Monday 22 July 2013

Team America Strikes Again - Bombing the Great Barrier Reef

In an incident worthy of Team America: World Police', the US has bombed the Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage Site:

US jets dropped four dummy bombs into fifty feet of water.  The incident occurred during a joint US-Australia training exercise off the Queensland coast, during which a planned drop of bombs on to a range had to be aborted, leading the jets to conduct an "emergency jettison" of the dummy weapons.
The incident draws attention to the legal status of World Heritage Sites: what practical legal mechanisms are there in practice to protect such sites?

Designation as a WHS does not, of itself, ensure that a site is protected: that's obvious from destruction of other sites, most infamously the Bamayan Buddhas.   The site of the Australian training exercise is in Shoalwater Bay, the coast of which is part of the GBR WHS. In 2005 the Australian federal government signed a long-term agreement with the US over the use of the Bay for military training.  The fragility of WHSs, particularly those of nature, is starkly exposed by reckless militarism.  Here's an article by the Global Policy Forum, documenting the impact of the US military invasion and occupation of Iraq.  

Friday 19 July 2013

Fracking Hell

The British Government is to give significant tax breaks to companies involved in the extraction of shale gas through the controversial 'fracking' process:

Much of the debate about 'fracking' focuses on the environmental impact of gas extraction: environmental groups argue that fracking causes water contamination and earth tremors, as well as diverting attention from the need to develop renewable energy sources.  Another key question is, "What impact does and could fracking have on heritage sites and community heritage?"  These questions are being asked at the international level: UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has expressed concerns about the impact of fracking on the Gros Morne National Park in Canada. 

The tensions between economic development and heritage protection runs through the complex relationship between law and heritage.  Is law an agent of economic development or a mechanism for protecting community cohesion and tradition?  Can law be both?

These issues are explored in two good films: Gus Van Sant's 'Promised Land' (starring Matt Damon as the friendly face of capitalism) and the documentary film Gasland.

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Fly Me To The Moon

Plans are afoot in the USA to turn parts of the moon into a national park:
 

A Bill before Congress (The Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act) would ""endow the artifacts as a National Historic Park, thereby asserting unquestioned ownership rights over the Apollo lunar landing artifacts."  

Lots of issues arise from this:
- the motivation behind the Bill seems to be to protect US property left on the moon from future 'space tourists'.  Items left there by successive Apollo missions include moon buggies, parts of the Apollo 11 lunar lander and, of course, golf balls.
- However, the US is a signatory to the UN's 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which provides (amongst other things) that "outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claims of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means."
- We have then a familiar clash between national claims to heritage and international mechanisms for heritage protection.  Here, in most spectacular and celestial fashion, is the tension between notions of "the common heritage of mankind" and definitions by nation-states to have ownership and exclusive rights over property.

Fortunately, unlike so many heritage-protection issues back on Earth, this one seems not to be a conflict in need of urgent resolution...

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Gorillas in Our Midst

In local news, a gorilla sculpture in Norwich painted as Freddie Mercury has been removed outside the Forum in the heart of the city: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-23226366

The sculpture was part of a public art trail consisting of 53 life-size gorillas, created by Go Go Gorillas.
Lawyers acting for the Freddie Mercury estate have advised that the depiction of the distinctive yellow 'suit' worn by the gorilla breaches copyright.
The heavy-handed approach of the copyright holders raises interesting issues about how communities celebrate and express both their own local heritage and national history.  Many local people and tourists are enjoying the sculpture trail in the glorious Norfolk sunshine, but the dead-weight of intellectual property law has prevented a humorous sculpture from being enjoyed by the local community: local reaction has been overwhelmingly one of bemusement as to why such a sculpture, enjoyed by so many, has to be removed from public view.  
The art trail is also part of an effort to raise money for two charities: Break and the Born Free Foundation.    
Let's hope that the other gorillas can stay in place and that we won't have to say, "Another One Bites The Dust..."
And let's hope the blog-puns improve...

Friday 5 July 2013

Earl's Court Demolition: A Case for Listing?

The famous exhibition centre and venue for some of the 2012 Olympic events, Earl's Court Exhibition Centre, is going to be demolished.  A campaign group is arguing agains the move and wants the building listed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23175255

Is there a case for listing here?  English Heritage's criteria for listing are:
  • Grade I buildings are of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important; only 2.5% of listed buildings are Grade I
  • Grade II* buildings are particularly important buildings of more than special interest; 5.5% of listed buildings are Grade II*
  • Grade II buildings are nationally important and of special interest; 92% of all listed buildings are in this class and it is the most likely grade of listing for a home owner.