Heritage experts discuss space technology use

Numerous decades ago, applying satellite engineering, Chinese researchers, along with experts from Tunisia, Italy, and Pakistan, learned 10 archaeological web-sites, which includes partitions, navy fortifications and agricultural irrigation programs from ancient Rome in Tunisia, at the western stop of the historical Silk Road.

The discovery encouraged a solid reaction from the intercontinental neighborhood, and was a superior case in point of the software of technological innovation in shielding heritage web sites, suggests Guo Huadong, director of the Intercontinental Centre on Place Systems for All-natural and Cultural Heritage (HIST) less than the auspices of UNESCO.

Guo, who is also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, cited the case in point in the course of the 4th Huangshan Dialogue on UNESCO-designated Sites and Sustainable Advancement, which was held in Huangshan, Anhui province, from June 29-30.

With the theme “Digital Systems Enabling Sustainable Development of UNESCO-selected Web-sites”, the dialogue brought together a lot more than 200 delegates from China and overseas to check out the application of technologies in the defense and administration of Planet Heritage Sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks acknowledged by UNESCO.

Organized by HIST, the Intercontinental Investigation Heart of Big Knowledge for Sustainable Growth Plans, Aerospace Information Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Huangshan Municipal People’s Governing administration, amongst others, the assembly featured 8 periods, with nearly 70 gurus producing speeches on subjects these as the electronic protection, harmonized management and sustainable enhancement of UNESCO-selected web pages, and their job in cultural tourism.

As of now, there are 1,157 Entire world Heritage web sites in 167 nations around the world, 738 Entire world Biosphere Reserves in 134 nations, and 195 Global Geoparks in 48 nations.

The important heritage internet sites are a lot more or significantly less affected by purely natural and human-induced risks, Guo stated at the opening ceremony.

“To respond to this kind of threats, intercontinental conventions and agendas these kinds of as the Conference Relating to the Safety of the Globe Cultural and All-natural Heritage, the Conference on Biological Range and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Improvement have been issued, and are proactively remaining applied.

“With the speedy development of technological innovations, the international group is more and more noticing the critical job of area and other electronic systems in pinpointing, nominating, monitoring, assessing, presenting and controlling heritage websites,” claims Guo.

For illustration, he states to China Everyday, due to chaos brought on by previous wars, the Angkor Wat Buddhist temple complicated in Cambodia, a UNESCO World Heritage Internet site, has been damaged. For lots of decades, persons have worked to restore the architecture, but such do the job was only partial, and there was a need to extend the scope of security efforts by utilizing area technological know-how.

Guo spelled out that HIST carried out a task in 2014 to keep an eye on the bordering natural environment of the web-site with remote sensing of an area of 5,000 square kilometers, attempting to determine out the affect that the natural environment exerts on the site to empower superior conservation.

“For example, we observed some of the architecture had collapsed, but did not know why. Later on, via our study, we understood it was connected to the movement of underground rivers. Therefore, we ongoing to keep track of the spot working with new approaches and engineering, collected information and offered ideas to the area government,” states Guo.

He also notes that digital truth can be utilized in predicting what impact local weather transform and pure disasters would have on these types of web sites.

“Technologies like these are opening new doors. Now we need to have the environment to stroll by them,” Qu Xing, deputy director-common of UNESCO, instructed the opening ceremony by using online video.

The Huangshan Eyesight, which advocates for global businesses and nations to give entire enjoy to digital technological innovation, acquire concrete action, enhance the safety and management of UNESCO-selected web sites and contribute to this kind of web pages to fulfill the UN’s Sustainable Advancement Goals, was introduced at the closing ceremony of the dialogue.

Initiated in 2014, the dialogue is a platform for policymakers, web page managers and heritage experts to cooperate and go over problems linked to the conservation of UNESCO-selected web-sites.

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