GSEO launches Climate Change and Cultural Heritage Conservation Council

On November 10th, the GSEO hosted the online meeting “Climate Resilience: Opportunities for Cooperation Between China and Central Asia on Green Development” in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan. The theme of the meeting was "Multilateral Cooperation: building a sustainable cooperation mechanism for cultural heritage conservation," and discussion centered on a series of topics related to improving the adaptability of cultural heritage sites to climate change impacts and establishing an international cooperation mechanism for action on cultural heritage conservation. Approximately 50 guests from China and Central Asia were in attendance

The GSEO Council for Climate Change and Cultural Heritage Conservation was launched during the meeting, with representatives from multiple parties including the National Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan; the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan; the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan; the Expert Committee of the Beijing Palace Museum Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation; the Beijng Branch of the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (WHITRAP Beijing); and the Institute of Sustainable Development and Education of Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University signing the Council Charter as founding members.

Tursunali Kuziev, Acting Director of the Agency for Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan, delivered an opening address outlining his wish to work through the newly established cooperation mechanism of the Council to promote academic exchanges, project cooperation, policy coordination, and contribute to green cooperation and development between China and Central Asia.

Li Ji, Former Executive Vice President of the Palace Museum and Chairman of the Beijing Palace Museum Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation, remarked that this meeting has grasped some of the most serious and urgent challenges facing the world today and created a postive framework for cooperation. He emphasized that the signing of the Charter of the GSEO Council on Climate Change and Cultural Heritage Conservation symbolizes a solid step in the right direction, and that the Expert Committee of Beijing Palace Museum Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation is willing to support cooperation projects with relevant advice and professional support according to their specific needs.

Zhan Changfa, Former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage and Chief Scientist of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory Marine Archeology Team, emphasized the importance of international cooperation in heritage conservation by introducing China's assistance to restoration projects at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Basantapur Tower in Kathmandu, Nepal, and the ancient city of Khiva in Uzbekistan. He pointed out that the Samarkand Declaration issued this past September by the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has called for member states to "cooperatively study and protect the cultural and natural heritage of the region," and that he hopes that the Council will gather the strengths of all parties and transform the proposals of the Samarkand Declaration into concrete action.

Li Guanghan, Assistant Director of WHITRAP Beijing, provided an in-depth analysis of the relationship between climate change and cultural heritage conservation, highlighting that heritage conservation can also help mitigate climate change impacts, and raised several targeted measures and suggestions for further action.

Wang Chaoyang, Chief Architect of Tencent’s Digital Culture Laboratory, discussed several examples of their team’s work using science and technology to promote and stimulate the passing on of cultural heritage, including digitalization projects with the Beijing Central Axis and the artifacts of the National Museum of China. As the largest internet enterprise in China, Tencent's digital practices in the field of cultural heritage have received great attention from the representatives of Central Asian countries.

Huang Yong, Dean of the Institute of Sustainable Development and Education of Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University and Deputy Director of the Institute of Natural and Cultural Heritage of Nanjing University, analyzed the international background of climate change and cultural heritage, and proposed exploring the wisdom and solutions of traditional knowledge to actively address climate challenges.

Zholdoshov Chynarbek, Chief Specialist of the Department for Protection and Development of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic, introduced the current situation and development needs of cultural heritage sites in Kyrgyzstan and their willingness to further strengthen cooperation between China and Central Asia in this field and promote more green development projects.

The GSEO Climate Change and Cultural Heritage Conservation Council is reportedly the world's first specialized international cooperation mechanism launched in this pioneering field. Shen Ruiwen, Dean of the Peking University School of Archaeology and Museology and director of WHITRAP Beijing, stressed that the Council’s establishment provides a favorable communication platform and framework for discussing key issues and uniting the international community. As one of the founding members of the Council, WHITRAP Beijing, relying on the high-quality scientific research environment and professional support of Peking University and on the basis of interdisciplinary cultural heritage conservation, wishes to further contribute to the construction of a sustainable cultural heritage conservation cooperation mechanism in the Asia Pacific region.

GSEO Secretary-General Wu Jianbo concluded that the Council will work together with government departments, international organizations, academic institutions and enterprises from all regions and carry out activities worldwide, with a focus on cultural heritage sites in Central Asia, Africa and along the Silk Road that are seriously threatened by climate change, so as to contribute to the realization of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.