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ISC Highlights UNESCO’s efforts in conserving the Lumbini World Heritage Site and the ancient city of Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu
The ISC recommended actions to enhance conservation and management of Lumbini and Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu, protection of the environment, and sustainable development and tourism to improve the livelihoods of the local and indigenous communities in the Greater Lumbini Area (GLA).
The UN Secretary-General’s visit in October last year, as well as the Honorable Prime Minister’s reference to the strong link between Lumbini and the international peace agenda, was a reminder of the importance of Lumbini beyond its traditional role as a place of pilgrimage. Moving forward, taking stock of the collective experience and expertise the ISC membership represents, we hope we can also support Lumbini’s potential as an engine for peace in addition to the technical inputs for the site.
Professor Yukio Nishimura, Planner from Kokugakuin University in Japan, presented an overview of the current situation and changes in the master plan of Lumbini, recommending three layers of planning in the GLA: identification and mapping of archaeological sites, conservation planning with core and buffer protection, and tourism development planning taking into consideration facilities for visitors and pilgrims.
Dr. Lharkyal Lama, Vice Chair of LDT, highlighted the Trust’s plan and commitment to complete the Master Plan of Lumbini and plans to review the existing Mayadevi Temple and develop appropriate facilities to address the requirements of Buddhist pilgrims and visitors in Lumbini.
Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Kosh Prasad Acharya, Senior National Archaeologist, led a tour around Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu site explaining the multidisciplinary scope, a combination of traditional archaeological approaches, such as excavation with cutting-edge scientific techniques, including geophysical survey and geoarchaeology, and the fascinating discoveries and findings from archaeological research.
Professor Robin Coningham, UNESCO Chair in Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage at Durham University, highlighted, for the first time, revealed evidence of structures dating back to the 6th century BCE – during the lifetime of Buddha, which was featured by the magazine of the Archaeological Institute of America, as one of the world’s top 10 discoveries of 2014. Likewise, the results of the geophysical survey and excavations have presented the most comprehensive plan of an Early Historic city in South Asia and have uncovered a monumental walled palatial complex at the center of the ancient walled city of Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu.
Ms. Saubhagya Pradhananga, Director-General of the DoA, highlighted the achievements and challenges of the UNESCO/Japanese-funded project at Lumbini and Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu that the ISC and the GoN have worked on in collaboration.
Ms. Mayuko Sato, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Nepal, stated
I am happy to see that the long-lasting cooperation between the two countries has continued. As Japan has been one of Nepal's major development partners and good friends, we hope that the conservation of Lumbini will enable us to keep collaboration on this World Heritage Site.
Dr. Suresh Suras Shrestha, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation thanked the Government of Japan and highlighted that one of the key outcomes of the project was the submission of the nomination document of the ancient site of Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu by the Government of Nepal for possible inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
This meeting was organized as part of the Japanese Government-funded UNESCO project for strengthening conservation and management of Lumbini, which is being implemented in collaboration with Nepal’s Department of Archaeology (DoA) and the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT). It convened national and local authorities, donors, representatives from Japanese, Chinese, and Indian Embassies, international and national experts in archaeology, conservation, urban planning, environment, and heritage management, and representatives from the Buddhist community in Lumbini.
