The Cultural Master Plan of Bamiyan: The Sustainability Dilemma of Protection and Progress

Springer eBooks, pp. 71–95

Abstract

Beyond the Buddha Cliff, the World Heritage property of Bamiyan consists of several archaeological areas embedded into an extraordinary cultural landscape not adequately defined at the time of the nomination. Therefore, the Cultural Master Plan was envisioned as guidance for the development of a rural environment under cultural preservation objectives. The plan introduces a zoning scheme defining land use regulations for the protection of cultural areas and proposing designated areas for urban development. Lack of adequate legal protection, too rigid enforcement of land use restrictions on the local level, and the aspirations of the people for a rapid change of their living conditions resulted in increasing uncertainties on the validity of the plan. It is argued that a monitoring steering group composed of international and national experts, and local stakeholders, are helpful to counterbalance uncoordinated international aid assistance and inefficient governmental supervision that resulted in development strategies overemphasizing urbanization approaches in conflict with the rural character of the valley. The authors propose to reconsider urbanization within the Bamiyan Valley and to reconcile the objectives of urban and rural development inspired by a sustainable development vision as proclaimed with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Authors 2

1. Michaël Jansen Aachen Aachen Center for Documentation and Conservation

   RWTH Aachen University · German University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Aachen Center for Documentation and Conservation, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

   German University of Technology – GUtech, Muscat, Oman

   Research Centre Indian Ocean – RIO at GUtech, Muscat, Oman

2. Georgios Toubekis corresponding Aachen Aachen Center for Documentation and Conservation

   RWTH Aachen University · German University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Aachen Center for Documentation and Conservation, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

   Research Centre Indian Ocean – RIO at GUtech, Muscat, Oman