by Szeto Hiu Yan

The World Monuments Fund (WMF) select sites that are under threat on its watch list once every 2yrs. 3 days ago, they announced the 2014 list which included 67 sites from 41 countries selected from a list of 248 applications.

At a news conference held on location yesterday, a.t.BB (All Things Bukit Brown) said that the successful listing did not imply that it is putting pressure on the government or is attempting to block the impending construction of the road which would affect some graves.

As one of the founders of atBB, Claire Lim said “I hope to use this opportunity open a dialogue with the government and find a sustainable path to development.  I do not think that conservation of heritage monuments and development  has to be confrontational. On the contrary, we hope that conservation can aid development and vice-versa. “

She pointed out that at present, talks about development and conservation are always framed in terms of trade-offs –  e.g. do we want to keep land for our ancestors or make room for our descendants. Why do we not talk about other issues, e.g. are we not willing to let go of a site that could potentially be a world heritage site? In the face of global warming and the need for nature to maintain stable temperatures, can we afford to lose a site of certain environmental value to us?

Claire is of the opinion that government and society should take this opportunity to reframe the conversation and exercise our mutual imaginations to allow more perspectives to bear on this matter. This frame of mind will expand the possibilities in our dialogue.

a.t.BB also shared its plans for Bukit Brown in their application to WWF.  They hope to collaborate with National Heritage Board (NHB) and NParks and turn Bukit Brown into a cultural heritage site and a nature park to attract visits.  Bukit Brown will retain most of its original state with the addition of basic facilities such as rest rooms. a.t.BB will continue to provide free guided walks and to increase its community outreach especially towards the young.

With the listing, a.t.BB hope to heighten overall public awareness of BB’s repository of cultural heritage both locally and abroad.  E.g. instead of expensive overseas trips to learn about culture and heritage , educational institutions could look first at visits to local sites. a.t.BB also hopes to promote edu-tourism by attracting more visits by foreign students and overseas academic scholars.

As the a.t.BB current expenses are still manageable, it does not have any plan to apply for WWF funding.

According to Catherine Lim, another founder, WMF routinely provides  assistance to countries that wish to elevate WMF sites to UNESCO sites.  She therefore hopes that Singapore’s current UNESCO application for Botanical Gardens could in future be twinned with Bukit Brown to increase the chances for both sites to be listed. a.t.BB also hopes that it could work closely with Penang and Malacca as UNSECO sites, to raise the profiles of both countries’ cultural heritage

Catherine said that since the founding of BB in Dec 2011, over 7,000 people have been acquainted with Bukit Brown, through the free tours conducted by it. a.t.BB could also learn from the other WMF listed sites about how to raise awareness of BB.

The report first appeared in Zaobao on 11 October 2013 and is translated by Brownie Fabian Tee.

Zaobao’s  Sunday 13 October round-up of quotable quotes also  included the quote by Claire Leow:

“I absolutely do not think that the dialogue between preservation and development is necessarily confrontational. I hope that preservation of cultural heritage can aid urban development and vice-Versa.” – said co-founder of all things Bukit Brown Claire Leow who expressed the hope that that the listing of BB in the World Monuments Watch 2014 would open more channels of dialogue to find a common path for sustainable development.

Zaobao round-up of quotes for 13 October 2013

The Chinese report follows:

武吉布朗学会： 武吉布朗列世遗观察名单并非向政府施压

司徒晓昕　报道
szetohy@sph.com.sg

武吉布朗坟场成功列入世界历史遗址观察名单后，负责申遗的武吉布朗学会希望它接下来能获得更多本地和外国人的关注，促进更多本地社群参加保留文化遗产的活动，以及推动本地教育和文化旅游。

世界历史遗址基金会（World Monuments Foundation）每两年选出濒危的世界遗产，将之列入观察名单。基金会三天前公布了2014年世界历史遗址观察名单（World Monuments Watch），共有41个国家和地区的67处文化遗址从248份申请书脱颖而出。
武吉布朗学会（All Things Bukit Brown）昨早在武吉布朗举行的记者会上表示，武吉布朗成功申列世界历史遗址观察名单，并不意味着要向政府施压或阻止部分坟墓让路给明年初展开的道路建造工程。

学会创办人之一廖雪珠说：“我们希望趁此机会展开更多对话，一起找出更具永续的发展方式。不过，我绝对不认为保留文化遗产和城市发展的对话应该是对立的。我希望保存文化遗产能协助城市发展，反之亦然。”

她指出：“我们在讨论这个课题时总要提到权衡的问题，而这最后往往延伸辩论要给子孙留下更多居住空间，还是保留先人安息的空间。我们为何不能谈谈其他问题，例如我们是否愿意失去一个有可能成为世界历史遗址的地方？在本地因全球暖化而更需要大自然来维持气温稳定的情况下，我们是否愿意失去一个对本地有一定环境价值的地方？”
廖雪珠因此认为，政府和社群应趁此机会重塑对话的方式，大家应该发挥想象力扩大这个课题的视角，找出更多对话的可能性。

武吉布朗学会也叙述了申列过程中，向世界历史遗址基金会提出的未来计划。他们希望能与文物局和国家公园局合作，把武吉布朗打造成一个文化遗产和自然公园，吸引更多人到访。公园将尽量保留坟场目前的面貌，并在入口处增添一些基本设施如厕所。学会也会继续提供免费导览团，希望增加与社区的合作，尤其是年轻人。
如今武吉布朗列入了观察名单，学会希望这能提高国人和国际人士对这个文化遗迹的认识。例如，为学生策划活动时，本地教育机构可以借助国内的文化遗址，而不是优先考虑让学生参加昂贵的海外游学团。学会也希望吸引更多海外的学生和学者探访武吉布朗，从而推动本地的教育旅游。
由于学会目前的经费不高，因此不打算向世界历史遗址基金会申请资金。
另一名创办人林雪芳说，世界历史遗址一向为希望申列世界遗产名录的国家提供申遗准备工作的协助，他们因此希望武吉布朗将来能与新加坡植物园，提高申列联合国教科文组织（UNESCO）世界遗产名录的胜算。他们甚至希望能与列入世界遗产名录的槟城和马六甲有更紧密的合作，一起提高两国文化遗址的知名度。

她说：“学会自2011年12月创立后开始提供免费导览团，至今已让超过7000人认识武吉布朗。我们也可从其他列入观察名单的国家，学习如何让更多人认识武吉布朗。”

武吉布朗学会希望在武吉布朗坟场成功申列世界历史遗址观察名单后，
本地和外国人对武吉布朗的认识能有所提高。（谢智扬摄）