UNESCO in Southeast Asia: World Heritage Sites in Comparative Perspective

Edited by Victor T. King

384 pp., Illustrated, 2015

Southeast Asia’s 36 UNESCO World Heritage Sites make a significant contribution to their respective country’s national prestige and identity, international profile and tourism development plans. Yet, although much is known about some individual sites like Angkor and Borobudur, we know very little about all sites in comparative terms. This wide-ranging study explores how both cultural and natural sites are being managed, how they are coping with the conflicting pressures from the global, national and local levels, and points to best practices for their future conservation and development. The first volume to address issues raised by world heritage in Southeast Asia, it will be a key resource for academic researchers and for policy- and decision-makers in this field of studies.

Highlights

• First study to provide a region-wide multidisciplinary analysis of many major cultural and natural World Heritage Sites in SE Asia.
• Examines the local, national and global pressures (including tourism development) being exerted on these often fragile sites and the interaction between different stakeholders and interest groups.
• Presents findings and recommendations to feed into policy, management and decision-making on these sites.

About the Editor

Victor T. (Terry) King is an expert in the fields of sociology and anthropology in South East Asia studies. Professor King has been widely involved in the programs of various institutes such as the University of Hull and the University of Leeds.  He has also been associated with the British Institute in South-East Asia, and the Association of South-East Asian Studies in the United Kingdom (ASEASUK).

Professor King is current working on various new book projects, including a companion volume to his recently published The Sociology of Southeast Asia: Transformations in a Developing Region (NIAS Press/University of Hawai'i Press, 2008).