An international forum addressing the effectiveness of Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) in balancing world heritage preservation and development will be held in Busan.
The Korea National Heritage Administration and Korea National University of Cultural Heritage announced on Friday that they will host a forum titled, Enhancing the Effectiveness of Impact Assessment in the Context of World Heritage, on the afternoon of July 25 at the BEXCO Exhibition Center in Busan. This event coincides with the 48th session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee.
The forum, an official side event of the 48th World Heritage Committee, is organized by the World Heritage Sustainability Center at Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, in partnership with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the UNESCO World Heritage Training and Research Institute for the Asia and Pacific Region Shanghai Centre (WHITR-AP Shanghai).
As development projects, infrastructure expansion, tourism growth, and climate change increasingly threaten the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of world heritage sites, HIA has become a critical tool for heritage preservation and management. HIA examines, forecasts, and evaluates the impacts of development projects on OUV, aiming to prevent or minimize adverse effects.
The forum will feature case studies on world heritage impact assessment education and implementation from various countries. Participants will explore strategies to apply these systems more effectively in heritage preservation management and development planning processes.
The first session will showcase examples of professional training and capacity-building for world heritage impact assessments. Jo Yu-jin, manager of the World Heritage Leadership Program at ICCROM, will present on Short- and Long-term Goals for Strengthening HIA Capacity and outline future challenges. Speakers will also include Li Hong, project director at WHITR-AP Shanghai, and Kim Seo-rin, research professor at the World Heritage Sustainability Center.
Lee Kyu-ho, president of the Korean branch of the International Law Association, will moderate the second session. This segment will focus on the conditions and challenges for effectively implementing HIA within legal frameworks and site management systems.
The 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee session, which opened on July 19, will continue until July 29 at BEXCO in Busan. This marks the first time South Korea has hosted the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, with over 3,000 attendees, including representatives from 196 member states and experts in the field.
