No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

In an increasingly urbanised world, historic settlements have been facing tremendous urbanisation and development pressures. In this context, historic settlements included on the World Heritage List ought to be flagships for urban conservation. This dissertation investigates how effectively the existing protection and management policies under the World Heritage Convention contribute to the protection of historic urban settlements and especially their surroundings. The factors affecting urban settlements, and the responses adopted by the international community for the protection of urban heritage, are investigated – first in relation to urban settlements in general, and then in relation to historic settlements included on the World Heritage List. To get a holistic view of how historic settlements have been protected under the World Heritage Convention, the monitoring mechanisms established under the Convention are examined. The analysis of the results of the first cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise and of the state of conservation reports resulting from the Reactive Monitoring process provide an overall view of the main issues influencing the protection of World Heritage settlements. To get an overview of the factors affecting the surroundings of World Heritage settlements in particular, the concept of buffer zone – adopted under the World Heritage Convention as the main mechanism for the protection of the surroundings of World Heritage properties – is investigated not only in relation to its use in other disciplines and to the protection of natural protected areas, but also in the nomination files over time. To investigate how historic settlements and their surroundings in particular have been affected by urbanisation and development pressures, and how they have been protected under the World Heritage Convention, four case studies are studied, namely Angra do Heroísmo in Portugal, Olinda in Brazil, Marrakesh in Morocco and the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. In all four cases I examine how their inscription on the World Heritage List has influenced their protection and that of their surroundings in particular, how the existing managements systems established for their protection have responded to urbanisation and development pressures, and what are the main factors affecting their state of conservation. In addition, as the Kathmandu Valley has received enormous attention under the World Heritage system, this case study is also analysed to obtain an in-depth understanding of how the system has been implemented for the protection of World Heritage settlements. The case studies shed light on five inter-related aspects. First, that the legal and management arrangements adopted for the protection of the World Heritage settlements are not built upon what is considered to be their outstanding universal value, and are insufficient to effectively address existing urbanisation and development pressures. Second, that the factors affecting the state of conservation of World Heritage properties increasingly originate from beyond the properties‘ boundaries, but there is nevertheless no integration of the planning and management arrangements for the World Heritage settlements within their wider urban context. Third, that the surroundings of the World Heritage settlements investigated have continued to undergo considerable change since the time of inscription and are now much more urbanized areas, despite existing legal mechanisms for their protection. Fourth, that although Angra do Heroísmo, Olinda and Marrakesh present similar factors affecting their state of conservation to those identified for the Kathmandu Valley, they have not received the same attention from the World Heritage Committee, pointing to a lack of clarity on the selection process for the follow-up of the state of conservation of a property through Reactive Monitoring. Fifth, in relation to the Kathmandu Valley only, that the involvement of the international community has considerable limitations and needs to be improved. These aspects show that the protection and management policies under the World Heritage Convention are limited, not effectively implemented or enforced, and only address a limited number of the existing needs. The dissertation concludes by articulating how existing trends influencing urban settlements can be more effectively addressed by existing mechanisms under the World Heritage Convention. Finally I bring forward the policy implications deriving from the research findings and suggest broad strategies for improving some of the processes and practices for the protection of World Heritage settlements and their surroundings in particular.

This thesis investigates the ecological history of western oakwoods in the Loch Awe area,Argyll, Scotland. By combining historical evidence for human use of woodland resources with palaeoecological evidence for past ecological change the influence of man on the current condition of biologically important semi-natural woods is assessed. A chronology of human activities relevant to the woodland ecology of the study area is assembled from estate papers and other documentary sources. Vegetation change during the last c. 1000 years is elucidated by pollen analysis of radioisotope dated sediments from small hollows located within three areas of western oakwood believed to be ancient. The results are related to current condition and the hypothesis that the species composition of the woods exhibited temporal stability in the recent past is tested. Mechanisms of change culminating in the modem species compositions of the woods are suggested by synthesizing independent findings from historical and palaeoecological approaches. The documentary record indicates management in the 18th and 19th centuries to supply oak bark and coppice wood for commercial purposes. In the 20th century woodland use has been relatively minor except as a grazing resource. In the period before 1700 AD the woods were used for wood for local domestic needs and to shelter livestock. The palaeoecological record indicates a lack of stability in species composition during the last millennium. Relatively diverse woods still containing natural features such as old-growth were transformed in the medieval period into disturbed open stands depleted in natural features. Declining productivity was locally alleviated by the introduction of new modes of exploitation around or prior to 1700 AD. The current condition of the woods, rather than being the direct result of an economic design, is the consequence of post-disturbance biotic processes following the abandonment of management in the late 19th century. The findings are related to the conservation of the wider western oakwood resource.

No description available.

This work examined the use of passivation polymers in the conservation of severely damaged paper. It specifically investigated the use of this functional polymer treatment to address the issues of damage to paper caused by waterlogging, mold, and internal acidity. Several experiments were designed and conducted to examine the effects of the polymers in the conservation of papers compromised by these conditions. Paper artifacts from the Bonfire Memorabilia Collection were selected and conserved using treatment protocols that included the use of the passivation polymers. The conservation of some of the damaged papers from this culturally important site demonstrated the effectiveness of the polymer treatment in real-world conservation situations. This dissertation established that the use of passivation polymers adds strength and stability to severely damaged paper.

Thesis (doctoral)--FernUniversität, Hagen, 2006/2007. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. [369]-386) and index.

Thesis (M. Env. St.)--University of Adelaide, Mawson Graduate Centre for Environmental Studies, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-150).

Thesis (M. Env. Sc.)--University of Adelaide, Mawson Graduate Centre for Environmental Studies, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-134).