InterCarto - InterGIS 16 2010
The Conference ______________________	Interdisciplinary Seminar on GIS for Conservation of Nature and Cultural Heritage Rostov (Don), Russia, July 3-4,  2010	Local Conference chairs in Rostov Academician, Prof. Dr. Gennady Matishov www.isep.sfedu.ru www.ssc-ras.ru in Salzburg (co-operation with GI_Forum 2010) Prof. Dr. Josef Strobl www.gi-forum.org _______________________ Call for Papers Download   _______________________ Prior to April 1, 2010 foreign participants should give the personal details for the Invitation Letters. In this case it would be easier to get a visa to Russian Federation. Abstracts submission 2010-04-15 Notification of acceprtance 2010-05-06 2010-07-02    Friday Arrival of the conference participants 2010-07-03   Saturday Conference 2010-07-04  Sunday Sectional meetings End of Plenary sessions 2010-07-05 Monday Sightseeing of the Don River and town of Starocherkassk Departure of the conference participants _______________________ Horst Kremers CODATA-Germany P.O. Box 20 05 48 D- 13515 Berlin Germany ____________________
	Modern globalization processes, increasing technohenic impact on nature stipulate an urgent necessity for many countries to develope  a stratergy of nature and culture heritage conservation. Territories accumulating nature and culture heritage demonstrate samples of natural and spiritual harmony. Specific characteristics of  natural and socio-cultural processes creating this harmony reveal  important  patterns of sustainable development. These patterns may be different for different countries, but  their importance as sustainable development nuclei is common for everybody. According to UNESCO recommedations both nature and culture heritage objects must be regarded as certain territories i.e. include an object and its vicinities as well. In case of natural territories it is quite easy to understand: their territorial integrity is formed by natural processes. Territorial factor for culture heritage is connected with common history,  state of preservation, reflection of different stages of cultural space development.    Among different approaches for heritage conservation the following must be taken into consideration (Vedenin,2009): •    Genetic, when heritage promotes  regional identities creation. In this case heritage creates a specific regional  identity code incorporated by modern society. •    Ecological, when heritage promotes nature conservation necessary for sustainable development. In this case heritage forms nuclei of socio-natural systems, controlling their stability but not hampering their development. •    Territorial, when heritage increases cultural and natural diversity of the World, country, region, ethnos. These approaches demonstrate that heritage is a fundamental cathegory controlling the possibility of sustainable, original and diverse spatial cultural-natural  development.    Heritage studies demand multi-diciplene approches using methods of  geography, history, ethnology, archeology, biology, kulturology etc. In fact heritage system studies denmand system approach and elaboration of a complicated data bases. This fact makes GIS technologis very usefull for heritage studies.  Data basess for heritage studies may include the following blocks: •    Natural chracteristics, including geomorphological, geological, biological, hydrological, climatic etc. These data is necessary not only for discriptions of heritage objects, but for assessment of hazards for their existence,  natural building materials used for constructions etc. •    Social-economic and social-cultural characteristics revealing factors of integrated material and spiritual territorial  systems development. These characteristics are also needed for forcasting of technogenic hazards to heritage objects. •    Cultural landscapes integrated characteristis, which demonstrate “building material” for sustainable territorial development. Data bases  must include characteristics, revealing unique and at the same time typical features of the object. Unique features demonstrate an outstanding, historical, scientific, sacral and art value of heritage objects, absence of their analogies. For example, places connected with life of famouse scientists, poets etc., some important events. Typical features represent principle mile stones of the epoch or regional development. Culture as an object of spatial studies has two aspects: culture in geographical space and geographical space in culture. Geographical space in culture is presented via virtual images presenting heritage objects among other. Virtual presentations of  original cultural landscapes enables to reveal relic components which may comprise cultural heritage. They also are usful for historical reconstructions. GIS technologies are very helpful for virtual cultural landscapes constructions. National experiences of heritage studies are different. Exchange of original methods and ideas will promote the development of strategy for culture and nature landscape conservation.  It will also benefit cross-cultural  scientific communications in the field of human geography and GIS studies.  Russian experiences in this field concerns theory of heritage conservation and cultural landscapes studies, including virtual cultural landscapes. Original maps have been compiled, including the map of cultural landscapes of Russia, virtual Saami  cultural landscapes of the Hibiny mountains, “Geographical songs” map for the Pinega river etc. Methods for mapping of virtual etnic-cultural landscapes have been developed. Internet presentations   of  several nature heritage objects were prepared. GIS technologies were used for elaboration of  public internet resource “Russian kurgans”, compiling of the data base “Cultural heritage of the Russian Arctic” etc.Unfortunately GIS practices are still far from humanitarian investigations in Russia. The planned seminar may be very helpful in this respect. Germany has an expirience of landscape planning practice, including landscape planning for historical territories.  The priority topic is concervation of historical cultural elements in landscape planning. The same is done for nature heritage objects. French school of cultural geography and cultural landscapes studies is well-known. Original methods for assessment of cultural landscapes attractiveness has been elaborated in France. It was adopted to the demands of market economy.  Seminar main task – to demonstrate advantages of GIS use for culture and nature heritage studies will promote bridging up the gap between humanitarian and technological sciences. This is of vital importance foe system studies of culture and nature heritage.