Atlas of Remote Sensing for World Heritage: China

Abstract:

World Heritage sites are recognized by all humanity as possessing outstanding significance and universal value as cultural relics, monuments, and natural landscapes. They represent rare and irreplaceable treasures of humankind, serving as "material evidence" for understanding the evolutionary history of the Earth, recognizing the development of human civilization, and appreciating the customs and cultures of different peoples. They carry profound implications and roles in knowledge dissemination, cultural inheritance, and spiritual inspiration, while also contributing uniquely to global peace and security.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized that cultural and natural heritage sites worldwide are increasingly threatened by degradation due to natural processes and human activities. In November 1972, UNESCO adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (referred to as the Convention) in Paris, France. The Convention emphasizes that the international community as a whole bears the responsibility to participate in the protection of cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value through collective assistance. It advocates for the development of scientific and technological research and the adoption of appropriate scientific, technical, and other measures to achieve effective protection, preservation, and presentation of cultural and natural heritage.

Advances in space-based Earth observation technology have provided humanity with a platform to understand World Heritage sites from space, underscoring the necessity of spatial information technologies for their monitoring and protection. In October 2009, the 35th UNESCO General Conference approved a proposal from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to establish an international center for space technologies on Chinese territory. This center would utilize such technologies to support work in the fields of natural and cultural heritage, biosphere reserves, climate change, and natural disasters, while also promoting education for sustainable development. In June 2011, UNESCO and the Chinese government signed an agreement to establish the International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage (HIST). HIST is hosted by the Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth (CEODE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is one of the leading domestic and international research institutions in space-based Earth observation. Therefore, I am not only delighted that HIST has become a member of the UNESCO family but also confident in the contributions HIST will make to UNESCO’s mission.