From Local Archives to the World Heritage List: Making Inventories of Cultural and Natural Wealth and the Case of Turkey

Date

2016-5-31

Author

Yıldırım, Ege

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Systems for identifying and assessing the cultural and natural heritage have been developed in virtually all countries around the world, constituting a vast body of information on the wealth that is found on Earth, divided amongst the territories of various states. The value appropriation to cultural and natural assets ranges in ‘level of significance’ from the local (neighborhood/ munici- pal) to the regional, national and international, creating a hierarchy of values that can be the topic of much debate for stakeholders. Inventorying and designation also have implications in terms of protection, land use, zoning, identity politics and the potential for economic development – particu- larly through tourism – based on the heritage industry revolving around labeled ‘heritage sites’. With advancing technology, digital and online inventories and archives enable more public accessi- bility, visibility and opportunities to influence the way their content can be used for various agen- das. This paper focuses on the concept of the ‘inventory’ in the broad sense, to discuss its relation- ship with heritage identification and designation with a focus on the Turkish system. An evaluation is made in particular of the nomination process for sites leading to the UNESCO World Heritage List, through the channel of national Tentative Lists (TL), with a case study of the Turkish TL. Thus, potential approaches are explored for building on local and national inventories, to contribute to improved systems of appropriating value to cultural and natural resources, benefiting their protection, appreciation and sustainable use by local and global communities.

Subject Keywords

Inventories, UNESCO World Heritage, Tentative List, Turkey, cultural and natural heritage, Envanter, UNESCO Dünya Mirası, Geçici Liste, Türkiye, Kültürel ve doğal miras

URI

https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/idealkent/issue/36795/419438
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/114445

Collections

Department of Music and Fine Arts, Article