Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam - Kampong Ayer has good prospects to be successfully listed as a World Heritage Site as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) is keen to see more representation from Southeast Asian states on the list, said an official from the Municipal Department.
"We are in the very initial stages of discussing the possibility of Kg Ayer becoming a candidate," Lim Hooi Siang disclosed to The Brunei Times recently. Currently, Southeast Asian sites occupy only 30 spaces on the list, out of the 890 World heritage Sites recognised by Unesco.
Lim is part of a team spearheading Kg Ayer’s potential nomination to the World Heritage List, which will most likely fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
"The idea came about from recommendations from the consultants of the BSB Development Masterplan, and from there it has evolved into a dialogue," said Lim.
Last month, representatives, from relevant government ministries and agencies met to discuss Kg Ayer’s potential candidacy as a World Heritage Site. Some of the potential benefits discussed included the possibility to create jobs and income for local residents.
Lim also mentioned that the Brunei Economic Development Board is spearheading a project to build a restaurant and commercial complex in the water village, suggesting the possibility of private sector participation in Kg Ayer tourism-related development.
Robert Marshall, senior vice-president of HOK Planning, one of the firms consulting on the BSB Masterplan, said that recognition from Unesco would raise the national and international profile of Kg Ayer. Sites that appear in the Unesco campaign will attract more tourists from home and abroad as well as the prospect of foreign investment, he told The Brunei Times recently.
To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of "outstanding universal value" and meet at least one out of 10 criteria determined by Unesco.
Lim said that two of the criteria could apply to Kg Ayer, firstly number (iii), which states that a site should bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation which is living or which has disappeared.
Lim stated that "Kg Ayer represents a remarkable living cultural landscape that bears testimony to the ancient kingdom on water which at its height held authority over the region," which is sufficient to fulfil this criterion.
Secondly, criteria number (v) states that a site should be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures) or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. In this respect, Lim said the water village is "a unique example of a traditional human settlement existing on its riverine site since 500CE".
However, Kg Ayer’s candidacy as a World Heritage Site does face certain challenges.
There are several steps that need to be taken even before making an official application to Unesco’s World Heritage Committee, said Lim.
Firstly, Brunei must ratify the 1972 World Heritage Convention, so that sites may be eligible for inscription on the Unesco World Heritage List.
Secondly, Brunei Darussalam must take an inventory of its cultural and natural properties and submit a Tentative List of potential sites to be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List. From there one site can be submitted for World Heritage nomination.
Lim explained that based on experience elsewhere, a nomination dossier will take at least one to two years to prepare. This also includes the preparation of a Heritage Management Plan which involves intensive research, documentation, stakeholder consultations and community participation.
A Heritage Management Plan would address how the site is protected, regulated, managed and improved. It would address environmental and sanitation issues, physical maintenance, as well as socio-cultural and economic development of the site.
"The main challenge is getting the ‘Kampong Ayer Story’ right and telling it to the world. We must be able to bring out its Outstanding Universal Values and highlight its intangible aspects, such as its socio-cultural significance," said Lim.
Although the water village is a testament to Brunei’s origins, it faces a host of problems such as pollution and lack of sanitation, structural integrity of the ageing, wooden buildings, development constraints and population decline. The current population of 12,500 is less than half the number of residents recorded in Kampong Ayer in 1981. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times
Source: http://www.brudirect.com
