UNESCO: Protection of Cultural Landscapes

There are many different landscapes across the world that are representative of the different regions of the world. They are combined works created by nature and mankind, they express a long and intimate relationship between people and their environment. Some of the sites show specific techniques of land use that preserve biological diversity. Other landscapes show the communities, their beliefs and artistic and traditional customs. They embody the exceptional spiritual relationship of people and nature.

Cultural landscapes have been added to the World Heritage List as they reveal and sustain the great diversity of the interactions between humans and the environment. They have also been added to protect living traditional cultures and to preserve the traces of those which have disappeared.

To date, 88 properties have been included on the World Heritage List as cultural landscapes.

 Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routed in the Kii Mountain Range- Japan 

Date of inscription: 2004

Set in the dense forests of the Kii Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, three sacred sites linked to the pilgrimage routes to the ancient capital cities of Nara and Kyoto, reflect the fusion of Shinto, rooted in the ancient tradition of nature worship in Japan, and Buddhism, which was introduced from China to the Korean Peninsula. The sites and their surrounding forest landscape reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains over 1200 years. The area, with its abundance of streams, rivers and waterfalls, is still part of the living culture of Japan and is much visited for ritual purposes and hiking, with up to 15 million visitors annually. Each of the three sites contains shrines, some of which were founded as early as the 9th century.

Reasons for preservation:
The monuments and sites that form the cultural landscape of the Kii Mountains show a unique relationship between Shintoism and Buddhism that shows the interchange and development of religion in East Asia.
The shrines and temples and their associated rituals show the development of Japan's religious culture over more than 1000 years.
They are the setting of unique forms of shrine and temple buildings which have had a major influence on the construction of shrines elsewhere in Japan.
The site reflects a persistent and extremely well documented tradition of sacred mountains over the past 1200 years.

Each property has an adequate buffer zone to ensure the entire properties wholeness and intactness.

How is the site preserved?
The natural environment is well preserved such as contrition of new buildings and tree felling cannot be carried out without prior permission of the national or prefectural government. All building are well preserved through preservation and maintenance activities carried out by relevant religious organisations. The pilgrim routes are preserved and maintained by private owners, local governments and the national government.

Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City

Date of inscription: 2004
Also unscripted on the List of World Heritage in Danger (2012)

Six area in the historic centre and docklands of the maritime mercantile City of Liverpool bear witness to the development of one of the world's major trading centres in the 18th and 19th centuries. Liverpool played an important part in the growth of the British Empire and became the major port for mass movement of people e.g. slaves and emigrants from northern Europe to America. Liverpool was a pioneer in the development of modern dock technology, transport systems and port management. The listed sites feature a great number of significant commercial, civic and public buildings, including St George's Plateau.

The property is in the boundary of Liverpool City Council and is protected through the planning system and the designation of over 380 buildings. The six sections of the property are protected as Conservation Areas under the provisions of the Planning Act 1990.

The properties in the boundary are in mixed ownership and several institutions have management responsibilities relating to them. A full management plan has been prepared for the property. Its implementation is overseen by the Liverpool World Heritage Group, which includes most public bodies involved in the property. At the time of inscription the World Heritage Committee requested that the height of any new construction in the property should not exceed that of structures in the new immediate surroundings; the character of any new construction should represent that qualities of the historic area, and new construction at the Pier Head should not dominate, but complement the historic Pier Head buildings. There is a need for conservation and development to be based on an analysis of townscape characteristics and to be constrained by clear regulations establishing prescribed heights of buildings.

Cultures attitude to the environment


Environmental attitudes and behaviours vary across cultures- P. Wesley Schultz, California State University (2002). 

Is suture part of the natural environment or is it separate and perhaps superior to nature (anthropogenic)? People living in industrialised countries spend a large portion of their lives mediated by technology. We live, work, drive, shop and do almost every other activity in a built environment. Although this is relatively new as many modern comforts we take for granted were fantasies 100 years ago. An issue with this lifestyle is the the damaging effect on the natural environment. Throughout human history activity has impacted the environment, what has changed is the magnitude of its effects. By the end of the 20th century, it was clear that lifestyles of those in industrial countries were not sustainable. Pollution of air, water and land threaten our own existence.

Issues 
Consumption; the industrial revolution led to demands for coal, oil, wood and metal. The rate at which materials are consumed is unsustainable. We are a throw away society.
-Global warming- greenhouse effect through burning of fossil fuels.
-Loss of ozone layer due to CFCs.
-Climate change and loss of biodiversity due to loss of rainforests through deforestation.
-Unsustainable overfishing.
-Acid rain which damages crops and forests, and kills fish, plants and other organisms.
-Toxic pollution of air and water.
-Genetic damage, hormonal damage and cancer due to exposure to toxins.
Population; more people means more consumption, leading to a higher demand and higher pollution. For 99.9% of human existence less than 10 million people inhabited the planet. In 1830 the population reached 1 billion, by 2000 the population was 6 billion. Environmental issues develop slowly. Research on human perception suggests that sensory changes that are slow are difficult to detect. At the core it is the individuals understanding of their relationship with the environment.

Attitude in the USA
As the severity/extent has become apparent people in the USA have began to notice. A survey on environmental issues showed a slow yet steady increase in recognition and concern for environmental issues. In the 1960s to the 1990s US people expressed increasing levels of concern. There was peak concern in the 1990s. A survey conducted in 1990 revealed that 71% believed the US spent "too little" on "improving and protecting the environment". Only 4% thought "too much" was spent. There was an increase in people believing too little was being done after the oil sludge spillage by Exxon Valdez.

Attitudes in other countries
High level of support around the world. A multi-national study of 1000 people in each of 24 countries  (both developing and industrialised) was carries out. Its findings were:
-When asked what they thought the biggest problem facing their nation was 16 of 24 countries had environmental in their top 3.
-When asked about their personal concern for the environment 50% of 21 of the 24 countries said their concern was a "great deal" or a "fair amount".
-When asked if they would pay more for products in return for increased environmental quality the majority in 17 of the countries said they would.
-The participants were asked about what they felt was more important economic growth or the environment. More than 50% in 21 of 24 countries chose environment.
There is high concern around the world, even in poorer countries, for the environment.

Different attitudes- egotistic versus biospheric.
People were asked to write an essay on "environmental problems that concern them the most and why?". Students in the US, Spain, Peru, Mexico and Nicaragua were asked to write the essay. The responses were then coded. Many said that the greatest issue was pollution. Their reasons varied from concern that air pollution would cause cancer, sickness and poor quality go life, to concern for the death of plants/animals and a disrupted balance of nature. The concerns reflect different underlying values: egotist (concern for self), altruistic (concern for others/future generations) and biospheric (concern for all living things and the biosphere). Researchers asked people close ended questions to look at their values- asking them to score their concern for each question which related to a value and the environment. Data from over 20 countries was complied. It was found that it is not the case that all the people from one country/culture share the same attitude. There are clear differences across cultures, however, in the level of concern. All three of the US samples found that egoism was higher than biospherism, and that they scored lower than the other countries in terms of concern. Most other samples (Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Paraguay and Venezuela) had higher biospheric values. Differences have been found between individualistic and collectivist cultures. Self-enhancing goals (money, power, wealth) are related to egotistic values to the environment. Values that transcend self (honesty and loyalty) have been related to biospheric goals.

Culture and attitude
US study suggests with broad/dispersed issues there is a tendency for people to exert less effort when working collectively. Group size increase leads to people being more likely to 'loaf'. People are less likely to be concerned/to act is it doesn't directly affect the people themselves.
It is different in collectivist cultures, there is a lesser tendency to 'loaf'. They value goals which benefit the group more than goals which benefit themselves.
Women are also though to be more concerned as they're more relationship orientated than men. Research suggests that this is true. 32 studies found that women express more concern over the environment and environmental issues. They report that women engage in more pro-environmental behaviour and activism than men. There were similar findings in children (6-10) across cultures.

Conclusions
US are less concerned than other countries. The US are more focused on local issues relating to the individual. People in other countries develop broader biospheric attitudes. Collectivist cultures are more likely to be biospheric.

Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation


Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is well known as dedicated environmentalist and has received praise from environmental groups for his activism. He owns eco-friendly cars- an electric Tesla Roadster, a Fisker Karma plug-in and a Toyota Puris. He has also installed solar panels on his house. In an interview he cited global warming as "the number-one environmental challenge." While filming The Revenant DiCaprio was quoted as having witnessed global warming in action, while in Alberta, Canada.
"We were in Calgary and the locals were saying, 'This has never happened in out province ever.' We would come and there would be eight feet of snow, and then all of a sudden a warm gust of wind would come... it was scary. I've never experienced something so firsthand that was so dramatic. You see the fragility of nature and how easily things can be completely transformed with just a few degrees difference. It's terrifying, and it's what people are talking about all over the world. And it's simply getting worse".

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is dedicated to the long-term health and wellbeing of all Earth's inhabitants. Through collaborative partnerships, we support innovative projects that protect vulnerable wildlife from extinction, while restoring balance to threatened ecosystems and communities. The foundation works in four key areas: protecting biodiversity, wildlands conservation, oceans conservation and climate change. The foundation was founded in 1998 with the mission of protecting the world's last wild places. LDF implements solutions that help restore balance to threatened ecosystems, ensuring the long-term health and well-being of all Earth's inhabitants. Through grant making, public campaigns and media initiatives, the foundation hopes to bring attention to protecting biodiversity.
Leonardo DiCaprio's website and social media accounts are dedicated to inspiring the public to take action on key environmental issues.


http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/23/leonardo-dicaprio-foundation-raises-40m-environment

National Parks Facing Sale


A conflict has arisen between environmentalism and consumer capitalism. An example of this is the struggle of the US state Wyoming to fund maintenance of the Grand Teton national park. The Government of Wyoming has threatened to sell off part of Grand Teton, unless the US administration can come up with more money to pay for eduction in the state. They make as little as $3,000 a year from leasing some of the national park land to cattle ranchers and feels it could make more income to benefit the state and its inhabitants. The part of land they may sell is valued at $125 million. Cultural attitudes towards the environment may favour its preservation or conservation, other social values- especially the need for capital to fund vital social services- can create a conflict of interest. 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/06/wyoming-grand-teton-national-park

The US government has struggled to fund the national parks and so have began to seek funding. They have started to find co-funders for the national parks. In 2007 Coca-Cola became a partner by donating $2.5 million to park fundraising. In return Coke were given exclusive rights to use the parks logos in its adverts and vetoed the plan to ban bottled water from sale at the Grand Canyon. Disposable plastic bottles are the number one source of litter at the Grand Canyon. But Coke owns Dasani the top selling water. 
Park service abandoned its longstanding policy of disallowing any links to alcohol or tobacco products when Anheuser-Busch donated $2.5 million. In turn Budweiser were symbolically given the statue of liberty, which they can now use in their advertising campaigns. 

http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/sold-national-parks-go-to-the-highest-corporate-bidder/

Comparing the questions to the pre-releases



Cultures Under Threat: Uganda 1971-1979


Uganda's history between 1971 and 1979 compromises of Idi Amin's military dictatorship over Uganda. The economy of Uganda was devastated by Idi Amin's policies including the expulsion of Asians. Amin, a military leader, overthrew President of Uganda Milton Obote. The people of the Buganda kingdom seemed to welcome Amin and willingly forgot that he used military suppression to become leader. Uganda became a military dictatorship which was governed from a collection of military barracks across the country. Amin recruited followers from his own tribe, the Kakwas, along with Sudanese and Nubians. By 1977, these groups formed 60% of the 22 top generals and 75% of the cabinet. Muslims former 80 and 87.5% of the groups even though they were only 5% of the population. The Ugandan army grew from 10,000 to over 25,000 by 1978, however only 24% of the army were Ugandan. By the mid-1970s only the most trustworthy were allowed ammunition, although this didn't prevent a series of mutinies and murders. An attempt by American journalists, Nicholas Stroh and Robert Siedle, to investigates and of the barracks in 1972 led to their disappearances and later deaths.

In early 1972 he reversed the foreign policy to secure financial and military aid from Gaddafi of Libya. Amin expelled his remaining Israeli advisers and became anti-Israel. To get aid from Saudi Arabia he rediscovered his neglected Islamic heritage. Following his foreign policy reversal in 1972, the Soviet Union became Amin's largest supplier of arms. East Germany helped to build Amin's secret police, during the invasion of Tanzania in 1979 they attempted to remove evidence of their involvement.

In August 1972, he expelled almost all of Uganda's 80,000 Asians and seized their property, homes and businesses. This act proved disastrous for the already declining economy. As the army officers and supporters now ran the economy, all of the local businesses and stores were ran into the ground from mismanagement and abuse of power. The rural African producers turned to smuggling as the economy faltered. Amin became obsessed with stopping smugglers and allowed his adviser, former British citizen Bob Astles, to talk all necessary steps to eliminate the issues. These orders included the Ugandan police and army to shoot smugglers on sight.

In 1973 Idi Amin decreed Swahili was to be the official language of Uganda. 12 of 20 districts chose this but the other 8 wanted Luganda.

Persecution of ethnic and political groups: 
Amin retaliated against the attempted invasion by Ugandan exiles in 1972 by purging the army of Obote supporters, predominantly those from the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups. In July 1971, Lango and Acholi soldiers were massacred in the Jinja and Mbarara barrack, Some 5000 soldiers had been killed by early 1972 and twice as many civilians disappeared. Victims came to include members of other ethnic groups, religious leaders, journalists, artists, artists, judges, lawyers and foreign nationals. Bodies were often dumped in the River Nile.
The killings, motivated by ethnic, political and financial factors, continued through Amin's eight year rule. The death toll is estimated at no fewer than 80,000 and more likely around 300,000. Amnesty International and exile organisations put the number killed at 500,000.

Terrorism and suppression: 
Amin has been suspected to use state terrorism. One act of state terrorism was when High Court Judge Benedicto Kiwanuka, was seized directly from his courtroom. Like many other victims he was forced to remove his shoes and bundled into the boot of a car and never seen alive again. The shoes were left on the side of the roadside to mark the passing of human life. They do this to deter others from going against the state.
In June 1976 Amin attempted to establish ties with an international terrorist group, when he offered the Palestinian hijackers of an Air France flight protected base at the old airport at Entebbe as a place to press their demands in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. After the hostages held by the group were rescued, Amin was left humiliated. He retaliated by having an elderly hostage kidnapped from hospital and killed. He also ordered all the civilian staff at Entebbe airport.

Environment: 
During the eight years under the rule of Amin the environment and ecological system were subjected to abuse and destruction by widespread poaching and deforesting committed by both smugglers and Ugandan army soldiers. It's reported that Uganda lost 75% of its elephants, 98% of its Rhinos, 90% of its crocodiles, 80% of its lions and leopards, as well as numerous species of bird.

Link to the world of cultural diversity: 
This case study shows how cultures can be threatened by political and military powers. It shows how the government/leader of a country can try to suppress culture in their own culture. Idi Amin went against many human rights during his time in power. He tried to silence foreign journalists from reporting the truth and had anyone who went against him killed.
The case study also shows the effects of culture on the environment and how the environment can be exploited.

Sources of further information: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_King_of_Scotland
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/jan/12/thriller.jamesmcavoy

Narborough Road in Leicester

Narborough Road in the late 40s
Narborough Road in Leicester was named the most diverse street in Britain by academics. The shooting street has shop owners from 23 different countries including Zambia, Uganda and Tanzania. There are also shopkeepers from eastern European counties, a fish and chip shop boss from Hong Kong and a bookmakers ran by a Canadian couple. Researchers have named it the most diverse street in the UK after discovering the owners of its 220 shop units come from 23 different counties. Members of the Braunstone History Group have spoken about how the area has changed over the years. Helen Caterwell said: 'Narborough has changed from being aa residential area to lots of shops over the years. We've seen different communities come in from different nationalities and I think it's actually quite and interesting area to be in because of the diversity of people.'

Academics at London School of Economics (LSE) admitted they were amazed at the number of nationalities when they visited the road in a suburb of south west Leicester. Dr Suzanne Hall, lead researcher, said 'What is interesting is about Narborough Road is that it's not a Little Italy or Chinatown'. 'It is the world in a microcosm, all these people, from all these different place, different cultures, living cheek by jowl, working wth each other and living in harmony. It is really an incredible array of nationalities in one place.'

Narborough Road as it is today 
The countries represented on the steer are Britain, Uganda, Lithuania, Canada, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Iran, China, Tanzania, Poland, India, Cameroon, Turkey, Afghanistan, Kenya, Pakistan, Zambia, Jamaica, Kurdistan, Iraq, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Malawi.

Tajinder Reehal, 55, who was born in Nairobi, Kenya and runs Scorpion smoking shop said: 'I've seen the street change in the past 16 years. It's come alive. More bars, more restaurants. It's much more vibrant. I've seen the different nationalities come and go, too. Lots of Polish and Eastern Europeans now, but before that, it seemed to be mainly Turkish and Spanish.'
'I like it. It gives the area its identity. It feels cosmopolitan. You don't have to go into Leicester if you live here. It's all on your doorstep.'

Researchers found that shopkeepers on the street also trade skills with each other. The Canadian couple who run the bookmakers get a free haircut or free meal at a restaurant because they help other owner fill in the forms.

Lloyd Wright, who is half English and half Polish and runs a music shop said: 'There are people here from all over the world, but there's no tension. It's a very relaxed atmosphere. I'm proud to tell people this is wheel I'm from.'

I think that Narborough Road is the perfect example of an ethnoscape. The road shows the effects that migration of people across cultures and borders has led to. This is a cultural landscape that you can read from the shops and the different people who work on the street. It is a mini community of people from a variety of cultures working in harmony.

Why is Leicester so diverse? 
The city became four times lager as people moved to Leicester during the industrial revolution to find work in the shoe and textile mills. After Indian population grew in the post-war years, the authorities took out adverts to discourage Ugandan Asians from moving there in 1972 during Idi Amin's dictatorship. But the adverts have been heavily criticised by community leaders and they actually had the opposite effect encouraging the group to come to the city.
The 2011 census showed that less than half of Leicester's population described themselves as White British. The census reported: 'Of the 110,843 born abroad, 36% arrived since 2004.'

See the article written by the Daily Mail here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3432300/How-things-used-Evocative-pictures-street-named-diverse-Britain-looked-years-ago.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3429838/Most-multi-national-high-street-Britain-boasts-business-owners-23-different-countries.html

Dr Suzanne Hall (LSE): http://www.lse.ac.uk/researchAndExpertise/Experts/profile.aspx?KeyValue=s.m.hall@lse.ac.uk
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