Benefit or burden? The world heritage listing of libo karst, China

ABSTRACT

Heritage is a profoundly political field of practice. We draw on the case of Libo Karst, a component of the World Heritage listed South China Karst, to analyse the ways in which politics has permeated the work of heritage from the global to the local and from authorised regimes to community practices. The study is based on interviews conducted between 2013 and 2020 with Chinese officials and local residents to understand the experience of World Heritage nomination, inscription, conservation practice and benefits. The study considers three interlinked matters. Firstly, the Libo Karst World Heritage nomination as shaped by local policy, pragmatism and a desire to nurture pride. Secondly, nomination as a ‘natural site’ and the neglect of important cultural values, the consequence of which has been a significant impact on the cultures and experience of local residents. Thirdly, that local residents living within the boundaries of the World Heritage site have, in most instances, not benefited economically and socially and, since 2007, have born the burden of conservation actions and practices. We suggest that these matters of concern arise from the inadequacy of community engagement in developing a World Heritage nomination and implementing an equitable and participatory management system.

KEYWORDS:

• World heritage
• libo karst
• natural values
• cultural heritage
• politics of heritage

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Shilin Karst, Libo Karst, Wulong Karst, Guilin Karst, Shibing Karst, Jinfoshan Karst and Huanjiang Karst. The total extent of the ‘core’ areas is 97,125 hectares, with a buffer zone of 176,228 hectares. (UNESCO World Heritage Centre 2014)

2. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) (2007) Evaluation report to the World Heritage Committee recommended that there be meaningful involvement of local people in the management of the nominated property and recognised the need to maintain local Indigenous traditional practices.

3. All interviewees were provided with an information sheet describing the research, explaining how the information was to be used and reinforcing a verbal statement that each interview was anonymous (Australian National University Ethics Clearance Number: TMP10301753932013923181726 [R. Zhang]).

4. The report provided by a Technical Evaluation Mission is considered confidential by ICOMOS and IUCN. Consequently, there can be a tension between the confidentiality of the Mission and the desire of the State Party to impress and influence.

5. Statistics suggest that more than 900,000 villages had disappeared in China between 2000 and 2010 (Feng 2013).

6. The majority of local residents interviewed were not aware of UNESCO or its role and responsibilities concerning World Heritage.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Number [51908295].

Notes on contributors

Rouran Zhang

Rouran Zhang is an associate professor and Vice Director of the Department of Landscape Architecture in School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen University, China. He is the Vice-President of the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Scientific Committee. He holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Cross-Cultural Research from the Centre of Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National University. He is the author of Chinese Heritage Sites and Their Audiences: the Power of the Past (2020), published by Routledge.

Steve Brown

Steve Brown (corresponding author) lectures in heritage studies at the University of Canberra, Australia. He is the author of Cultural landscapes: a practical guide for park management (2010) and a co-editor of Object stories: artefacts and archaeologists (2015), Cultural and spiritual significance of nature in protected areas: governance, management, and policy (2018), and a forthcoming Routledge handbook on cultural landscape practice. Steve is the immediate past-President of the ICOMOS/IFLA International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes (2014-2017) and a member of the IUCN-WCPA Specialist Groups on the Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas and on Protected Landscapes/Seascapes. He is the Australian Co-chair of the GA2023 Scientific Symposium.