SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - Korea will bring together international heritage experts to discuss how Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) can help safeguard UNESCO World Heritage sites from mounting pressure caused by development projects, tourism and climate change, the Korea National University of Heritage, which operates under the Korea Heritage Service, said Friday.
The forum, titled Making Impact Assessment Work for World Heritage: From Capacity Building to Practice, will be held from 6:15 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 25 in Room 101 at BEXCO in Busan as an official side event of the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
The event is organized by the Centre for World Heritage and Sustainable Development at the Korea National University of Heritage in cooperation with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and UNESCO's World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region, Shanghai.
According to the university, Heritage Impact Assessments are becoming increasingly important as governments seek to evaluate how development projects, infrastructure expansion, tourism and climate change could affect the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage properties before projects move forward. The forum will explore ways to integrate the assessments into heritage conservation, site management and development planning.
The program will open with presentations on international, regional and national efforts to strengthen impact assessment capacity. Speakers include Eugene Jo of the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership Program, Li Hong of UNESCO WHITR-AP Shanghai, and Seolin Kim of the Korea National University of Heritage.
The presentations will be followed by a roundtable discussion on the legal, institutional and practical challenges of implementing Heritage Impact Assessments. The discussion will examine Korea's legal and institutional framework before experts from Norway, Ireland and Japan share their national experiences in implementing the system.
The Korea National University of Heritage said the forum aims to contribute to international discussions on Heritage Impact Assessments while strengthening Korea's capacity to conserve and manage World Heritage sites in line with international standards. The university also plans to expand cooperation with UNESCO WHITR-AP Shanghai on education and professional training in Heritage Impact Assessments.
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