Institutional dynamics and adaptive capacity in world heritage management: case studies from Southeast Asia

Abstract

Over the past 40 years, heritage site management institutions have had to contend with expanding “boundaries of practice”: the evolution of heritage concepts and the emergence of global and transnational threats and broader sustainable development issues. Yet, many heritage site management institutions are still mired in conventional heritage mandates and approaches. This study looks at the ability of World Heritage site management institutions to adapt to this changing landscape. Global monitoring exercises show that World Heritage sites are struggling with this increased complexity, with many sites under active monitoring, sometimes for years. The sluggishness of change suggests that a deeper understanding of the institutional dynamics and pathways of change is needed. Building on the literature on institutional change, this study focuses on adaptive capacity as the lens to understand the factors which support or inhibit change in the face of mounting pressures. Well-developed in the context of climate change, the concept of adaptive capacity has so far not been applied extensively to the study of World Heritage management. The research examines three World Heritage case studies which are historic urban settlements in Southeast Asia: the Historic Town of Ayutthaya in Thailand, Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape in Lao PDR, and George Town in Malaysia, part of the serial nomination of the Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca, along with Melaka. Drawing upon the empirical data, six factors of adaptive capacity are proposed in the context of World Heritage site management: cognitive frame, learning capacity, formal governance structures, organizational relations, agency and resources. The dissertation confirms the utility of adaptive change concepts and methodology as an analytic device beyond the context of climate change in understanding the inherent characteristics of institutions to adapt and transform. However, it finds that the existing adaptive change frameworks have their limitations, not capturing dynamic processes and interactions. In response to this, a refined framework for adaptive capacity is proposed to understand the interactions among different factors of adaptive capacity and their contributions to shaping overall institutional dynamics. The study has policy implications on re-structuring World Heritage policy, regulatory frameworks and organizational structures to move beyond conventional heritage conservation and management to deal with the greater complexity associated with expanding boundaries of heritage practice.