I am very happy to be in Lijiang on behalf of the World Monuments Fund in order to learn more about this interesting and important place. I have wanted to see this area for most of my life since General Claire Chennault of the ‘Flying Tigers’ lived near my hometown of Monroe, Louisiana.

I would like to make a few points about an aspect of Cultural Heritage Conservation about which very little has been said thus far in the conference. I refer to the conservation of Yunnan’s architectural heritage.

The built legacy of a place tells volumes about history and folkways, and provides valuable information for both modern inhabitants and builders. Local solutions for producing successful habitats usually reflect honest, effective, and often innovative responses to local environmental conditions and special needs. The size and shape of traditional buildings, their placement, their orientation, construction materials, roof design and arrangement of openings have withstood the tests of time, and are thus instructive in many ways, Such building customs reflect the unique character of the place, the result being that each village, town or city has its own unique identity. Like people, no two places are exactly alike.

If a place has a distinct and authentic architectural heritage, it is wasteful to do anything other than utilize and feature it. There are thousands of examples around the world of where subscribing to this belief has proved to be a wise choice.

In countries such as China, India, Egypt, Turkey and Italy which are especially well endowed with a rich cultural heritage, the sheer quantity of traces of the past, especially in the form of historic buildings, might give the impression that these resources are expendable. Viewing historic buildings as obstacles to progress has, in recent years, been seriously questioned. Instead authentic historic buildings and sites, including cultural landscapes, are being seen as priceless assets which are well worth accomodating in the designs and operations of modern towns. When such resources are managed carefully the rewards can be vast. The more imaginative activists, architects, planners and government officials have given us many examples of how this can be done.

The question is often asked "How can the cultural heritage of a place, in all its forms, be successfully integrated into modern lifestyles?" The main answers lie in: education, public awareness, participation of all levels of society, financial support from both the private and public sectors, legislation and its effective administration, and the planning of projects which can be self-sustaining. Based on our discussions over the past three days, I would like to offer the following ideas and suggestions:

1) Add architectural conservation to the agenda as a key element of future discussions and planning. By doing so I think more people will relate to the cause of the U.S. China Arts Exchange. Unless we tie ecological conservation and the preservation of folkways to saving architectural heritage, the battle will be lost in the long run, if it gets off the ground at all.

2) It seems that Yunnan Province should be valued more fully both within China and beyond. If it is not being done already, Beijing should absolutely treat Yunnan as a special situation, granting it special concessions and protection, and, above all, not pressure local planners and administrators to exploit Yunnan’s cultural and natural resources aggressively in a head-long drive toward modernization.

The modernization of Yunnan province and conservation of its resources should be planned with a much longer time horizon -not just an eight year political term, or the length of one generation, but over terms of 50 or 100 years.

3) I tend to favor the protectionist approach toward conserving all forms of cultural and natural heritage of Yunnan. I agree with the comment made on Tuesday that as a first stance, the whole province should be treated as a museum. Within such a planning approach, of course, modernization could be, and would be, accommodated. Needless to say, the living arts would be fostered.

I might mention in closing one program of the World Monuments Fund which might be of help in protecting the most significant buildings and sites. It is called the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites. This program is designed to draw attention to and provide help for seriously endangered sites.

The World Monuments Fund is a not-for-profit private organization based in New York devoted to advocating the conservation of the world’s significant architectural heritage. Established in 1966, the World Monuments Fund has played an essential role in restoring and preserving over 250 buildings and sites in 87 countries. In many cases the World Monuments Fund can provide funding to architectural conservation projects on a case by case basis. We almost always rely on some degree of public and private partnership.

In 1996 The world Monument Fund established the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites. This list changes every two years. The 2000-2001 list of most endangered sites was announced on September 11, 1999 in New York. All kinds of man-built cultural sites are eligible for listing and anyone can make nominations. A local government endorsement of nominations is required if a site is to receive assistance through the World Monuments Watch Grant Program. Last year a total of 4.2 million US$ was granted to World Monuments Watch sites.

The World Monuments Watch has done much to help the World Monuments Fund organization to work in new places, meet new colleagues, and discover new methods of effective cultural heritage conservation. In China sites that have been or are currently on the World Monuments Watch List include: the archeological site of San Xing Dui and Palpung Monastery in Sichuan Province, the Temple of Agriculture at Xiannongtan in Beijing, Nameseling Manor in Drachi in Tibet, and a temple from the Ming Period in Yuci City in Shanxi Province.

WMF would to become more involved with architetural conservation in China, and is pleased to be at this conference, with gratitude to our hosts, for that purpose.