heritage sites across the world following the destruction of Iraq’s ancient cities by Islamic State (ISIS). “A ‘blue helmets of culture’ are needed, as there are blue helmets that intervene to protect in situations of war,” said Dario Franceschini, speaking to The Guardian, referring to uniforms worn by the UN’s peacekeepers. “There should be an international rapid response force to defend monuments and archaeological sites in conflict zones.” Iraq’s heritage has been at the mercy of ISIS as the terrorist group wages war in the Middle East. Most recently, Iraq’s tourism and antiquities minister, Adel Fahad al-Shershab, called on the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against the radical group to also protect the country’s archaeological sites from them. UNESCO also recently called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss how to protect Iraq’s cultural heritage. The world heritage body previously suggested the formation of
■ ■Deliberate attacks by ISIS on Iraq’s historical sites prompted the call for protection
protected cultural zones – areas where there would be an enhanced focus on preventing attacks on cultural heritage and illicit trafficking in cultural properties. “At one time great monuments were hit accidentally in wars during bombing.
Now they’re hit precisely because they are symbols of culture and religion,” said Franceschini, who added that a protective force couldn’t be established by one country, rather an international community. ■■Details:
http://lei.sr?a=B3v4V_A
More natural heritage funding needed: study ■■Lincoln Castle is popular with tourists
£22m Lincoln Castle works completed
Lincoln Castle in Lincolnshire, UK, has reopened following a £22m ($32.5m, €30.2m) refurbishment, restoring the centrepiece of the city to its former glory and providing a new home for the historic Magna Carta. The work includes a new high-security vault to house both the 1215 Magna Carta and the 1217 Charter of the Forest – the only place both documents can be viewed at the same time. ■■Details:
http://lei.sr?a=H3m2G_A
20
attractionsmanagement.com
The world’s national parks and nature reserves are thought to be worth $600bn (£389bn, €535bn) a year, with around 8 billion tourism visits annually. That income, however, is not being supported by adequate investment into heritage protection, according to the team behind the research. A study published in PLOS Biology revealed the statistics and highlighted the need for more investment in protected natural heritage areas. Compared with the $600bn spend generated by national parks and nature reserves, only $10bn (£6.5bn, €8.9bn) is spent safeguarding those sites. According to the study, by a team from Cambridge
■■Golden Gate national park attracts 13 million visitors yearly
University, natural capital and the worth of natural assets – based on assigning economic value to the natural environment in order to better preserve it in the future – is increasingly becoming an issue in policymaking. The top 10 most visited national park sites were
in either the US or UK, the study revealed.
Protected areas cover around one-eighth of the world’s land and further investment into protection of these areas could yield economic returns as well as helping to preserve precious landscapes.
■■Details:
http://lei.sr?a=b3k9f_A AM 2 2015 ©CYBERTREK 2015
PHOTO: ABDOU MOSUL
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ K. ROY ZERLOCH
PHOTO: LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104