Seminar discusses world heritage conservation in Vietnam

Experts gathered at seminar in the northern province of Ninh Binh on October 2 to share experiences on the management, conservation and promotion of world heritage sites in Vietnam.The event, co-organised by the provincial Tourism Department and a working delegation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), featured six presentations by foreign experts and Vietnamese managers of local world heritage sites. They focused on coordination between member countries and UNESCO, regular inspections and reports, human resources management, and periodical research to put forth suitable improvements in line with UNESCO recommendations.Nao Hayashi, a specialist from UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, pointed to an increasing number of tourists as a common issue facing heritage sites. She said although this benefited local communities in terms of socio-economic growth, it required work to ensure sustainable tourism development.Participating experts said heritage managers should focus on both core and buffer zones and raise residents' awareness of >UNESCO regulations and guidelines.An expert from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature said there was a need to study tourists' expectations of heritage sites, thereby designing suitable plans for tourism product diversity.Others, meanwhile, stressed it was fine to add new values to heritage sites such as building infrastructure, but all changes must be based on scientific and archeological research.

(Source: VNA)