Natural Disaster and Intangible Heritage: Beyond the Horizon

When 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal in 2015, many monuments, temples and houses turned into rubbles killing more than 8,000 people and injuring above 21,000. This unfortunate and tragic natural disaster brought international attention to Nepal. But in this time of despair and pain there was a sign of hope that should be acknowledged well, the spirit of community facing the disaster. This paper is about the indigenous community of Kathmandu on how they organized an important traditional festival just four months after the disaster when most the people were still living in the makeshifts, along with the smaller aftershock continuing almost everyday. In the country like Nepal with numerous intangible heritages, which is, still living is not taken seriously by the concerned authorities and mostly been neglected. It is the indigenous community who has been carrying out those heritages, as they are inseparable aspect of the social life. With this paper it tries look at the community involvement and intangible heritage of Kathmandu Valley, which is a part of my PhD research thesis.

Linking heritage: Yenya Punhi Festival a path to reinforce identity. The Katmandu experience

In today’s world heritage worldwide are at the risk not only because of natural process of decay and destruction but also by social change like urbanization, globalization and homogenization of cultures. With these emerging problems, the heritage conservation discourse also has reached to a new dimension including broader range of concepts like tangible heritage, intangible heritage, community participation, indigenous knowledge and many more. Even with the changing scenario in the international context about the heritage conservation, Nepal’s heritage conservation still focus on monuments, sites and buildings. In add to that the conservation practices are still top-down approach and community involvements are limited only in plans. While numerous intangible heritages like masking dances chariot processions, festivals and rituals, which form an integral part of the daily social life of people are still being continued and managed by the community and its people, without with out serious attention form the government. In Kathmandu Valley these heritages has been maintained with the traditional social association of people known as “Guthi” which has been continuing since 5th Century. Most of the tangible and intangible heritages have survived for centuries because of this unique association of people. Among the numerous festivals of the Kathmandu Valley, the festival Yenya Punhi was chosen as a case for this study, which is also a major festival of Kathmandu. This festival is the perfect example for the study as its celebrated in the city that is the most urbanized city of Nepal with the challenges of the every modern city like social changes and urbanization. Despite modern challenges Guthi still plays a major role in the heritage conservation in Kathmandu Valley. Now there are some interventions of the various formal institutions. So this study will be focusing on the management, continuity and problems of the festival along with Nepal’s position in terms of intangible heritage conservation. The problem of Kathmandu and Yenya Punhi festival is the problem of every country in the similar situation so with this case study it can be a good example for finding solutions of the similar problem not only the other festivals within Nepal but also elsewhere in the world; Resumo: Conexão de Património: Festival Yenya Punhi um caminho de fortalecimento de identidade: A experiência de Catmandu Nos dias de hoje, os patrimónios mundiais encontram-se em risco, não só devido ao processo natural de degradação e destruição, mas também pelas mudanças sociais, tais como a urbanização, globalização e homogeneização de culturas. Com o emergir destes problemas, o discurso de conservação de Património atingiu também uma nova dimensão, incluíndo uma área mais abrangente de conceitos, como por exemplo, património material, património imaterial, participação da comunidade, conhecimento indígena, entre outros. Mesmo com este cenário de mudança no contexto mundial de conservação do património, a preservação do património do Nepal continua a focar-se em monumentos, sítios e edíficios. A acrescentar a isso, as práticas de conservação ainda têm uma abordagem descendente e os envolvimentos da comunidade são limitados por planificações. Enquanto que os numerosos patrimónios imateriais como danças com máscaras, procissões, festivais e rituais, os quais formam uma parte integral da vida diária social das pessoas que as continuam e as gerem em comunidade, sem uma atenção séria por parte do governo. No Vale de Catmandu, este património tem sido mantido pela associação tradicional de pessoas conhecidas como ''Guthi'' desde o século V. A maior parte destes patrimónios materiais e imateriais tem sobrevivido durante séculos graças a esta associação única de pessoas. Entre os numerosos festivais do Vale de Catmandu, o festival Yenya Puhni foi escolhido para este estudo, pois é também um grande festival em Catmandu. Este festival é o exemplo perfeito para este estudo, pois é celebrado na cidade mais urbanizada do Nepal, com os desafios das cidades modernas tais como mudanças sociais e urbanização. Apesar dos desafios da modernização, os ''Guthi'' ainda desempenham um papel importante na preservação do património do Vale de Catmandu. Agora, existem algumas intervenções de várias instituições formais Então, este estudo irá focar-se na gestão, continuidade e problemas do festival, juntamente com a posição do Nepal em termos de conservação de património imaterial. O problema de Catmandu e do festival Yenya Punhi é o problema de todos os países em situação semelhante então, este estudo pode ser um bom exemplo para encontrar soluções de problemas parecidos, não só em outros festivais no Nepal mas também para qualquer parte do mundo.

Green mitigation strategy for cultural heritage: bacterial potential for biocide production

Several biosurfactants with antagonistic activity are produced by a variety of microorganisms. Lipopeptides (LPPs) produced by some Bacillus strains, including surfactin, fengycin and iturin are synthesized nonribosomally by mega-peptide synthetase (NRPS) units and they are particularly relevant as antifungal agents. Characterisation, identification and evaluation of the potentials of several bacterial isolates were undertaken in order to establish the production of active lipopeptides against biodeteriogenic fungi from heritage assets. Analysis of the iturin operon revealed four open reading frames (ORFs) with the structural organisation of the peptide synthetases. Therefore, this work adopted a molecular procedure to access antifungal potential of LPP production by Bacillus strains in order to exploit the bioactive compounds synthesis as a green natural approach to be applied in biodegraded cultural heritage context. The results reveal that the bacterial strains with higher antifungal potential exhibit the same morphological and biochemical characteristics, belonging to the genera Bacillus. On the other hand, the higher iturinic genetic expression, for Bacillus sp. 3 and Bacillus sp. 4, is in accordance with the culture antifungal spectra. Accordingly, the adopted methodology combining antifungal screening and molecular data is represent a valuable tool for quick identification of iturin-producing strains, constituting an effective approach for confirming the selection of lipopeptides producer strains.

A first insight on the biodegradation of limestone - the case of the World Heritage Convent of Christ

The present study is a multidisciplinary approach applied to architectural stone materials of the Convent of Christ in Tomar (Portugal) in order to understand and mitigate the active decay processes. The structure and appearance of the stonework from the Convent of Christ are strongly affected by stains, biofilms and structural degradation. To investigate these phenomena, a multianalytical approach comprising X-ray microdiffraction, scanning electron microscopy, microRaman and microinfrared spectroscopy was applied to the examination of altered outdoor stone areas being detected calcium oxalates, carotenoids and microbial proliferation. The presence of these alteration products seems to be correlated with the microbial activity of bacteria, microalgae, cyanobacteria and filamentous fungi. This work showed that the application of complementary methodologies is an efficient strategy to characterise the stone decay, and constitute a starting point for successful conservation intervention plans that are urgent to ensure the preservation and safeguard of this emblematic monument.

Toxicological assessment of novel green biocides for cultural heritage.

The damaging of buildings and monuments by biological contamination is a cause of serious concern. Biocides based on chemical toxic compounds have been used to mitigate this problem. However, in the past decade many of the most effective biocides have been banned due to their environmental and health hazards. Therefore, proper remediation actions for microbiologically contaminated historic materials based on environmentally safe solution is of vital importance. Bacillus species are emerging as a promising alternative for built heritage treatment. They produce a great diversity of secondary metabolites with biological activity, well known to possess antagonistic activities against many fungal pathogens. In order to evaluate the antifungal activity of the novel biocides produced in our laboratory by cultures of selected bacterial strains, liquid interaction assays using four biodeteriogenic fungi were achieved, revealing a nearly 100% of inhibitory capacity to fungal proliferation. To confirm their effective safe toxicological properties, in vivo tests using two different biological models were performed. The lyophilized supernatant of the Bacillus culture broth showed no lethality against brine shrimp and also no toxicological effects in Swiss mice through administration of acute dose of 5000 mg/kg by oral gavage. In fact, the bioactive compounds were no lethal at the tested dose unlike Preventol® (commercial biocide) that induced acute toxicity with 10 times minor concentration dose administrated in the same conditions. Therefore, the new bioactive compounds that suppress growth of biodeteriogenic fungi on historical artworks, presenting at the same time no toxicity against other living organisms, constituting an efficient and green safe solution for biodegradation/biodeterioration treatment of Cultural Heritage.

Industrial Heritage: Atarazanas Market’s squares in Málaga

This abstract tries to make known one of the first attempts to recuperate the buildings heritage at the end of the 19th century in Spain: It’s called Atarazanas Market’s squares in Málaga, a marvellous Joaquín Rucoba’s architect work. It is one of the first examples in iron architecture in Spain which opted preservation building heritage from the respect of the place memory even in his last restoration.

Expenditure pattern analysis of cultural tourists at World Heritage Sites: an empirical evidence based on CHAID analysis

Nowadays, World Heritage Sites (WHS) have been facing new challenges, partially due to a different tourism consumption patterns. As it is highlighted in a considerable amount of studies, visits to these sites are almost justified by this prestigious classification and motivations are closely associated with their cultural aspects and quality of the overall environment (among others, Marujo et al, 2012). However, a diversity of tourists’ profiles have been underlined in the literature. Starting from the results obtained in a previous study about cultural tourists’ profile, conducted during the year 2009 in the city of Évora, Portugal, it is our intend to compare the results with a recent survey applied to the visitors of the same city. Recognition of Évora by UNESCO in 1986 as “World Heritage” has fostered not only the preservation of heritage but also the tourist promotion of the town. This study compares and examined tourists’ profile, regarding from the tourists’ expenditure patterns in Évora. A total of 450 surveys were distributed in 2009, and recently, in 2015, the same numbers of surveys were collected. Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) was applied to model consumer patterns of domestic and international visitors, based on socio demographic, trip characteristics, length of stay and the degree of satisfaction of pull factors. CHAID allowed find a population classification in groups that able to describe the dependent variable, average daily tourist expenditure. Results revealed different patterns of daily average expenditure amongst the years, 2009 and 2015, even if primarily results not revealed significant variations in socio-demographic and trip characteristics among the visitors’ core profile. Local authorities should be aware of this changing expensive behavior of cultural visitors and should formulate strategies accordingly. Policy and managerial recommendations are discussed.

Expenditure pattern analysis of cultural tourists at World Heritage Sites: empirical evidence based on CHAID analysis

This study investigates tourists’ expenditure patterns in the city of Évora, a world heritage site (WHS) classified by UNESCO. The use of chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID) was chosen, allowing the identification of distinct segments based on expenditure patterns. Visitors’ expenditure patterns have proven to be a pertinent element for a broader understanding of visitors’ behaviour at cultural destinations. Visitors’ expenditure patterns were revealed to be increasing within years studied.

Development and optimisation of protocols for surface cleaning of cultural heritage metals

The conservation and valorisation of cultural heritage is of fundamental importance for our society, since it is witness to the legacies of human societies. In the case of metallic artefacts, because corrosion is a never-ending problem, the correct strategies for their cleaning and preservation must be chosen. Thus, the aim of this project was the development of protocols for cleaning archaeological copper artefacts by laser and plasma cleaning, since they allow the treatment of artefacts in a controlled and selective manner. Additionally, electrochemical characterisation of the artificial patinas was performed in order to obtain information on the protective properties of the corrosion layers. Reference copper samples with different artificial corrosion layers were used to evaluate the tested parameters. Laser cleaning tests resulted in partial removal of the corrosion products, but the lasermaterial interactions resulted in melting of the desired corrosion layers. The main obstacle for this process is that the materials that must be preserved show lower ablation thresholds than the undesired layers, which makes the proper elimination of dangerous corrosion products very difficult without damaging the artefacts. Different protocols should be developed for different patinas, and real artefacts should be characterised previous to any treatment to determine the best course of action. Low pressure hydrogen plasma cleaning treatments were performed on two kinds of patinas. In both cases the corrosion layers were partially removed. The total removal of the undesired corrosion products can probably be achieved by increasing the treatment time or applied power, or increasing the hydrogen pressure. Since the process is non-invasive and does not modify the bulk material, modifying the cleaning parameters is easy. EIS measurements show that, for the artificial patinas, the impedance increases while the patina is growing on the surface and then drops, probably due to diffusion reactions and a slow dissolution of copper. It appears from these results that the dissolution of copper is heavily influenced by diffusion phenomena and the corrosion product film porosity. Both techniques show good results for cleaning, as long as the proper parameters are used. These depend on the nature of the artefact and the corrosion layers that are found on its surface.