[International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural andCultural Heritage]
Report for the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee
Reporting period: July 2023 to June 2024

1. General Information
Name of the Centre
Name and contact information of
the Director/HeadDesignated Focal Point(s)(name, title and contact information)
Website (if available)

International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural andCultural Heritage (HIST) under the Auspices of UNESCO
Guo Huadong, hdguo@radi.ac.cn
Liu Shaobo, Secretary General; E-mailliushaob@aircas.ac.cn; Tel: +86 10 8217 8901; Fax: +86 108217 8915
www.unesco-hist.org

2. Institutional and Operational Structure of the Centre(e.g. Governing Board, staffing, operational funding and premises)
The operation and management of HIST is carried out under the direction of a Governing Board. TheGoverning Board is the decision-making body in charge of examining and approving the mid-term
strategic plan, biennial work plans, annual work report and budget, supervising HIST in its
implementation of the Board’s decisions, and promoting cooperation and exchange with UNESCO, its
Member States and relevant international organizations. The Scientific Committee of HIST comprisesof some 30 experts and scholars from China in the fields of space technologies and natural andcultural heritage to provide professional consultation for HIST’s strategy and biennial work plan.
HIST’s Executive Team is composed of a secretariat and nine departments: four Research
Departments and Departments of Space-borne Remote Sensing, Airborne Remote Sensing, Data
Processing, Virtual Technology and International Training.

HIST's annual operational funding and its premises have been provided by its host instituteAerospace Information Research Institute(AIR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS). Chinese
Academy of Sciences, representing the Government of China, provide annual operational budget toHIST in addition to the operational funding provided annually by AIR.

3. Updates on the Management of the Centre(e.g. meetings of the Governing Board and key decisions adopted)

HIST convened the 10th session of its Governing Board which briefed on UNESCO's evaluation on
HIST's performance since 2018, discussed and adopted HIST’s Annual Work Report for 2021, 2022,2023, Biennial Work Plan for 2022-2023, Biennial Work Report for 2024-2025. The meeting pointed
out that 2024 will be a transition year due to HIST’s status renewal process with UNESCO. TheGoverning Board commended HIST’s excellent achievements in the past three years, expressed its
support to HIST’s renewal evaluation and HIST’s future development, and proposed that HIST’s
collaboration within UNESCO, other relevant international organizations, UNESCO Member States
will be strengthened.
4. Main Programmes and Activities(implemented since July 2023 and planned for the current year)

No.

Title of the Activity

Reference to WHCBS

1

Co-host 4th Huangshan Dialogue on UNESCO- 4.8
designated Sites and Sustainable Development withUNESCO(World Heritage Centre and Division ofEcological and Earth Sciences), ICOMOS and ICCROM
from June 29 to July 1 2023

2

Participated in the Dialogue on Partnership for UNESCO 4.8
Priority Africa which was hosted by Chinese NationalCommission for UNESCO and Beijing Normal Universityon August 1, 2023 in Beijing

3

partnered with China News Service to record two online 4.8
programmes to introduce HIST’s space archaeology andtypical case study on the application of space technology
in the monitoring of Jiuzhaigou World Heritage site inAugust

4

Participated in 3rd International Forum on Big Data for 4.8
Sustainable Development Goals in Beijing and co-hosted
with ICCROM a session on “Space Technologies
Facilitating the Sustainable Development of WorldHeritages” during the forum on 7 September 2024

5Participated in extended 45th session of World Heritage 4.8
Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and co-hosted withUNESCO(WorldHeritageCentre),
CopernicusProgramme(European Earth observation programme)theside event “Space-based Technologies for thePreservation of World Heritage sites” during this session
on 12 September 2023, participated in other side events
such as “Exploring Cultural Heritage of the Arab Region”
hosted by ICOMOS and Arab Regional Centre for World
Heritage (ARC-WH) and “Culture and Climate Changerelated Emergencies: New Realities, New Perspectives”
hosted by the UNESCO Culture and Emergencies Entityand International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage inConflict Areas(ALIPH)

6

Signed a MoU with ICOMOS Ethiopia on 13 October 3.6
2024 for the conservation of World Cultural Heritage inEthiopia

7

Collaborated with UNESCO World Heritage Centre to 3.6
monitor deforestation and gold mining activities in theOkapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of theCongo in 2023
8

Conducted archaeological survey and discovery on the 3.6
Great Wall of the Han Dynasty

9

Conducted research project on Space-to-Ground" 3.6
Integrated Monitoring and Assessment of Jiuzhaigou
World Heritage Site in 2023

10

Conducted the monitoring and assessment of World 3.6
Cultural Heritage sites in Xi’an of Silk Roads: the Routes
Network of Chang’an-Tian Shan Corridor

11

Completed the reconstitution of HIST Governing Board 4.8
and convened 10th session of its Governing Board onJanuary 18, 2024

12

Published with Springer the monograph-Introduction toSpace Archaeology on February 17, 2024.

13

Participated in We Are Site Managers International 4.8
Symposium from 1 to 5 March, 2024

14

HIST’s second-phase operation will be evaluated byUNESCO experts from 6 to 12 May, 2024

15

Attend the international Symposium of the Category 2 4.8
institutes and Centres under the auspices of UNESCO inthe field of Natural Sciences from 15 to 17 May 2024 in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

16

Participate in 46th session of the World Heritage 4.8
Committee in India, July 21 to 31, 202417

Conduct project on the use of space technologies for 3.6
archaeological discovery along Surkhandarya River in
2024

18

Draft the next Mid-Term Strategic Plan (2024-2030)
throughout 2024

Brief Introduction to Programmes and Activities implemented:1. HIST co-hosted 4th Huangshan Dialogue on UNESCO-designated Sites andSustainable Development with UNESCO, ICOMOS and ICCROM from June 29 toJuly 1 2023. Themed "Digital Technologies Enabling Sustainable Development ofUNESCO-designed Sites", the Dialogue organized eight sessions featuring following
topics: digital conservation, space technologies and methodologies for the monitoringand evaluation, harmonized management, disaster risk reduction, climate change,
space archaeology and spatial intelligence in cultural heritage, integration of heritageand culture and high-quality development, heritage education. The two-day eventattracted over 200 participants from more than 20 countries and over ten internationalorganizations. It adopted the Huangshan Vision, which was drafted by HIST,
UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM and published on UNESCO
and ICOMOS website. This document emphasizes the potential role of space, air,and ground-based remote sensing technologies, along with other digital applications,in the monitoring and conservation of UNESCO-designated sites and calls on World
Heritage stakeholders to fully utilize digital technologies to strengthen thecollaborative conservation and management of UNESCO-designated sites, and topromote collaborative efforts toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
2. HIST has collaborated with UNESCO World Heritage Centre to monitor deforestationand gold mining activities in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Democratic Republic of theCongo by analyzing its land use and land changes in this reserve, and providing
UNESCO with basic data for the purpose of protecting wildlife and virgin forests in thearea.
3. HIST and the Jiuzhaigou World Heritage Administration have jointly carried out ademonstration study of the "Space-to-Ground" integrated monitoring and assessmentof Jiuzhaigou World Heritage Site. Through implementation of the project, a "Spaceto-Ground" integrated information system has been established for the dynamic
monitoring and assessment of the post-disaster recovery of vegetation and ecologicalenvironment, water quality improvement, digital modeling and virtual display ofgeological disaster recovery, and infrastructure reconstruction processes. The resultsfrom this project have provided key technical support for post-seismic disaster risk
assessment and disaster prevention in the Jiuzhaigou heritage site.
4. On 12 September 2023, HIST, UNESCO and Copernicus Programme(EuropeanEarth observation programme) co-hosted the side event “Space-based Technologies
for the Preservation of World Heritage sites” during extended 45th session of World
Heritage Committee to discuss how the use of space-based technologies can help
World Heritage practitioners (in particular site managers) better identify and prevent
potential threats to sites, respond and recover from natural and anthropogenic
hazards and raise further awareness of existing collaborative opportunities withrelevant partners for the use of space-based technologies and analysis tools for themonitoring of the state of conservation of World Heritage sites. It attracted about 100
representatives from more than 10 international organizations and more than 20countries.
5. HIST and ICCROM co-hosted a session on “Space Technologies Facilitating theSustainable Development of World Heritages” during 3rd International Forum on Big
Data for Sustainable Development Goals in September. Six experts from China, Italy,
Egypt, and Cyprus introduced the current technological progress and achievements inthe protection of cultural heritage, and discussed with participants strategies for digitaltransformation and sustainable development of cultural heritage in the near future.