Listing the Plain of Jars of Laos as World Heritage
Abstract
This article traces the process to inscribe Lao PDR’s Plain of Jars as a World Heritage (WH) Property, from a Tentative Listing in 1992 to the official inscription in 2019. After discussing the criteria for proposing eleven archaeological sites from a total inventory of 100 sites, and the Advisory Bodies’ evaluation, the article will summarise future challenges inherent in a WH listing, from increased visitation to tourism-led development. Local involvement and village contracts will be essential for day-to-day maintenance, as will protection through national and international instruments to preserve a property’s outstanding universal value on which this prestigious accolade is grante
References
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UNESCO. 2017. Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. 12 July 2017. WHC.17/01. Paris: UNESCO.
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Bouxaythip, S. 2011. The Significant Rock Art in the Lao P.D.R. Presented at the Training/Workshop on the Introduction to Rock Art Studies in Southeast Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, 2-13 May 2011.
Chapman, W. 2018. Ancient Sites of Southeast Asia. Bangkok: River Books.
Colani, M. 1935. Mégalithes du Haut-Laos (Hua Pan, Tran Ninh). XXV, Paris: EFEO.
Condominas, G. 2003. Safeguarding and Promoting the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Lao Minority Groups. In Laos and Ethnic Minority Cultures: Promoting Heritage (Y. Goudineau ed), pp. 19-26. Paris: UNESCO.
De Barthélemy, F.P. 1900. Le Laos 1897-99. Paris: Plon-Nourrit.
De Barthélemy, F.P. 1901. En Indo-Chine, 1896-1897. Paris: Plon-Nourrit.
De Reinach, L. 1906. Notes sur le Laos. Paris: Vuibert et Nony.
De Reinach, L. 1911. Le Laos. Paris: E. Guilmoto.
Genovese, L. 2015. The Plain of Jars of Laos - Beyond Madeleine Colani. PhD thesis, SOAS, University of London.
Genovese, L. 2016. The Plain of Jars in the Context of South and Southeast Asian Archaeology’. In Interpretative Studies on Southeast Asian Culture (W. Sucharithanarugse ed). Bangkok: Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University, pp. 83-134.
Genovese, L. 2019. Spirits of the Stone, from Landlocked Laos to Sabah, Insular Malaysia. Jurnal Arkeologi Malaysia, April 2019, 32/1, pp. 53-76.
Genovese, L. 2020. Widening the Geographical Reach of the Plain of Jars, Laos. Journal of Lao Studies, 7/1, December 2020, pp. 55-74.
Higham, C.F. 2002. Early Cultures of Mainland Southeast Asia. Bangkok: River Books.
ICOMOS. 2011. Guidance on Heritage Impact Assessments for Cultural World Heritage Properties. Paris: ICOMOS.
ICOMOS. 2019. Evaluations of Nominations of Cultural and Mixed Properties. Report for the World Heritage Committee, 43rd ordinary session, Baku, 30 June-10 July 2019, WHC-19/43.COM/INF.8B1. Paris: ICOMOS.
Jokilehto, J. 2008. The World Heritage List. What is OUV? An ICOMOS Study. Berlin: Hendrik Bäßler Verlag.
Jusoh, J. et al. 2014. The Challenges of Malay Cultural Heritage Products as a Tourist Attraction in Melaka. 12th APacCHRIE Conference 2014. Selangor, Malaysia, 21-24 May 2014.
Lao PDR. 2018. Megalithic Jars Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plain of Jars. World Heritage Nomination Volume 1. Submitted to the World Heritage Centre by HE Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of Lao PDR.
Madrolle, C. 1932. Indochine du Nord. Paris: Societé d’Éditions Géographiques (3rd edition).
McCarthy, J.F. 1900. Surveying and exploring in Siam. London: John Murray.
McCarthy, J.F. 1994. Surveying and exploring in Siam. Bangkok: White Lotus.
New Frontiers. 2006. Briefing on Tourism, Development and Environment Issues in the Mekong Subregion. Vol. 12, No. 3, May-June 2006.
O’Reilly, D. et al. 2019a. Research at megalithic jar site 52 and the discovery of new jar sites in Xiang Khouang Province, Laos. Asian Archaeology. Published online 25 June 2019.
O’Reilly, D. et al. 2019b. Excavating among the megaliths: recent research at the ‘Plain of Jars’ site 1 in Laos. Antiquity 93/370, pp. 970–989.
Parmentier, H. 1954. L’art du Laos (J. Leuba-Parmentier & R. Dalet eds). Paris: EFEO.
Pavie, A. 1902. Mission Pavie: INDO-CHINE 1879-1895. Géographie et Voyages V, Voyages dans le Haut Laos et sur les frontières de Chine et de Birmanie, par Pierre Lefèvre-Pontalis. Paris: Ernest Leroux.
Pedersen, A. 2002. Managing Tourism at World Heritage Sites: a Practical Manual for World Heritage Site Managers. Paris: UNESCO.
Raquez, A. 1902. Pages Laotiennes. Hanoi: F.H. Schneider.
Russier, H. 1931. L’Indochine française. Hanoi: Imprimerie d’Extrême-Orient.
Sayavongkhamdy, T. and P. Bellwood. 2000. Recent archaeological research in Laos. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (BIPPA), 19/3, pp. 101-110.
Schipani, S. 2008. The Effects of Tourism on Culture and the Environment in Asia and the Pacific: Alleviating Poverty and Protecting Cultural and Natural Heritage through Community-Based Ecotourism in Luang Namtha, Lao PDR. Bangkok: UNESCO (IMPACT series).
Silverman, H. 2017. Managing the Past, Engaging the Present: An Interview with Douglas C. Comer, President, ICAHM (ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Archaeological Heritage Management). American Anthropologist, 119/1, March 2017, pp. 122-125.
UNESCO. 1972. Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage - Adopted by the General Conference at its Seventeenth Session. Paris: UNESCO, 16 November 1972.
UNESCO. 2009a. World Heritage and Buffer Zones (O. Martin and G. Piatti eds). World Heritage Papers 25. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO. 2009b. A training manual for UNESCO-LNTA DoIC Guide Training Workshop at the Plain of Jars Archaeological Landscape, Lao PDR. Bangkok: UNESCO (draft version, May 2009).
UNESCO. 2017. Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. 12 July 2017. WHC.17/01. Paris: UNESCO.
WHC (World Heritage Committee). 2010. 34th session, Brasilia, Brazil, 25 July-3 August 2010, WHC-10/34.COM/9B. Paris: UNESCO, 31 May 2010.
WHC (World Heritage Committee). 2019. 43rd session, Baku, Azerbaijan, 30 June-10 July 2019, WHC/19/43.COM/18. Paris: UNESCO, 23 July 2019.
