Abstract

Thailand has various tourist attractions with both natural and cultural heritage sites, along with five properties on the World Heritage List. In order to explore the nomination strategies to nominate properties to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, this case study focuses on four Buddhist stupas in four eminent cases in four regions of Thailand which are registered as historic sites by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand: 1. Wat Phra That Hariphunchai Woramahawihan in Lamphun Province;
2. Wat Phra That Phanom Woramahawihan in Nakhon Phanom Province; 3. Wat Phra Pathommachedi Ratcha Woramahawihan in Nakhon Pathom Province; and 4. Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. This study applies a combination of qualitative methods in assessing cultural heritage significance, authenticity, and integrity of the sites, including a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.

The objectives of this research are: 1) To contribute to the body of knowledge of cultural heritage significance of the Buddhist stupas in Thailand, 2)To analyze the potential significance of cultural heritage proposed to join the World Heritage List, and 3) To identify strategies to control, manage and deal with any threats for nomination to the World Heritage List effectively and appropriately. Research reveals that these Buddhist stupas have potential to be nominated as a serial nomination of cultural heritage on the World Heritage List because of cultural values for national and international levels such as historical value, aesthetic value, social value, spiritual value and the enduring respect of Thai Buddhists to Buddhism through cultural heritage practices and traditions over time. The results of this paper also offer recommendations of a new strategy for Thailand in the process of nomination.

Keywords: Cultural Heritage, World Heritage, Buddhist Stupas, World Heritage List Nomination

Introduction 

Many state parties[1] have tried to nominate their properties to the World Heritage List in order to make potential benefits from World Heritage status, such as providing an opportunity for the state and for the local community to celebrate the property as one of the most important natural and cultural places on Earth. Thailand has various tourist attractions with both natural and cultural heritage sites as well as five properties in the World Heritage List.

The present study focuses on four Buddhist stupas which are: 1. Wat Phra That Hariphunchai Woramahawihan in Lamphun Province; 2. Wat Phra That Phanom Woramahawihan in Nakhon Phanom Province; 3. Wat Phra Pathommachedi Ratcha Woramahawihan in Nakhon Pathom Province; and  4. Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. The reasons why these 4 stupas were selected are: 1) They are all represented in cultural heritage sites registered by the Department of Fine Arts, Ministry of Culture of Thailand; 2) They are all related to intangible cultural heritage of four other eminent cases in four regions: Northeast, North, South, and Central Thailand; and 3) They are all living stupas where the community still continue their cultural activities. Buddhist monuments are scattered throughout Thailand, varying by age and arts, but these 4 stupas are also notably included in the book Chom Chedi (‘Admire Stupas’ in Thai) published by the country’s Fine Arts Department (2000).

The study’s interest is cultural heritage values; ultimately, however, values can only be understood in terms of cultural significance. Accordingly, the differences manifested in these four different sites and their practices will be especially interesting for cultural heritage values. This study also outlines opportunities and strategies related to their significance, proposing them onto the Tentative List of the World Heritage List, as well as dealing with associated threats effectively and appropriately via a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.

The World Heritage List includes 1,121 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which is considered as containing ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ by the World Heritage Committee. These include 869 cultural, 213 natural and 39 mixed properties in 167 stateparties, and there are 1,720 sites from 178 state parties in the tentative lists in 2019.

International interest in World Heritage sites often provides a stimulus for international cooperation and joint efforts to ensure the protection of the property (UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS, & IUCN, 2011). Being on the World Heritage List is an opportunity for every country, and Thailand is one of the state parties aiming to nominate potential properties to obtain such opportunities of long-term protection, conservation and management of the property. Thailand’s seven sites on the Tentative List include:the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex in Phimai; the ensemble of Phanom Rung, Muang Tam and Plai Bat Sanctuaries; Phuphrabat Historical Park; Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat; Phra That Phanom, its related historic buildings and associated landscape; the ancient town of Si Thep; and the monuments, sites and cultural landscape of Chiang Mai, capital of Lanna. The Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex has been nominated as natural heritage. Nominated

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properties of cultural heritage in tentative lists of Thailand are related to Buddhism and represent the respect of living Buddhists along with their beliefs of the past.

Thailand is situated in the heart of the Southeast Asia, sharing borders with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar to the north, Cambodia to the east, Myanmar and the Indian Ocean to the west, and Malaysia to the south. Buddhism is the national religion and the professed faith of 95 percent of the population. Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and others are embraced by the rest of the population (Board, 2000).

 According to the processes of nomination and inscription of properties on the World Heritage List at the core of the World Heritage Convention, state parties have a critical responsibility to the Convention.These responsibilities cover three key areas: preparation of Tentative Lists, preparation of nominations, and effective management of properties that are inscribed to protect, conserve and manage their Outstanding Universal Value (‘OUV’ in abbreviated form)(UNESCO et al., 2011). Thailand already has several cultural heritage properties with both ‘Living Cultural’ properties and ‘Relic Cultural’ properties with the potential to nominate to World Heritage status, however, the following key points regarding nomination and inscription of properties on the World Heritage List should be focused on to identify potential and strategies:

Kirdsiri, Muangyai, and Jitsuthiyan (2013)found that there are several cultural heritage sites that contain high multidimensional value for the communities where they are located. However, since all cultural heritage sites not only fragment in various and different locations but most are also limited in size, the direction to propose their OUVin a way that shows their ‘Shared Values’can be a guideline for proposing them to the World Heritage Lists as a ‘serial nomination’and accordingly their existing potential and various kinds of value will be run together, enhancing their more obvious OUV. 

Furthermore, a serial nomination for the inscription of the World Heritage List will be appropriate due to the properties being located in different areas, although with some connection, such as their same historical-cultural group, same type of property which is characteristic of the geographical zone, or same geological, geomorphological formation, or same biogeographic province which contains the series with significance(UNESCO, n, d). According to the process of nomination and inscription of properties, many state parties therefore have succeeded to list their serial properties in the World Heritage List, with the following cases as examples:

According to UNESCO (2011), the Longobards in Italy, Places of Power (568–774 A.D.)are included on the World Heritage List. These comprise seven groups of important buildings (including fortresses, churches, and monasteries) throughout the Italian Peninsula. They demonstratethe achievement of Germanic migration from northern Europe and development of their own culture in Italy in the 6th to 8th centuries.

Anotherexample in the World Heritage ListareBursa and Cumalıkızık. These are the Birth of the Ottoman Empire, which is a serial nomination of eight component sites in the city of Bursa and the nearby village of Cumalıkızık, in the southern Marmara region of Turkey. The site revealsthe establishmentof an urban and rural system in the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century whichrepresentsthe key functions of the social and economic structureof the new capital (UNESCO, 2014).

As mentioned previously, a comparative analysis and serial nomination may be used to apply for encouraging cultural heritage sites that share the same values, such as theirhistorical-cultural group. This research focuses on the cultural heritage of four Buddhist stupasin four regions in Thailand where Phramahathat (The Great Stupa) and Phrathat (The Stupa) are located and their regional representative to identify their significance as they have been important sacred monuments in the past. Aksrondit (2002)states the role and symbolism of stupas in Southeast Asia that have been invented for symbolic functions based on the concept from Sri Lankan Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism is the majority of practice of Buddhists in Thailand, and Theravada derives from the conservative school of early Indian Hinayana. This tradition, as codified in ancient Sri Lanka, is still being practiced in Burma, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.

Thailand has several stupas which expanded in every region of the country. These stupas contain key significance that relate to ongoing social interaction with the sites. Furthermore, the same or reproduced form of chedi (the Thai word for Thai stupas) was based on or imitated from Phra Borommathat Chedi, and can be found in many important chedis across many regions in Thailand(Chuvicien, 2012). This may be an example of a series related to chedi in other regions where culture becomes significant. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge of cultural heritage significance related to Buddhist stupas in four regions where Phra Mahathat (The Great Stupa) and Phra That (The Stupa) are located.