Sangiran Early Man Site

a) Lack of an effective site-management authority;

b) Absence of appropriate land-use regulations in the face of development pressure;

c) Need for a buffer zone;

d) Poor site interpretation and museum display

At its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008), the World Heritage Committee urged the State Party to give full consideration to implementing the recommendations of the joint UNESCO/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission which had visited the property from 28 January to 3 February 2008. These were to:

1. Put in place effective operational planning for the next stage of the Master Plan;
2. Develop a conservation plan and establish applied conservation research prior to physical intervention;
3. Establish the authority of the site manager to control development within the World Heritage Area;
4. Create a full-time Director position at the appropriate level;
5. Ongoing involvement of the residents as key stakeholders of the site;
6. Set up archaeological and socio-cultural cultural impact procedures for development;
7. Sustain the local cultural heritage which augments the Outstanding Universal Value;
8. Interpretation on the site with minimal physical intervention;
9. Involvement of the local population;
10. Development of tourism-based rural industry.
l>

The mission was particularly concerned that effective operational planning for the next stage of the Master Plan should be completed as a matter of urgency in order to avoid further uncoordinated development and management of funds and to achieve systematic development of the conservation and interpretation strategies for the property.

The State Party submitted a report on the above issues on 30 January 2009, outlining progress as follows:

a) Operational Policies for the management plan

The State Party report indicates that cooperation among the various government agencies is already taking place under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and that a follow-up Agreement was currently being drafted to define the authority and responsibility of the various institutions under the MoU, as well as the financial responsibility. The response clarified that the property conservation and interpretation are the responsibility of the Central Government and are incorporated in the Master Plan (policy) and the Detail Engineering Design (DED) (implementation) and that these two documents provide the framework in which conservation, site concept development and creation of the visitor centre are being carried out.

b) Resources for the Conservation office

The report states that from 2009 the Conservation Office (BPSMP) has secured independent funds to support its work of conserving the property and interpreting it to the public. The report also outlined existing strategies for conservation, community empowerment, land use regulation, interpretation and visitor management, as well as proposed coordination of research activities, including social research, within the framework of the Master Plan and DED. The State Party agrees that the values statement in the Master Plan should be augmented by the recognition of the cultural heritage value of the traditional wood and bamboo architecture, lifestyle, and folk arts and practices of the local community.

The response also advised that, from early 2008, the Indonesian Central Government has been making concerted efforts with the Regional Government (both Provincial and Regency) to conserve and develop the property within the context of cultural tourism. This includes drawing up construction plans for a visitor centre at Krikilan and open site museums at Ngebung, Bukuran and Dayu. These open site museums, being non-permanent buildings, integrated with nature and requiring no new roads, will be in conformity with the mission’s recommendation that physical interventions be minimal. The State Party sees the local people’s economic interests being best served through the encouragement of appropriate tourism industrial activities, such as the making of souvenirs, but it advises that the local government is endeavouring to provide tax holidays on land and buildings in the sites and providing training programs to enhance the local community’s skills. It suggests that it will support the development of a strategy for tourist industry development in support of the Master Plan and community development and also a pilot project to provide clean home stay facilities.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note the progress made in relation to developing operational policies for the management plan and ensuring funding for the Conservation Office, but note that several aspects of the reactive monitoring mission’s recommendations, such as ensuring the authority of the site manager to control development through appropriate land-use regulations, the setting up of archaeological and socio-cultural impact procedures for development, and the involvement of the residents as key stakeholders of the property, were not addressed.

In the framework of the forthcoming periodic reporting exercise for the Asia Pacific region, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies will provide assistance to the State Party in developing the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value for the property.