situation

2001 has not been an easy year for Nepal. The country has witnessed much turmoil, suffering from a royal tragedy and also from enormous political problems. It seems not only the Nepalese people but also the country’s cultural heritage is suffering in these times. The monuments and the ancient sites naturally remain silent - but if they could speak the valleys and hillsides would be full of their lamentations. Every year Nepal is losing a significant portion of its incredibly rich and diverse cultural heritage. The alarming condition of the most important sites - and countless equally precious sites that are afforded far less protection - give cause for serious concern. The dismantling and scarring of historic buildings is regrettably common. Several important buildings and monuments that were not under the protection of the UNESCO World Heritage list have been dismantled, or collapsed through lack of maintenance. In their place the desire to build quickly and above all cheaply is producing a modern architecture that is ad hoc and chaotic, characterized by the poorly constructed concrete pillar buildings that are so detrimental to the fabric of the historic areas - and an increasing blot upon the beautiful Nepalese landscape.

Although these threats to the country’s cultural heritage are largely confined to private property, many of the more prestigious national sites and monuments are also in danger. Uncontrolled new buildings and roads at many historic sites - even in the midst of some of the most important ancient sites - are springing up quickly. Nor are some UNESCO listed sites left untouched by such developments.
There are a few notable examples of communities beginning to take an active part in the conservation of their heritage. This cultural awareness is most obvious where particular sites are used directly to generate income. But even the financial incentives of tourism cannot totally relieve the pressures on a great many monuments. Ironically these are sometimes threatened by the very attempts to save them. Many of the so-called conservation and restoration projects in Nepal are, in reality, often large-scale renovations, or complete reconstructions. These can damage or obliterate the original fabric that they set out to preserve. Perhaps this is due in part to wider international uncertainties over definitions of conservation. But greater sensitivity is undoubtedly called for. Even if the most sophisticated and cutting edge conservation techniques, pioneered in Europe and elsewhere, might not always be transferable to Nepal, a minimum care of authenticity should be expected after all the national and international efforts in the country.

While we should acknowledge that there would always be conflicting pressures between preserving the ancient and yet creating an environment suitable for modern life, greater efforts need to be made to avoid the many wrong turnings. In Katmandu, for instance, the proliferation of slavish modern copies of ancient design in new buildings, such as hotels and shopping malls - yet in a totally different context, use and scale - is not conducive to a living, vibrant architecture. There are young architects of vision and talent in Nepal, but they are not being given the opportunity to express themselves. Instead, there is a very real danger that new urban development will come to resemble an idealized, sterile Disneyland that fails to reflect the society that surrounds it. This is scarcely in harmony with the officially adopted slogan: ‘Nepal, a land with living cultural heritage’. It is a tragic irony that this should be happening just as many ‘genuine’ examples of remaining architectural heritage are collapsing into rubble.

Why is it that the responsible departments and organizations are not able to change this depressing situation? A lack of financial resources and investments? This can hardly be deemed the case, given the huge amount of aid pumped into Nepal on a yearly basis. The necessary skills can still be found, labor costs remain (by Western standards) low and materials are available at a reasonable price. Under these conditions, conservation and preservation work should not be difficult to undertake. So why is this not happening on a more significant scale, and in a more sympathetic way? Consider the various strategies that have thus far sought to defend a fragile and fast-shrinking heritage. Workshops, symposiums, training initiatives, awareness campaigns - Nepal has seen many of these. But an honest evaluation of their results would have to conclude that talking has not always led to action. Rules and regulations, government legislation - there is no shortage of these. It is the implementation that is lacking. The enforcement of necessary conservation measures, often unpopular with owners, seldom takes place. At present it seems there are many higher priorities than heritage conservation.

Among the wider population, the prevailing indifference and disregard for the country’s physical heritage suggests that only a minority is interested in its preservation. This can be attributed, in part, to a lack of popular awareness concerning the importance of many aspects of the country’s heritage. This, in turn, stems from a failure to provide education on this subject for school children and students. Although there are some welcome education initiatives now taking place, the official support for them remains fragmented and weak. At present there is a clear shortage of ‘home-grown’ skills in the field of cultural heritage in Nepal - whether in teachers, lecturers or technical experts. At an academic level, there is an obvious dearth of scientific studies, inventories and documentation. Where these have been carried out, it has often been at the instigation of foreign organizations. The responsible government departments have not created a public documentation center, or developed user-friendly systems that might enable municipalities to support the urgent tasks of surveying and documentation at a non-academic level. Rectifying this will need to be a dedicated and long-term strategy. But the time for commencing these actions must be now. Traditional buildings, temples and monuments are disappearing daily. The living witnesses of the country’s past heritage are also dying out. And the absence of documentation makes it almost impossible to help preserve the immeasurable value of both - for the next generation of Nepalese, as well as the world at large.