letter from Vincent Salafia to HillOfTara Yahoo Group    03/07/2008

herald.ie - TaraWatch to present petition to UNESCO in Quebec   04/07/2008

Members of the TaraWatch campaign group are delivering a petition to
UNESCO today in their latest effort to halt the construction of the M3
motorway in the historic Tara-Skryne valley.

The group is due to present the petition to the world heritage
organisation during a trip to Quebec aimed at gaining international
support for their campaign.

Meanwhile, campaigners will also be taking part in the World
Archaeological Congress in Dublin today to highlight their concerns
about the M3 project.

letter from Vincent Salafia to HillOfTara Yahoo Group    06/07/2008

Hi,

Things are going well here in Quebec City. The city is jam packed, because it is the 400 anniversary of the founding of Quebec. What a beautiful, and inspiring place. Old City, a UNESCO site, is incredible.

The World Heritage Committee meeting is going well. Days are long, beginning at 9.00 this morning, and finishing up at 9.00 tonight. It is hard to talk to the more activist of State Parties, as they are busy dealing with sites on the tentative list, and already way behind schedule.

There was a discussion of Skellig Michael today, and the Government has agreed to all of the recommendations put forward by the ICOMOS mission there last year, which entails preparing a new management plan. To be honest, I haven't seen one member of the Irish delegation, the whole time I've been here.

We are getting a lot of sympathy from State Parties, when we get to chat at breaks. I'm not going to say who, as we know that this list is being closely monitored, and there is still a lot of work to do. One country we want to talk to more is Egypt. If people know of legendary, historical, mythical, and spiritual connections between Tara and Ireland, please send some links to sources, and we will use them.

There is also a representative of the Holy See in Rome, who kindly said he would review the matter. Some other parties are working with us to see what procedural mechanisms, both formal and informal, might be available.

All the best for now,

Vincent

letter from Vincent Salafia to HillOfTara Yahoo Group    06/07/2008

Hi,

I had a very brief chat with Mechtild Rössler, Ph.D., MA, Chief of the Europe and North America Section, UNESCO. She is quite annoyed witht he volume of emails she has received, and has stated that she does not believe that the Session is the place to deal with this issue. She suggested that I speak to the Irish delegation. She also informed me that she is employed by University Colelge Dublin, though her profile does not mention it:
http://www.patrimoinebati.umontreal.ca/site_anglais/rossler_mechtild_en.htm

Mechtild Rössler has an MA in cultural geography from Freiburg University, Germany (1984) and a Ph.D. from the Faculty for Earth Sciences, University of Hamburg, Germany (1988). She joined the Research Centre of the ‘Cité des Sciences et de L'Industrie' in Paris, France in 1989 on a CNRS post and worked in 1990/91 as visiting professor in the Department of Geography at the University of California at Berkeley, USA. In 1991 she joined the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris , working firstly within the Division for Ecological Sciences, and subsequently, in 1992, within the UNESCO World Heritage Centre as a Program Specialist and Responsible Officer for natural heritage and cultural landscapes. In July 2001 she became Chief of the Europe and North America Section in charge of half of all World Heritage sites and 50 States Parties. Her works focus is on cultural landscapes, the interaction between people and the environment, as well as links between cultural
and biological diversity. She has published 7 books, more than 60 articles, and contributes to the editorial board of three international journals.

- So, we are really hitting a wall with her, which is going to be hard to get around. I also spoke briefly to Christina Cameron, who is Chairperson this Session, and she said she had seen the flood of emails too and was monitoring the situation. However, she believed it was "too early" to deal with Tara, as it has not been officially nominated by Ireland.

Now that I have an idea of the arguments of resistance, I am preparing to engage the UNESCO Legal Counsel. Sadly, it is genuinely a really bad time to try and get these people's attention, even the sympathetic ones, for any length, as they just have a ton of work to do. But on the other hand, they are accessible, to a degree, and it is the beginning of a conversation that will hopefully lead to results. In addition, I have made contact with the ICOMOS rep here, and we will be talking more. She was also very aware of Tara, and much more open to dealing with it.

They just began the process of inscription, and the first site was Le Morne Brabant Mountain http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1832/

There are many parrallel issues with Tara, in terms of what is the site and what is the buffer zone, and how are they viewed and managed.

Cheers for now,

Vincent

Please Sign the new Save Tara UNESCO petition
http://www.savetarapetition.net

letter from Vincent Salafia to HillOfTara Yahoo Group    07/07/2008

Hi,

Would the person who has been corresponding with the Brazilian Ambassador to UNESCO please forward me a copy of the mails? I spoke to him today, and we said he is "very aware" of our position has he had been corresponding with someone from TaraWatch, and it doesn't appear to be anyone on our council.

Thanks,

Vincent

Please Sign the new Save Tara UNESCO petition
http://www.savetarapetition.net

Vincent,

I was the one who contacted the Brazilian delegates H. E. Mr. Joăo Carlos de Souza-Gomes and Mr. Paulo Roberto Caminha de Castilhos França. I forwarded you both of the emails I sent them, and the other permanent members of UNESCO, two months ago. I'm sorry, but I no longer have a copy of those emails.

By the way, tell them I said hello.

Sean

letter  from seanacha51   07/07/2008

If the following news report, dated Friday, July 4, 2008, from the
UNESCO WHC is any indication, the hopes of the Tara Complex being
inscribed as a World Heritage Site at some point in the future are
bleak, despite what Minister Gormley believes.

"The World Heritage Committee has decided to retain Dresden Elbe
Valley on UNESCO World Heritage List in the hope that the building of
a four-lane bridge across the valley will be stopped and work
undertaken to reverse damage caused to the integrity of the landscape
of the German site."

"The Committee said it regretted the construction of the bridge
underway and urged the authorities to opt for the digging of a tunnel
in its stead. It said that in the event that the construction of the
bridge was not stopped and damage reversed, the property would be
deleted from the World Heritage List in 2009. Meanwhile the property
remains on the Danger List."

"Although the Committee decided last year that it would remove the
property from the World Heritage List if a bridge were built, it
decided to give Dresden more time in view of legal proceedings
underway in Germany. The Committee felt that the opposition to the
construction of the bridge must be given a chance to succeed and that
retaining the property on the list would help that fight."

http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/447

Of the 851 current World Heritage Sites, Germany has 32 and has a long
standing track record for not only protecting those sites, but it's
heritage as a whole. In stark contrast, Ireland has only two World
Heritage Sites and a rather poor track record. Beyond the M3 issue,
UNESCO in 2003 and 2004 issued decisions regarding the Bend of the
Boyne and the incinerator plant being constructed nearby.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/651

http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/244

Though Tara certainly fits the criteria for being inscribed as a World
Heritage Site, there is the following hurdle to overcome. "The
protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are
also important considerations."

http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/

Even supposing that UNESCO WHC were to buy into the government's
argument that construction of the M3 was necessary, it would also take
into consideration the overwhelming opposition to its construction, as
well as Ireland's poor track record for protecting its heritage and
environment, along with the fact that none of the initiatives Mr.
Gormley has proposed to protect the Tara Complex, which in my opinion
are insufficient, have even been instituted.