The Role of UNESCO World Heritage in the Sustainable Development of Regions panel session held at KFU as part of KazanForum 2024
The event was attended by First Vice-Rector Dmitry Tayursky, Vice-President of the Russian ICOMOS Committee, Deputy Director of the Institute of International Relations Rafael Valeev, and others.
“As you know, the UNESCO list includes objects of cultural and natural heritage. Interaction with UNESCO actively contributes to their preservation. Currently, the list includes 1,199 objects of cultural and natural heritage, of which 32 objects are in Russia. Our country ranks ninth in the list with 11 natural and 21 cultural sites. The Republic of Tatarstan has four objects and is the leader among Russian regions,” said Dr Valeev.
The Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University are now included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The nomination of the observatories for inclusion in the list was completed at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The work to promote the observatories was carried out since 2019 with the assistance of the Revival Foundation under the leadership of Mintimer Shaimiev, State Counselor of the Republic of Tatarstan and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
Nadezhda Filatova, Deputy Director of the Likhachev Russian Research Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage (Moscow), presented a report The procedure for nominating sites of the Russian Federation to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Taher Nizamuddin, archaeologist and heritage curator, Advisor to the Department of Culture of the Government of India, told about multitasking as a manager of a World Heritage site.
“Many of us know that there is a UNESCO World Heritage Site such as the Taj Mahal, and there are a total of 42 sites in our country: seven sites under natural criteria, one site under cultural and natural criteria; 14 sites are recognized as masterpieces of human creative genius, three sites are recognized as natural phenomena or spaces of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. It is a great honor for me to work on four World Heritage sites,” he said.
Taher Nizamuddin spoke about the challenges faced by experts engaged in the important mission of preserving World Heritage sites.
“Everyone realizes how important it is to preserve this site. Due to the fact that the Taj Mahal mausoleum is located within the city, it is affected by industry. However, the Supreme Court has ruled that the pollution level in the city should be supervised. We want to ensure that various industrial facilities are relocated outside Agra and the city itself becomes a cultural heritage site,” the expert emphasized.
The event continued with a discussion of topics related to the impact of economic development projects on World Heritage sites, international legal protection of architectural heritage, and training of specialists in UNESCO World Cultural Heritage management.