Impact assessment tools

Heritage impact assessments (HIAs) for World Heritage (WH) properties are conducted in order to evaluate effectively the impact of potential development on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of properties. Due to diversity of World Heritage properties and varieties of potential impacts, different assessment tools are to be applied, from the state of the art techniques - research and analysis conducted by qualified personnel, to the new IT resources on recording and mapping intangible heritage and multiple layers of attributes, including 3D virtual representation. However, although development of new tools is potentially useful, for the foreseeable future, impact assessment processes need to be able to access a variety of existing tools, without relying entirely on any one of them. Numerous visual assessment tools have been adapted to the assessment of impacts of proposed developments on the OUV of various World Heritage properties, especially those located within dynamic urban contexts, but so far these have rarely been linked to a more in-depth assessment of impact on all the attributes of OUV. There are also new tools on recording and mapping intangible heritage and multiple layers of attributes that have not been exploited for use in WH properties. Good documentation does not require a Geographic Information System (GIS), although this has been a powerful and useful tool where it is available. All approaches need to be systematic and follow rational guidelines.

Source(s): Guidance on Heritage Impact Assessments for Cultural World Heritage Properties (ICOMOS, 2011)