Ideas and assumptions of The Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage and their implementation in Poland from the perspective of the Polish UNESCO Committee

Sławomir Ratajski

Abstract

Over the years, the implementation of the Convention in Poland has revealed a number of issues related to protection of heritage in line with the patterns worked out at the UNESCO forum, and resulting from the incomplete adaptation of our legal system for the protection of historic monuments and sites, insufficient public awareness and the difficulty of incorporating historical sites into modern economic development strategies. The Polish UNESCO Committee addressed the above issues with a series of papers accompanying conferences participated in by a wide range of experts, decision-makers and local government activists at various levels. Observations concerning the application of the 1972 Convention, in particular with regard to legal protection of the world heritage sites in Poland, and the need to implement the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the 2011 UNESCO Recommendations on the Historical Urban Landscape, have convinced the Committee to review Polish legislation in terms of protection of heritage from the perspective of the UNESCO normative acts ratified by Poland. In 2014, we published a study on “Why and how to protect the cultural heritage in
a modern way,” edited by the then-Chairman of the Polish UNESCO Committee, profesor Andrzej Rottermund. The paper presented a wide range of conditions for application of the existing legal provisions and expected changes, provided by various institutions and experts in the field of protection of tangible and intangible heritage and respect for cultural diversity. The need to develop
a new comprehensive law regulating protection of cultural heritage in Poland and taking into account the provisions of the UNESCO Convention was emphasised. What is particularly grave in application of the principles of the 1972 Convention is the lack of appropriate tools for managing world heritage sites. This includes, in particular: lack of legislation that would effectively protect the borderlines of the properties being inscribed and their buffer zones, view corridors and panoramas of sites of great historical significance. The lack of proper inclusion of local communities in the heritage management processes is a significant issue, according to the message of the 2005 Faro Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society.
Article entitled “The Social Dimension of the Cultural and Natural Landscape”, issued in 2015, discusses issues concerning immediate vicinity of properties of great historical significance. It is stated that landscape is an integral entity consisting of natural elements and cultural heritage, which is understood as both tangible and intangible heritage. Consideration should be given to how notions occurring at the UNESCO forum evolved. Particular attention should be also paid to shifting from the concept of a historic monument to the concept of heritage, and the concept of historic monument protection to the concept of heritage management. It is also important to take into account the need for sustainable protection of the natural and cultural values of landscapes, both urban and rural.