experiences of the world monuments fund in balancing interpretation with preservation

8/8/2019 Experiences of the World Monuments Fund in Balancing Interpretation with Preservation

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Experiences of the World Monuments Fund in Balancing Interpretation

with Preservation

8 th US/ICOMOS International Symposium

Introduction WMF Overview The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, not-for-profit, international organization devotedto on-site conservation of monuments and sites world wide. Established in 1965, WMF bringstogether public and private support to implement comprehensive preservation efforts, all of whichare conducted in collaboration with local individuals and organizations.

At the present time WMF is working with over 250 archaeological and architectural conservationfield projects in over 80 countries by means of advocacy, technical and financial assistance. Inthe course of this work, WMF has become increasingly aware of the importance of effective sitepresentation, and its role in assisting with the conservation goals of endangered sites and their

long-term sustainability.From its headquarters in New York, and working with affiliates and offices in France, Italy,Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as with partners around the world, WMF bringstogether public and private support to implement a comprehensive conservation effort thatincludes project planning, field surveys, fieldwork, on-site training in the building crafts, advocacy,and the development of long-term strategies for the protection of monuments and sites.

WMFs main program, the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites wascreated in 1995 with an aim towards raising awareness for endangered cultural heritage sites allover the world and seeking international economic cooperation in preserving them by means ofpublishing every two years the Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites. The sites are chosenby an international committee of specialists based on the criteria of relevance, urgency andviability. Conservation projects within the sites are carried out with the patronage of AmericanExpress, the "Robert W. Wilson Challenge to Conserve our Heritage" program, and partnershipswith civil society and state and local governments in various countries.

Approach The most traditional approach to saving cultural patrimony is by restoring its physical fabric alone,and is not what is currently practiced at WMF. Instead, we believe that the way to conservemonuments in a sustainable manner is by conserving their larger context -- the surroundinglandscape, townscape, vernacular architecture, and living culture -- and by including the localcommunities in the preservation of those monuments that were, in many cases, created by theirancestors. An isolated, although technically correct, conservation intervention is not enough topreserve a site, or to guarantee that a donors investment will make a substantial difference. Soone of WMFs responsibilities towards its donors is to guarantee that their donations will serve ascatalysts for a virtual cycle of interventions aimed at the long-term preservation of a particular

site.

Our primary expertise is in the conservation of cultural heritage. However, during the fourdecades of WMFs involvement in the field, our projects have evolved to include aspects outsidetraditional scopes of work, such as nature conservation and community participation, through theestablishment of partnerships and collaboration with experts in those fields. We have learnedfrom experience that to save a portal, we must save the entire church, and to save a building, wemust save the entire town. This global approach can only be implemented with the participationand continuous support of the communities that have a stake in the site. An internationalorganization alone cannot provide enough permanent economic support to a site. But through


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Experiences of the World Monuments Fund in Balancing Interpretation with PreservationPaper submitted by Norma Barbacci, World Monuments Fund 95 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 - [email protected] Tel: 646-424-9594 Fax: 646-424-9593

US/ICOMOS 8 th International Symposium Charleston, South Carolina, 5-8 May, 2005 2

proper planning and interpretation it can promote public awareness and encourage a sense ofownership among the people and institutions that are most likely to support its conservation andmaintenance for future generations.

South America The cultural heritage of South America is extremely rich

and varied, and our selection of projects reflects thisreality. We are currently working on pre-Inca sites such asthe Huaca de la Luna in Peru; Spanish colonialarchitecture such as the Chiloe churches in Chile; theJesuit missions in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay; andWorld Heritage sites such as the ceremonial village ofOrongo in Easter Island, Chile. Although much of thispatrimony is being properly cared for, there are still manysites that need to be conserved, researched andinterpreted so they can become economic generatorsthrough controlled tourism for the benefit of local communities and the world. Some of theobstacles we find in the execution of these goals are:

Lack of economic resources Political and economic instability Identity crisis and globalization Demographic pressure

The next four case studies selected from WMFs recent work in South America represent differenttypes of sites and conservation problems. However, the applied solutions share an emphasis onpublic communication and education in heritage preservation. With this presentation we hope toillustrate situations where an appropriate understanding and expression of heritage values canpromote site conservation, community development, and public awareness.

Case Studies

The Chiloe Churches, Chile The archipelago of Chiloe in southern Chile was firstinhabited by Huilliches and Chonos Indians. In the mid-16th century, the region was colonized by the first Spanishsettlers, who occupied a region considered to be a warfrontier due to the aggressive character of the local ethnicgroups. The first missionaries to evangelize the localpopulation were the Mercedarians, and between 1608 and1767 the Jesuits organized a system of itinerant missionsthat traveled once a year for eight months, building newchapels in different locations. These remote communities,in many cases accessible only by sea, did not count with

the permanent presence of a priest to serve the spiritual needs of the growing community, so therole of fiscal was assigned to a lay person from the community to act as a surrogate priest. Therole of patrn was assigned to the person in charge of the care of the church and cemetery. Boththe fiscal and the patrn were selected by priests from the local community with the permission ofthe Spanish governor, and their function still exists, albeit in an updated version, after 300 years.

These chapels were constructed by local craftsmen using the techniques used by shipbuilders,who built them entirely of wood, since it was the most abundant building material in the region,including fasteners and other building elements usually made of metal,. The churches wereplaced near the coast to guide sailors, and most of them were protected by northern mountains,with a south-facing entrance sheltered from the rain. The main characteristic of the Chiloe school


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of wooden religious architecture is the symmetrical tower-faade and arched entrance. Thesewooden churches are extraordinary examples of the fusion between European styles ofarchitecture and local craftsmanship, and their iconography symbolizes a true mestizo culturedeveloped from aboriginal and Jesuit ideals. Of the 150 churches built, only sixty correspondingto the Chiloe school typology remain. Sixteen of them were designated World Heritage sites byUNESCO in the year 2000. However, this selection is only a representative sampling of thechurches and not a reflection of comparative significance.

In 1996 the churches of Chiloe were listed in the World Monuments Watch list of the 100 MostEndangered Sites program, nominated by the Friends of the Churches of Chiloe foundation, wholisted exposure to the environment, fires, insect damage and earthquakes, as their main threats.

In March 2002, a major storm hit the archipelago, seriously damaging nine of the World Heritagechurches. This disaster prompted the government of Chile to negotiate a multimillion dollar loanfrom the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) to support a community-based sustainabletourism development project for the provinces of Chiloe and Palena. The goal of this four-yearprogram was to improve tourism infrastructure, services, sanitation and environmental protectionin these provinces to increase the average stay and expenditure of tourists, thus raising incomesof the local residents. Among the projects included was the restoration of the sixteen churches

registered on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

The program is being carried out by theSub-Secretary of Regional andAdministrative Development of theMinistry of Interior (SUBDERE), theRegional Government, and the Bishopof Ancud through the Friends of theChurches of Chiloe. The University ofChile provides the technical expertisefor the restoration projects through theirChiloe Workshop, established in 1976to research the churches and trainarchitecture and historic preservationstudents in practical field work.

In 2003 WMF was invited by IADB to participate in the project, and through the Wilson ChallengeProgram to Preserve Our Heritage donated matching funds to the Friends of the Churches ofChiloe to implement several projects that complemented the governments plan for the region.These projects included the restoration of three of the nine World Heritage churches affected bythe 2002 storm: Tenan, Vilupulli, and San Juan; and the rehabilitation of the Convent of theImmaculate Conception, a XIX century religious complex in Ancud.

The Immaculate Conception Convent is not a World Heritage site, but it is a significant historiccomplex which, with a relatively minor intervention, was restored to support certain activities thatwere considered essential to secure the long-term conservation of the Chiloe Churches as awhole: a carpentry school, materials bank, documentation center, and identity center. Thepurpose of this program was to train the local community in the traditional crafts required toproperly restore and maintain their churches; and in the history and architecture of the churches,to be able to offer guides and interpretation services to visitors. The program provides materialsfor restoration and specialized training for carpenters, while the communities reciprocate byproviding labor.

As a result, several churches are currently being restored by trained volunteers following theancient tradition of the minga, or community work. Incorporating the local communities in therehabilitation of the churches not only reduces the costs of restoration and provides a substantial


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economic counterpart as required by the IADB loan terms, but also contributes to thepreservation of the culture and traditions of the Chiloe people that were being lost due to thepressures of development and globalization.

The Ceremonial Village of Orongo, Easter Island, Chile Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as it is called in the local

dialect, was the result of eruptions from 3 mainvolcanoes and 70 secondary cones that occurredbetween 3 million and 100,000 years ago. This smallisland, 166 square kilometers in size, is located 3,700km off the coast of South America, and is the mostremote inhabited place on earth. It was first populatedbetween 400 and 800 A.D. when, according to legend,King Hotu Matua arrived from a distant Polynesianisland, possibly one of the Marquesas, heading the firstof two major migrations to Easter Island.

The classic era was characterized by the carving of large stone statues or moais created torepresent ancestors, and lasted between 800 and 1680 A.D., until over-population, deforestation,

and wars between the two ethnic groups of the island ended this phase. At the end of this period,nearly all of the standing statues were toppled from their altars, or ahus .

The island was discovered on Easter Sunday in 1722 by the Dutch merchant Jacob Roggeveenwho gave it its current name. In the next 150 years, slave raids, disease and internal conflictsdevastated the population to the point that by 1877, only 111 inhabitants remained from theestimated 10,000 of the classic period. In 1888 the island was annexed to Chile and exploited asa sheep farm by a private company until 1952. During that period the islanders were not allowedto leave the island and had no citizenship privileges. After a popular revolt in 1960, the islandbecame a province of Chile and the legal rights of its inhabitants were finally recognized.

Most of the archaeological sites of Easter Island are protected within the Rapa Nui National Park,an open-air museum that has been on UNESCOs World Heritage List since 1995. Theceremonial village of Orongo is one of the major sites visited by tourists in the island and isconsidered to be among the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world. It is perched on anarrow ridge with the crater of the Rano Kau volcano on one side, and cliffs that fall 300 meters tothe sea on the other. This site contains dozens of petroglyphs and stone houses dating from theHuri-Moai period of Easter Islands history (c. 1680-1867 A.D.).

There are 53 elliptical basalt structures constructed of dry-laidhorizontal slabs and cantilevered stone roofs covered withearth and grass. At the southern end of the complex is thesacred precinct called Mata Ngarau, which contains thegreatest concentration of rock art in the island. Almost everyrock surface of the boulders surrounding this site is coveredwith carved designs of Make Make (the God of Creation),Tangata Manu (bird-men), and Komari (symbols of fertility).

Mata Ngarau was supposedly occupied by priests during theannual spring ceremonies of the Tangata Manu, or bird-mancompetition. This ceremony was invented around 1680 A.D., after the collapse of the classicperiod and the toppling of the moai , to provide a peaceful alternative to the transfer of powerbetween competing clans. The site of Orongo was the annual scenario of these ceremonialgames, where athletes competed to retrieve a frigate bird egg from one of the nearby islands, ormotus . The first person to return to the village presented the egg to his master who became theruler of the island until the following spring. The last ceremonies took place in the 1860s.


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Over the past four decades, with improved access to Easter Island by sea and air, an increasingnumber of visitors have started to put pressure on the archaeological sites of Rapa Nui. Exposureto the elements, erosion, and vandalism (some tour guides like to rub chalk on the petroglyphs tomake them more legible) caused an accelerated loss of the carved designs at Orongo, while thelack of an appropriate management and interpretive plan, public awareness, and proper visitorsfacilities also threatened this fragile site. The stone houses collapse periodically partly due to foottraffic from visitors and horses that walk on their roofs, and partly due to structural reasons. Somehave been rebuilt several times.

Although significant scientific research on the island and its cultural heritage has been done in thepast century, much of the history of Easter Island is unknown due to the loss of its writtenlanguage, rongo rongo . Supposedly only the most knowledgeable maori or sages understoodrongo rongo, and this knowledge was lost with the last of the maori as a result of the slave raidsof the 19 th century, which decimated the population of the island. Today, only 25 wooden boardswith rongo rongo inscriptions remain scattered around the world, and no one has been able todecipher their meaning. Because its ancient history was transmitted from generation togeneration through oral accounts, there are many interpretations for every event recounted. Thissituation renders the proper interpretation of a cultural site a very difficult task, requiring research,

diplomacy, and a multi-disciplinary, participatory process.

In 1996 Orongo was listed in the World Monuments Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites program, due to the threats posed by free-roaming cattle, re-marking of the petroglyphs, andpotential collapse of the petroglyph platform due to soil erosion.

Since then, in order to address Orongos conservation and interpretation needs, WMF hassupported several projects, including the rebuilding of collapsed houses, the development of anexisting conditions survey of the petroglyphs, implementation of a monitoring project developed tomeasure potential displacement of the petroglyph boulders, and a training course for park rangersand tour guides.

In 2001 WMF commissioned a team of site management and interpretation experts from theoffice of Public Works in Canada, and the Australian Heritage Commission to visit the site anddevelop a site interpretation and visitor circulation plan. Their initial study confirmed that erosion,vandalism, animal damage, and uncontrolled tourism were the main threats to the site. Theanalysis also determined that the interpretive message given to the visitor was very inconsistent,depending on the tour guide, length of stay, weather conditions, and questions asked. Thepreliminary plan proposed the following:

redefinition of the interpretive program delivery through the creation of a series ofinterpretive nodes, plaques, and brochures, complemented with properly trained tour guides; redefinition and upgrading of circulation paths related to the interpretive system and tothe protection of the cultural and natural environment; enhancement of visitor services, including information, orientation and educationfunctions; and the resolution of site management and operational problems, the protection of culturalheritage resources and the mitigation of risks to life and health.

The second phase of work took place in March 2003, and consisted of a site managementworkshop with the participation of the Governor, the forestry department, tourism industry, andcommunity representatives. The first day of the two-day workshop consisted of the presentationof the proposal for new paths, placement of interpretive nodes, and visitor facility improvements.The main objective was to validate the proposal among all the stakeholders and incorporate theircomments and suggestions in the final design. The second day consisted of a more detaileddiscussion of path location, width, materials and other site management issues. In the followingthree weeks, the actual construction of the paths took place under the supervision of international


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experts and with the aid of a local contractor. The third phase of work, completed in 2004,included the construction of a protective fence, installation of interpretive nodes, and developmentof a site brochure. As a result of these activities, the following site management and interpretationissues were resolved:

upgraded path system improved visitor flow, staging of groups, and visitors safety; perimeter fence eliminated access of cattle, bicycles and other vehicles; better defined trails and viewing platforms helped control soil erosion and human impacton cultural resources by controlling access to houses and petroglyphs, and improved safety;

The next and final phase will include the improvement of visitors facilities (toilets), and installationof a small site visitor center. If successful, the Orongo project will become the model for other sitemanagement projects in the island, such as Rano Raraku, a moai quarry, and Anakena.

The Huaca de la Luna Archaeological site, Peru The Huaca de la Luna, or Temple of the Moon, was part of the ancientMoche capital built of millions of adobe blocks between the 1 st and 8 th centuries in northern Peru. The Moche or Mochica civilization developedgreat religious complexes, or huacas, formed by structures that grew overtime as the result of successive entombments; by filling in and covering

the older structures with mud bricks or adobes, Moche architects createdfresh surfaces or platforms on which they built their new constructions,often decorated with polychrome friezes.

Huaca de la Luna underwent at least six construction phases spanningalmost 600 years, and, as a result, it rises almost 32 meters above theplain. Its enormous platforms are connected to four plazas located atvarious levels, and had covered-in patios and enclosures connected by

corridors and ramps. Some of the enclosures were roofed and embellished with murals or friezespainted in striking colors. This site is unquestionably one of the most significant pre-Columbianresources in the region. Archaeological evidence points to the fact that surrounding mountainswere worshipped as deities; accordingly, Huaca de la Luna sheds some light on the sacredrelationship of the landscape to built form and on the ideology of power in Moche culture.

After the fall of the Moche civilization, the huacas were partially occupied by Chimu settlementsuntil the 15 th century when the region fell under the control of the Inca. In the 16 th century, as aresult of the Spanish conquest these ceremonial sites were abandoned and for four centuries,due to lack of maintenance, exposure to the elements (especially wind erosion and the El Nio phenomenon), and vandalism, the adobe structures deteriorated and the upper-most platformsand superficial elements were lost.

Fieldwork on the site started in 1991 with the support ofthe Ford Foundation, and since 1992 the BackusFoundation, a private corporate foundation in Peru, hasgiven economic support to the site in collaboration withUNESCO, the Corporacin Andina de Fomento, theMunicipality of Trujillo, and the National University ofTrujillo. Initially the work focused on archaeologicalexcavation and conservation, and in 1995 the exposedareas were opened to the public. In 2002 WMF joined theHuaca de la Luna program, and through its WilsonChallenge Program provided matching funds to support a four year program whose goals are theconservation of the site and the development of a social agenda through cultural tourism. Theproject is organized into three major components: archaeological research, conservation of themonument, and management of the site. Given the characteristics of the site and the philosophyof the project, the greatest investment is made in the conservation component.


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Huaca de la Luna is a large site requiring continuous conservation work, including ongoingsurvey, documentation, consolidation, and stabilization of excavated architectural and decorativefabric. The site must be excavated in onion-like layers, and conservation work must remain instep with excavation in order to preserve the fragile resources being brought to light. In addition,the project has provided training opportunities, and in 2003 it supported an international four-week conservation course on polychrome earthen architecture.

In the last few years, and as a result of a balancedexcavation, conservation and interpretation strategiesthere have caused an exponential increase in local andinternational tourism to the site. Each year, afterexcavations and conservation work are complete, newareas can be opened to the public, supported byinterpretive materials that are developed at the conclusionof each major exploratory phase. Huaca de la Luna can beconsidered a model for integrated archaeology,conservation, and sustainable tourism development, and

as a result has received important international recognitions, such as being named one of the ten

best managed sites in Iberian-America by the Secretary of Tourism of Spain.

It is important to underline that Huaca de la Luna is the only Peruvian project supported by along-term commitment from the private sector. This continuous support has enabled long-termplanning, the formation of a multi-disciplinary team, extensive field work, conservation andpresentation of much of the archaeological remains, and constant monitoring.

It is hoped that in the future, the Huaca de la Luna project becomes a model for other sites of theMoche Route, such as Tucume, Sipan, and San Jose de Moro.

The Jesuit Guarani Missions of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay These South American missions were created by the Jesuits between 1610 and 1767 A.D. in theregion of the Guayr, in the heart of a tropical forest near the Paran and Uruguay rivers. Theywere built by the Tupi-Guaran Indians, who had previously led a semi-nomad existence in theregion, supported by farming and forestry exploitation.

During the Jesuit occupation this region was known as Paraquaria, and contained anindependent economic and religious system controlled by the Order that included thirty townsspread over a large region now belonging to Argentina (15 towns), Brazil (7 towns) and Paraguay(8 towns). The system constituted a unique cultural and social experiment of great magnitudethat, according to its defenders, provided a high standard of living, as well as artistic and culturaldevelopment, to the Guaran. Missions of this kind kept their language intact thanks to the use ofprinting presses that preserved it through the production of prayer books, catechisms, and othermaterial. The towns also offered the Guaran protection from war and conquerors, especially fromthe bandeirantes, or slave raiders from Brazil.

The towns were laid out according to a Baroque plan,different from the traditional Spanish grid layout, inwhich buildings were arranged around a plaza, with anucleus formed by the church and school; a town hall,blocks of residences, and a hospital Civic and religiouslife was centered on the plaza. The architecturepresents a beautiful example of the fusion of Spanishbaroque architectural idioms and Guarani sculptural

work, the result of which has been termed by historians as Guaran Baroque.


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After the expulsion of the Jesuits from the region in 1768, the missions were taken over by theFranciscans and later abandoned as a result of the border wars of the 19 th century. Many of thesesites remain in various degrees of decay, and seven have been declared World Heritage Sites byUNESCO: So Miguel das Missoes in Brazil, San Ignacio Min, Santa Ana, Nuestra Seora deLoreto and Santa Mara la Mayor in Argentina, and La Santsima Trinidad, and Jess deTavarange in Paraguay.

In 1996 San Ignacio Min in Argentina was listed in the WorldMonuments Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites program, andthe same year a grant for the restoration of a church portal wassecured. However, the collapsing portal was only one of the manyproblems at the site, and San Ignacio Min was just one of dozens ofmissions endangered by similar threats including exposure to theelements, vegetation encroachment, demographic pressure, lack ofresources, and lack of management plans. In lieu of these urgentneeds, and at the suggestion of UNESCO representatives, WMFdecided to take the initial steps toward developing a global vision forthe missions, including a comprehensive conservation and

management approach, and the development of their potential foreducation and tourism.

In 2002, WMF sponsored a technical workshop with the participation of international experts inthe fields of archaeology, architectural conservation, historic preservation, nature conservation,research, site management, and tourism development. The program included a tour of tenmissions in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, and work sessions with representatives of theinstitutions in charge of management and conservation of the missions in these countries.

As a result of this workshop, the experts concluded the following: the value of the Jesuit Guaran heritage is the sum of its parts; the missions provide a unique chance to strengthen relations between countries; there needs to be a common vision for the missions based on integrated managementplans that address cultural heritage, as well as its social and geographical environment; it is necessary to develop specific management plans for each of the monuments, andalso country-level administrative plans for the sites in their territory and, above all, an overallplan at a regional level to bring together the views and expectations of the three countries; it is necessary to strengthen the human resources in the region by increasing theirabilities, creating multi-disciplinary and inter-institutional teams, and presenting a wide-ranging view of research, conservation and management of the heritage sites; It is necessary to increase the coordination between the countries, both at the specialistlevel and the political, between the managers responsible for the heritage sites and nationalauthorities, and involving the communities living near the Missions so as to guarantee thesustainability of this heritage; It is vital that research, conservation and management of the missions have a favorableand direct impact on the community, in order for its members to achieve social and economicdevelopment.

The recommendations related to the interpretation and tourism development of the missions areas follows:

establish the overall concept of the Jesuit Guaran missions both as a group and asindividual entities; develop and transmit a global communication for the entire system, as well as a specificcommunication for each town; promote the special features and particular attractions of each site; these sitescomplement one another, and are in no way competitive;


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develop cultural products from the cultural resources available; Implement pilot projects; devise a full-scale cultural tourism development plan for each one of the sites chosen aspilot sites and the features of the circuit or itinerary; promote awareness of the need for the sustainable development of cultural tourism,through training and education of site staff; include the Missions Program in a route bordered by the waterfalls to the north, andColonia del Sacramento and Buenos Aires to the south. Such a program would entail therevaluation of the final course of the Uruguay River, once known as the River of the Jesuits.

At the closing session the team presented a work proposalfor the years 2003-2005. The first step of the proposal, whichwas approved by the Minister of Culture of Argentina and therepresentatives from Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay,consisted of a capacity-building program designed to trainlocal site managers in conservation, documentation,management, and tourism development through aninterdisciplinary and interactive workshop with theoreticaland practical modules to take place in each of the

participating countries.

This Capacity Building Program for the Conservation, Management and SustainableDevelopment of the Jesuit Guarani Missions is currently under way, supported by WMF andUNESCOs World Heritage Center with the collaboration of public and private organizations fromeach of the host countries.

The programs main objectives are: establishing the mechanisms of cooperation among the countries and the missions; training site staff to foster the conservation, management and development of thesemissions; identifying and developing specific intervention projects for the missions; fostering the continuity of the improvement efforts in the missions and establishing ashared vision for the conservation, management and development of the group of missionsas a whole and of each of its constituents.

The program includes six sub-programs: Archaeology Conservation of cultural resources Conservation of natural resources Management Public use: tourism, education, services and infrastructure Research & documentation

The first workshop and conservation course of this three-year program took place in October2003, in So Miguel das Missoes, Brazil; the second in November 2004, in Posadas, Argentina;and the third is scheduled for October 2005, in Asuncion and Itapua, Paraguay.

In parallel to the implementation of the capacity-building program, the missions have been at thecenter of other developments, such as pilot projects, emergency or rescue interventions, orchanges to improve access to the sites. These projects serve as practical examples to bediscussed at the annual technical workshops.

This program requires heavy political, institutional, technical and financial backing, and thesupport of the national governments, MERCOSUR, and UNESCO. However, the missionsprovide a unique opportunity to arrive at a new way of researching, conserving and managing


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cultural and natural heritage based on an integrated training program. It is an ideal occasion forcountries to make a commitment to their heritage and to the community that gives them meaning.

Conclusions

The mission of WMF is the conservation of cultural patrimony around the world, and through ourexperience we have reached the conclusion that appropriate understanding and expression ofheritage values can promote site conservation, community development, and public awareness.

Some of the strategies we apply in order to achieve this purpose are:

Community Participation The sustainable preservation of towns and cities requires dealing with the needs of its residentsas well as its visitors. The local community should be closely consulted in the development ofmanagement plans and interpretation concepts, and should share in the tangible economicbenefits obtained through tourism.

Economic Development The best way to support an historic site in a poor area may be indirectly, through programs aimedat revitalizing the local economy. The development of cultural tourism, eco-tourism and other

forms of controlled tourism activities are viable sources of economic development. Tourism helpsrevitalize local economies, and provides alternative income sources to a population that may nothave many options, other than the depletion of un-renewable resources.

Management An integrated site management plan is essential for the long term preservation and publicpresentation of a site. Cultural heritage must be considered within its larger natural and socialcontext, and therefore the development of a successful management plan requires a multi-disciplinary and participatory process.

Presentation A balanced excavation, conservation and interpretation strategy can promote an exponentialincrease in local and international tourism. Presentation of recent discoveries or understandingsof the archaeological and historical heritage to the general public is an important responsibilitythat must be met on a continuous basis. The history of the surrounding landscape, naturalenvironment and the overall geographical setting should be included in the interpretation of a site,and sometimes a common vision must be developed to support cultural tourism within a multi-national heritage site.

Private Sector The private sector has begun to take up the challenge of preservation in Latin America with greatresults, and this participation should be encouraged.

experiences of the world monuments fund in balancing interpretation with preservation

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