Wood conservation program

A meeting was organized at ICCROM, Rome, to discuss the future
development of a Programme in the Conservation of Wooden Heritage,
12 January 1996. The participants of the meeting included: Nils
Marstein (Riksantikvaren, Norway), Knut Einar Larsen (ICOMOS Wood
Committee), Shuji Matsumoto and Kazuo Shinohara (TNRICP, Japan),
Andrea Urland and Jukka Jokilehto (ICCROM). The meeting made the
following recommendations:

Aim of Programme:

Considering the present ecological situation in the world, wood as
building material is becoming an increasingly important issue. The
aim of the meeting was to propose the development of an
international programme on the conservation of this heritage.

It is proposed that such a programme should be based on
international collaboration, involving international organizations,
ICCROM, ICOMOS (Wood Committee, Training Committee), UNESCO, as well
as individual countries: Japan, Norway, and others.

Objectives of Programme:

It is proposed that the programme be organized in two phases. The
first phase, concluded by August 1997 (before the General Assembly
of ICCROM), will include the following actions:

    1.  the preparation of a survey on the present situation and
        needs in the world context,

    2.  the development of a coherent strategy and action plan
        related to training, research and technical cooperation in
        this field.

On the basis of the outcome of this first phase, a more
comprehensive programme is suggested to be developed, and
implemented in the second phase (such as a four-year plan for
1998-2001).

Nature of Programme:

The wood conservation programme is suggested to deal with movable
and immovable cultural heritage, as follows:

    *   urban and rural areas with structures entirely or partially
        built in wood;

    *   buildings and sites constructed in wood;

    *   architectural elements in wood, both decorative and
        structural;

    *   movable objects, such as furniture, ethnographic heritage
        and works of art;

    *   archaeological finds, such as water-logged wood;

    *   ships, boats.

In addition, the programme should take into account:

    *   the socio-cultural context;

    *   the issue of sustainable development and environmental
        impact;

    *   exploration and documentation of 'hidden knowledge' in the
        heritage.

Suggested actions:

    1.  Communication: Formation of a working group including the
        participants of the meeting.

    2.  Awareness: Taking into account that the cultural-historical
        significance of wood as building material is often
        neglected, it is proposed that serious consideration be
        given to programmes raising awareness in this regard.

    3.  Survey: It is proposed that a joint action be undertaken in
        order to clarify the current situation; this should include:

        *   preparation of a questionnaire on the issues to be
            included in the survey (joint action on the basis of the
            Maghreb survey);

        *   identification of persons and/or institutions willing to
            collaborate in the survey by providing information on
            their own country/region (members of ICOMOS Wood
            Committee, Training Committee, etc.);

        *   preparation of a summary of the outcome of the survey
            (joint action by the working group);

        *   preparation of a list of existing training programmes
            dealing with wooden heritage in the different countries
            based on the ICCROM Training Index, and identification
            of areas where training should be developed (ICCROM and
            the working group);

    4.  Strategy and Action Plan: On the basis of the outcome of the
        survey, it is proposed to prepare a draft strategy and
        action plan for the second phase of the programme, defining
        the target groups and securing financial resources. This
        document should be presented and discussed in an appropriate
        international context.

    5.  Projects to be included in the programme:

        *   International Course on Wood Conservation Technology,
            Norway (1996, 1998, 2000);

        *   International Conference on 'Sustainable development of
            wooden urban habitat', Trondheim 1997;

        *   International bibliography on wood conservation to be
            edited, updated and refined (ICCROM);

        *   Development of relevant didactic material (joint
            action);

    6.  Further actions should include:

        *   Preparation of potential wood conservation courses in
            different regions;

        *   Introduction of teaching of wood conservation and
            traditional crafts in relevant international, regional
            and local training programmes;

        *   Encourage relevant research, technical cooperation and
            exchange of information in the field.

For further information:

    http://www.icomos.org/iccrom/
    http://www.icomos.org/iccrom/wood96.html
    ICCROM e-mail: mc5356 [at] mclink__it

Peter Stott

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 9:55
                Distributed: Wednesday, January 17, 1996
                        Message Id: cdl-9-55-003
                                  ***