Global Heritage Fund
Encyclopedia
Global Heritage Fund is a non-profit organization
that operates internationally. Its mission statement says that it exists to protect and preserve significant and endangered cultural heritage sites in the developing world, through scientific excellence and community development. GHF specifically focuses its funding and conservation efforts on the developing world because of the scarce human and technical resources in those countries to protect their historical treasures, and for the economic promise heritage sites have as community-based, responsibly-managed tourist destinations.
Founded in California in 2002, GHF has since invested over $25 million and secured $20 million in co-funding for 19 global heritage sites to ensure their sustainable preservation and responsible development. Its "Preservation by Design" model guides each selected heritage project through an integrated process of community-based planning, science, development and partnerships to enable long-term sustainable preservation and responsible development of global heritage sites.
(* indicates a UNESCO
World Heritage Site)
(* indicates a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
, an early warning and threats monitoring system that uses satellite imaging technology and ground reporting to enable international experts and local conservation leaders to clearly identify and solve imminent threats within the legal core and protected areas of each site.
. The report surveys 500 major archaeological and heritage sites in developing countries to evaluate current loss and destruction, conservation and development. It identifies nearly 200 of these sites as"At Risk” or “Under Threat,” and 12 as “On the Verge” of irreparable loss and destruction. The Vanishing report stated that there were five accelerating man-made threats facing global heritage sites in developing countries: development pressures, unsustainable tourism, insufficient management, looting, and war and conflict.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that operates internationally. Its mission statement says that it exists to protect and preserve significant and endangered cultural heritage sites in the developing world, through scientific excellence and community development. GHF specifically focuses its funding and conservation efforts on the developing world because of the scarce human and technical resources in those countries to protect their historical treasures, and for the economic promise heritage sites have as community-based, responsibly-managed tourist destinations.
Founded in California in 2002, GHF has since invested over $25 million and secured $20 million in co-funding for 19 global heritage sites to ensure their sustainable preservation and responsible development. Its "Preservation by Design" model guides each selected heritage project through an integrated process of community-based planning, science, development and partnerships to enable long-term sustainable preservation and responsible development of global heritage sites.
GHF projects
Projects are selected by GHF's Senior Advisory Board. GHF states that selection is based on a number of factors, including cultural significance of site, need of country or region in question, and high potential for sustainable preservation through community involvement.Current projects
Based on information from their website, GHF has 13-14 currently active projects:- Banteay ChhmarBanteay ChhmarBanteay Chhmar is a commune in Thma Puok District in Banteay Meanchey province in northwest Cambodia. It is located 63 km north of Sisophon and about 20 km east of the Thai border...
, CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia... - Chavín de Huántar*Chavín de HuantarChavín de Huántar is an archaeological site containing ruins and artifacts constructed beginning at least by 1200 BCE and occupied by later cultures until around 400-500 BCE by the Chavín, a major pre-Inca culture. The site is located north of Lima, Peru, at an elevation of , east of the...
, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... - Ciudad PerdidaCiudad PerdidaCiudad Perdida is the archaeological site of an ancient city in Sierra Nevada, Colombia. It is believed to have been founded about 800 AD, some 650 years earlier than Machu Picchu...
, ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the... - Cyrene*Cyrene, LibyaCyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
, LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.... - Fujian Tulous*Fujian TulouFujian Tulou is a type of Chinese rural dwellings of the Hakka and others in the mountainous areas in southeastern Fujian, China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries....
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... - Göbekli TepeGöbekli TepeGöbekli Tepe [ɡøbe̞kli te̞pɛ] is a hilltop sanctuary erected on the highest point of an elongated mountain ridge in southeastern Turkey, some northeast of the town of Şanlıurfa . It is the oldest human-made religious structure yet discovered...
, TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... - Hampi*HampiHampi is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - Indus Heritage CentreIndus Valley CivilizationThe Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - MarcahuamachucoMarcahuamachucoMarcahuamachuco is a site of Pre-Incan ruins in the La Libertad Region of Peru. Although less known, it has been referred to by archaeologists as "Machu Picchu of the North" and "The Jewel of La Libertad."-History:...
, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... - MiradorEl MiradorEl Mirador is a large pre-Columbian Mayan settlement, located in the north of the modern department of El Petén, Guatemala.-Discovery:El Mirador was first discovered in 1926, and was photographed from the air in 1930, but the remote site deep in the jungle had little more attention paid to it until...
, GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast... - Pingyao*PingyaoPingyao is a Chinese city and county in central Shanxi province, China. It lies about 715 km from Beijing and 80 km from the provincial capital, Taiyuan. During the Qing Dynasty, Pingyao was a financial center of China...
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... - UrUrUr was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
, IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.... - Wat Phu*, LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
- IntramurosIntramurosIntramuros is the oldest district in the present day city of Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines. Nicknamed the "Walled City", Intramuros is the historic fortified city of Manila, the seat ot the government during the Spanish Colonial Period. Its name in Latin, intramuros,...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
(* indicates a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site)
Completed projects
GHF has ended its work on six sites:- ÇatalhöyükÇatalhöyükÇatalhöyük was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BCE to 5700 BCE...
, TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... - Foguang Temple*Foguang TempleFoguang Temple is a Buddhist temple located five kilometres from Doucun, Wutai County, Shanxi Province of China. The major hall of the temple is the Great East Hall, built in 857 AD, during the Tang Dynasty . According to architectural records, it is the third earliest preserved timber structure...
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... - IzborskIzborskIzborsk is a rural locality in Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It contains one of the most ancient and impressive fortresses of Western Russia....
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... - KarsKarsKars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
, TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... - Lijiang*, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
- My Son*, VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
(* indicates a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Global Heritage Network
In 2010, GHF launched Global Heritage Network (GHN)Global Heritage Network
Global Heritage Network , established by Global Heritage Fund , is an early warning and threats monitoring system for cultural heritage sites in developing countries...
, an early warning and threats monitoring system that uses satellite imaging technology and ground reporting to enable international experts and local conservation leaders to clearly identify and solve imminent threats within the legal core and protected areas of each site.
Saving Our Vanishing Heritage
In October 2010, GHF released a report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage: Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage Sites in the Developing WorldSaving Our Vanishing Heritage
Saving Our Vanishing Heritage: Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage Sites in the Developing World was a report released by Global Heritage Fund on October 17, 2010...
. The report surveys 500 major archaeological and heritage sites in developing countries to evaluate current loss and destruction, conservation and development. It identifies nearly 200 of these sites as