1. “Sustaining China’s Cultural Heritage in Times of Rapid Change” 7 th Annual Colloquium of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Wuhan University, 1-5 November 2009 Stefan Gruber Faculty of Law, University of Sydney

2. Cultural heritage What is cultural heritage? What is considered as valuable and as worthy of being preserved for future generations? Culture plays a significant role in the survival of all individual parts of populations as distinguishable elements of humankind Several Asian countries inscribed the duty to preserve their societies’ heritage in their constitutions Tangible and intangible heritage

3. Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Deep-seated interdependence between the intangible cultural heritage and the tangible cultural and natural heritage […] that the processes of globalization and social transformation, alongside the conditions they create for renewed dialogue among communities, also give rise, as does the phenomenon of intolerance, to grave threats of deterioration, disappearance and destruction of the intangible cultural heritage, in particular owing to a lack of resources for safeguarding such heritage […]

4. Heritage law Heritage law as a specialised area of environmental law World Heritage Convention If there is a human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, there is a human right to a sustainable heritage Environmental protection law, such as the regulation of air and water pollution, law relating to the conservation of biodiversity in general and natural areas in particular, such as national parks and forests law, heritage conservation law, as well as planning law, trade law, building and construction law

5. China’s heritage law Cultural heritage conservation has been an issue in the Five-Year-Plans since 1996 Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Preservation of Cultural Relics of 2002 Specialised laws, such as the 1989 Urban Planning Law of the People’s Republic of China

6. China’s urban planning law Art. 14: When formulating urban planning provisions, emphasis shall be given to … protecting historical and cultural relics, the city’s traditional style and features, regional characteristics and natural scenery. Art. 15: When formulating urban planning provisions, the principles followed shall … advance scientific, technological, cultural and educational institutions.

7. Threats to heritage sites Large-scale development projects Gentrification and urban development Urbanisation and rural poverty Illicit art trade and globalisation

8. Three Gorges Dam 30,000 hectares of farmland flooded over a length of more than 600 km 1.4 million people were relocated Towns disappeared in the flood Loss of extraordinary scenery Over 1,300 sites of archaeological value were discovered, including sites from the Paleolithic Period, the Warring States Period (475–221 BC), and farmland sites from the Tang (618–907 AD) and Song (960–1279 AD) dynasties. Signs of population in this area can be traced back to the Old Stone Age.

9. Deliberate destruction and urban development Case study 1: Late 2004, in Shanxi Province, bulldozers destroyed a Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) beacon tower and dozens of tombs from the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). The construction company acted without approval from the local heritage protection authorities. The required archaeological survey was considered to be too expensive. The company obtained approval to commence from people inside local government. After the destroyed tombs were discovered, the work at the construction site was stopped immediately and investigations were started by the authorities. Neither the heads of the construction company nor the responsible members of the local government faced punishment as the construction company’s investment was too important to the municipality.

10. Case study 2: In 2005, a hundred Chinese tombs more than 2,000 years old were destroyed during construction works for a housing project in Helinge’er county in Inner Mongolia. The site was one of the best preserved and largest sites in China, dating back to the Warring States period during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770–221 BC) and placed on the list of important national sites The destruction was fully backed by the local government, which acted without submitting a cultural heritage assessment that is required by the Cultural Relics Law. Officials from the Cultural Relics Department of Inner Mongolia tried to stop the construction, but county government and police refused to cooperate. When officials from China's Cultural Relics Bureau travelled from Beijing to the site to save the remains of the tombs, they were threatened by the workers who put up resistance. The construction continued. Despite the very drastic violations of national law, no one was arrested.

11. Deliberate destruction and urban development Lack of monitoring exploited by construction companies Poor municipalities are dependent on investments, jobs and building projects Lack of compliance with national laws Conflicting interests

12. Inhabited heritage sites Urban development pressure Many heritage sites form part of peoples’ daily life Without the original inhabitants many sites inevitably lose a significant part of their integrity

13. Gentrification Def: New residents from a higher social class with more resources replace the poorer original residents of an area Demolition of old city centres Case study: Beijing’s Hutongs Built during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties Narrow alleyways and courtyard houses Teahouses, theatres and traditional shops Regarded as the “heart of Beijing”

14. Gentrification 2 Eviction of original inhabitants which have to move out of their areas Torn down and replaced by uniform office buildings or shopping malls Restored Hutongs go to wealthy couples or nuclear families and are turned into enclosed areas

15. Hutongs in Beijing

16. Fenced off Hutongs in Beijing after the residents were removed

17. Demolition works in Beijing‘s Hutongs

18. Gentrification 3 Loss of integrity and intangible heritage Death of quarter’s communal life Acknowledgment of existing property rights and rights of residence Inclusion of residents into preservation plans

19. Cultural landscapes “Combined works of nature and of man” Landscapes physically transformed by human activity to gain control over ecological processes for cultivation Often very fragile ecosystems which require constant maintenance work Habitats also attract diverse animal species that only exist in their proximity

20. Rice terraces of Longsheng in Guangxi Province

21. Rice Terraces of the Philippines Cordilleras

22. Cultural landscapes 2 Loss of local population if they cannot sustain themselves Urban and rural inequality Migrant workers Consequences – Loss of ecological stability – Soil erosion – Regional architecture – Decline of ecosystems – Loss of intangible heritage

23. Protecting rural cultural landscapes Land use regulations prevention of further soil degradation protection of water supplies sustainable access to resources minimising development pressure Establishment of buffer zones Adaptation of agriculture to new challenges, such as climate change Support for rural communities Protection of minorities Prevention of further urbanisation

24. The central government does well by recognising the importance of equal economic development Do not leave the West behind!

25. Demand for cultural relics Illicit art trade is the third most profitable criminal trade in the world, outdone only by drug and arms trade Annual turnover of the illicit art trade industry is estimated to six billion USD Many international auction houses involved Antiquities are the largest single class of item smuggled out of China It is estimated that more than 200,000 ancient tombs have been looted in China in the last few decades

26. 1998 Qixing in Xiangxiang, Hunan Province Large archaeological site uncovered after flood Authorities informed of many hundred looters Only after media coverage, the Hunan provincial government ordered all looting to stop, arrest the main suspects and proclaimed it an important archaeological site Late 1998 the looted area was 100,000 square metres with 3,000 looters After reports from private activists, the provincial police stepped in, arrested 14 looters and found 3,000 objects in searched houses No actions were taken against the responsible local authorities or the art dealers. Many items are still missing.

27. Heritage conservation law Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Preservation of Cultural Relics of 2002 Categorisation and examination of items Many items are not allowed to leave the country Antique shops and auctioneers must be certified and licensed No foreign companies can set up shops or auction items

28. 1970 UNESCO Convention Cooperation between States Parties most important United States is believed to be the destination of estimated half of all Chinese cultural relics sold worldwide Bilateral agreement between China And U.S. in early 2009 Import ban of items from items from specific periods without explicit authorisation

29. Both countries are obliged to cooperate and support each other in their endeavours. China is expected to “make every effort to stop archaeological material looted or stolen from the Mainland from entering the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region with the goal of eliminating the illicit trade in these regions Increased education of citizens and customs officers and increased cooperation on scientific level

30. Economic interests vs cultural heritage conservation No contradiction Property prices benefit from nearby heritage sites and parks Fostering national pride and unity Providing people with identity

31. Conclusion Law must be used in a holistic way to create a comprehensive system of legal instruments and enforcement mechanisms International cooperation and solidarity Inhabitants of heritage sites have to be included in protection plans Cultural heritage is a non-renewable resource!

32. Thank you!! Xie-xie!!