tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/restoration-26214/articles
restoration – The Conversation
2024-03-08T16:21:36Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/224284
2024-03-08T16:21:36Z
2024-03-08T16:21:36Z
Restored coral reefs can grow as fast as healthy reefs after just four years – new study
<p>The coral reefs of south Sulawesi are some of the most diverse, colourful and vibrant in the world. At least, they used to be, until they were <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/rec.12866">decimated by dynamite fishing</a> in the 1990s. </p>
<p>As part of a team of coral reef ecologists based in Indonesia and the UK, we study the reefs around Pulau Bontosua, a small Indonesian island in south Sulawesi. Thirty years on, what were once large areas of thriving coral are now degraded sites are still devoid of colour, fish and other marine life. Broken skeletons of dead corals roll around on the seabed, crushing and killing any new coral larvae that try to settle and preventing the reefs from recovering naturally. </p>
<p>In many places around the world, damage like this might be described as irreparable. But at Pulau Bontosua, the story is different. Here, efforts by the <a href="https://www.buildingcoral.com/">Mars coral restoration programme</a> have brought back the coral and important ecosystem functions, as outlined by our new study, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.009">published in Current Biology</a>. We found that within just four years, restored reefs grow at the same rate as nearby healthy reefs. </p>
<p>The Mars coral restoration programme is one of the world’s largest restoration projects and has collaborated with local communities for more than a decade. Healthy coral fragments are attached to hexagonal, sand-covered steel frames called “reef stars”. These reef stars are installed on damaged reefs, where they stabilise the loose rubble, support growth of new coral and provide habitat for reef animals to move in.</p>
<h2>Speedy recovery</h2>
<p>The transplanted corals grow remarkably quickly. Within a year, fragments have developed into proper colonies. After two years, they interlock branches with their neighbours. After just four years, they completely overgrow the reef star structures and restoration sites are barely distinguishable from nearby healthy reefs.</p>
<p>The combined growth of many corals generates a complex limestone (calcium carbonate) framework. This provides habitat for marine life and protects nearby shorelines from storm damage by <a href="https://theconversation.com/coral-reefs-work-as-natures-sea-walls-it-pays-to-look-after-them-26655">absorbing up to 97% of coastal wave energy</a>. </p>
<p>We measured the overall growth of the reef framework by calculating its <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/projects/geography/reefbudget/">carbonate budget</a>. That’s the balance between limestone production (by calcifying corals and coralline algae) and erosion (by grazing sea urchins and fishes, for example). A healthy reef produces up to 20kg reef structure per square metre per year, while a degraded reef is shrinking rather than growing, as erosion exceeds limestone production. Therefore, overall reef growth gives an indication of reef health.</p>
<p>At Pulau Bontosua, our survey data shows that in the years following restoration, coral cover, coral colony sizes and carbonate production rates tripled. Within four years, restored reefs were growing at the same speed as healthy reefs, and thereby provided the same important ecosystem functions.</p>
<p>This success is encouraging, but challenges still remain. The corals used to construct these restored reefs are predominantly branching coral types, chosen by the restoration team because they are easier to attach to the reef stars. This means that restored reefs have a lower diversity of coral types than healthy reefs, which host an abundance of boulder-like and encrusting corals as well as branching types. </p>
<p>These structural differences may affect the species of marine life that inhabit the reef. Branching corals are also notoriously sensitive to <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/everything-you-need-to-know-about-coral-bleaching-and-how-we-can-stop-it">bleaching</a>, which happens when warmer water temperatures cause stress to corals and turn them white. Differences in the types of coral making up the reef ecosystem may therefore affect the reef’s ability to survive future heat waves. </p>
<h2>A warming world</h2>
<p>Marine heat waves are becoming <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-barrier-reef-has-been-bleaching-for-at-least-400-years-but-its-getting-worse-101691">more frequent and severe</a> and pose a huge threat to coral reefs and restoration efforts worldwide. Recently, thousands of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-heroic-effort-to-save-floridas-coral-reef-from-extreme-ocean-heat-as-corals-bleach-across-the-caribbean-210974">nursery corals had to be rescued</a> when water temperatures spiked in the Florida Keys.</p>
<p>It’s imperative that coral reef restoration strategies include plans for warming waters. In some cases, efforts can be prioritised in areas where transplanted corals are less likely to encounter lethal conditions in the near future. In other cases, projects can enhance coral heat tolerance through <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-barrier-reef-can-repair-itself-with-a-little-help-from-science-85182">assisted evolution</a>. </p>
<p>There is some evidence that coral heat tolerance can also <a href="https://theconversation.com/remote-pacific-coral-reef-shows-at-least-some-ability-to-cope-with-ocean-warming-new-study-211852">increase naturally</a>. Whether this coral adaptation can keep pace with ocean warming will depend on global action to cut carbon emissions.</p>
<p>Outcomes of any reef restoration project will depend on environmental conditions, natural coral larvae supply, restoration techniques and the effort invested in maintaining the project. This Indonesian project shows that when conditions are right and efforts are well placed, success is possible. Hopefully, this inspires further global efforts to restore functioning coral reefs and to recreate a climate in which they can thrive.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ines Lange receives funding from the Bertarelli Program in Marine Science. Logistical research support for this study was provided by Mars Sustainable Solutions.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Lamont receives funding from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and the Fisheries Society of the British Isles. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tries Blandine Razak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Artificial reef stars have been added to damaged coral reefs in Sulawesi, Indonesia. A new study shows that within just four years, restored reefs are thriving as much as healthy reefs.
Ines Lange, Senior Research Fellow in Coral Reef Ecology, University of Exeter
Tim Lamont, Research Fellow, Lancaster University
Tries Blandine Razak, Researcher, IPB University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/218775
2023-12-07T17:28:12Z
2023-12-07T17:28:12Z
This 17th-century portrait was given plumper lips years after it was finished – an expert explains why
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562774/original/file-20231130-21-e8zx58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C14%2C1091%2C762&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Diana Cecil, Countess of Elgin, by Cornelius Johnson. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.historicenglandservices.org.uk/heritage/english-stately-homes-kenwood-house-art-kenwood-suffolk/johnson-diana-cecil-countess-elgin-j920193-8766638.html">English Heritage</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the everyday visitor to a gallery or museum, alterations to artworks made years, sometimes decades, after their original creation are rarely obvious. After all, the skill of the modern art conservator is for their work to remain imperceptible at normal viewing distance, thus retaining the integrity of the original artwork. </p>
<p>Modern-day art conservators tend to favour minimal interventions – avoiding both painting over original paint and changing the picture. The idea these days is that any interventions – such as cleaning varnish, mending tears, or in-painting (retouching) – should not interfere with the artist’s original intent.</p>
<p>Early restorers took a <a href="https://archetype.co.uk/our-titles/studies-in-the-history-of-painting-restoration/?id=100#:%7E:text=Studies%20in%20the%20History%20of%20Painting%20Restoration%20reveals%20an%20interesting,and%20the%20care%20of%20paintings.&text=M.,Kirby%20Talley%2C%20Jr">completely different approach</a>. Art restorers of the past quite often used oil paints to retouch, for example, which becomes difficult to remove and changes colour over time. Past restorers sometimes even undertook radical restorations to the subject itself. </p>
<p>Such is the case for a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/nov/24/conservators-remove-kylie-jenner-treatment-from-17th-century-portrait">portrait of English aristocrat Diana Cecil</a> (1596–1654), owned by English Heritage. Alterations to her features that were revealed recently during contemporary conservation show the extent to which early restorers could change an image in their attempt to “improve” an artwork. Using a rather broad-brush approach, the results of their work can remain for hundreds of years – as this case has shown.</p>
<p>Cecil’s features were altered by adding a layer of new paint over the original portrait, plumping her lips and thickening her hair. With modern scientific examination, it is possible for conservators to accurately distinguish between later additions and original paint. Nowadays, removal of over-paint happens under a microscope, using surgical methods.</p>
<p>The idea of conserving originality and removing the over-paint seems right. After all, it is the work of the original artist, <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/cornelius-johnson-297">Cornelius Johnson</a>, and not the anonymous restorer that the viewer wishes to see, though the additions do lend an interesting element to the painting’s story. </p>
<h2>Restorers of the past</h2>
<p>In many cases, these dramatic changes were a result of poor skills. But early restoration decisions were also influenced by changing fashions for beauty and dress, modesty and the desire to cover naked bodies, politics, or simply practical necessity – such as difficulty with cleaning or having to hide traces of damage.</p>
<p>A particularly famous case was the botched <a href="https://nypost.com/2016/03/12/infamous-botched-jesus-painting-now-a-major-tourist-attraction/">Ecce Homo</a> (more commonly, Spanish Jesus) painting, whose memorable makeover manifested as a complete obliteration of the original. </p>
<p>Another interesting example is the <a href="https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/584337">portrait of noblewoman Suky Trevelyan</a> which now hangs at Wallington Hall, Northumberland. In 1771, its owner, John Hudson Trevelyan (Suky’s husband) made the first payment for alterations to her portrait. The final payment was made in 1776 by Trevelyan herself, by then a widow, in order <a href="https://researchportal.northumbria.ac.uk/en/publications/disrobing-suky-one-mistress-but-two-masters-the-examination-of-a-">to change the image yet again</a>. The painting had originally been commissioned by her father for her 25th birthday. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562775/original/file-20231130-27-6ip1qp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Portrait of Susanna 'Suky' Trevelyan," src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562775/original/file-20231130-27-6ip1qp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562775/original/file-20231130-27-6ip1qp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562775/original/file-20231130-27-6ip1qp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562775/original/file-20231130-27-6ip1qp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562775/original/file-20231130-27-6ip1qp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562775/original/file-20231130-27-6ip1qp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562775/original/file-20231130-27-6ip1qp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Susanna ‘Suky’ Trevelyan, by Thomas Gainsorough (1761).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/584337">National Trust</a></span>
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<p>The then-relatively unknown <a href="https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/thomas-gainsborough">Thomas Gainsborough</a> was hired to paint the portrait in 1761. However, it appears the work did not prove as popular as Trevelyan’s father had hoped. It was frequently <a href="https://archive.org/details/thomasgainsborou00goweuoft">dubbed “The Hat and Ruffles”</a> by family members, indicating that Trevelyan’s likeness was somewhat obscured by her outsized choice of apparel. </p>
<p>As a result, the entire image was repainted during the 1770s by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joshua-Reynolds">Sir Joshua Reynolds’ studio and drapery painters</a> – covering up the large hat and abundant ruffles as well as Trevelyan’s dog, which she had fondly held in her arms. In 2011, I was able to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-12765671">reveal the original image</a>, which hadn’t been seen for centuries, by taking an X-ray of the painting. </p>
<p>In this case, removal of over-paint would be akin to altering the sitter’s choice of presentation (in modern terms, editing the selfie). While capturing the likeness of a sitter is the skill of the artist, the accuracy of this particular “likeness” was dictated by the client, who may have had very specific views and requirements.</p>
<p>In contrast to Cecil’s recently uncovered touch-ups, the drapery artist who altered Trevelyan’s painting was careful not to paint over the original face. It’s possible that this was out of respect for the original, as Gainsborough was still an active and well-known artist. </p>
<p>Cecil’s portrait was probably restored after her lifetime, when she would no longer have a say in how she was presented. Thanks to modern conservators, Johnson’s fine brushwork has been revealed again. It bears signs of cracks and ageing but, after hundreds of years, it is not surprising the wrinkles are beginning to show. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicky Grimaldi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Early restoration decisions were influenced by changing fashions and politics, or practical necessities such as difficulty with cleaning.
Nicky Grimaldi, Assistant Professor of Arts, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202620
2023-03-30T04:04:02Z
2023-03-30T04:04:02Z
Whether you’re a snorkeller or CEO, you can help save our vital kelp forests
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518366/original/file-20230330-21-mdwwxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C8%2C5422%2C3628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What if we told you the world has forests harbouring creatures with three hearts and where the canopy can grow by a foot a day? What if we told you it was silently disappearing? What if we told you we now have the chance to bring it back?</p>
<p>These wonder-filled and remarkably productive ecosystems are kelp forests. They wrap around <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327606143_Status_and_Trends_for_the_World%27s_Kelp_Forests">almost a third</a> of the world’s coastlines. If you live in New York, Los Angeles, Sydney or Tokyo, you can snorkel over a kelp forest on a day trip, and potentially spot a seahorse or three-hearted octopus. </p>
<p>Kelp forests have even influenced human migration patterns. The so-called “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564890701628612">kelp highway</a>” suggests the first Americans settled on the continent by following the kelp-dominated coastline of the Pacific Rim, feeding on plentiful fish and molluscs. </p>
<p>But these vast forests of the sea are little known compared to coral reefs. That’s a tragedy, given they support some of our most lucrative fisheries such as lobster and abalone, house thousands of species, and can capture great amounts of carbon. </p>
<p>Kelp forests are dying at a rate similar to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpy.13239">coral reefs or rainforests</a>. In some areas, we have seen near total loss of kelp forests in living memory, and sometimes in just a few years. This includes losing 95% of bull kelp in northern California and 95% of giant kelp <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-selective-breeding-of-super-kelp-save-our-cold-water-reefs-from-hotter-seas-170271">in Tasmania</a>.</p>
<p>But this is not a bad news story. This is about you and your ability to help. You might think – what can I do? I’m not a scientist. But all around the world, communities and individuals are working to restore these ecosystems. It might be planting out baby kelp with mask and snorkel, removing destructive sea urchin swarms or even creating art to draw attention to these forgotten forests. </p>
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<img alt="Scuba diver planting kelp forest underwater" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517601/original/file-20230327-28-y6a0wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517601/original/file-20230327-28-y6a0wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517601/original/file-20230327-28-y6a0wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517601/original/file-20230327-28-y6a0wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517601/original/file-20230327-28-y6a0wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517601/original/file-20230327-28-y6a0wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517601/original/file-20230327-28-y6a0wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">This diver is replanting a kelp forest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Turnbull</span></span>
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<h2>From citizen science to community-led recovery</h2>
<p>This year, we issued the <a href="https://kelpforestalliance.com/kelp-forest-challenge">Kelp Forest Challenge</a> to communities around the world: let’s aim to protect 3 million hectares of surviving kelp and restore one million more hectares by 2040.</p>
<p>A task this size can’t be achieved just by scientists and researchers. We need communities to play an active part. Just as people turn out in droves for Clean Up Australia Day to replant native plants along creeks or fish out introduced carp, we believe community backing is the only way we will be able to regenerate the oceans.</p>
<p>We’re not alone in this. Many other groups are looking to community help to expand restoration efforts. Think of South Australia’s <a href="https://ozfish.org.au/projects/seeds-for-snapper-south-australia/">Seeds for Snapper program</a>, which relies on beachcombers collecting seagrass fruit to aid replanting of the seagrass meadows which act as fish nurseries. </p>
<p>The stakes are high. Last year, nations signed the Kunming-Montreal <a href="https://www.cbd.int/article/cop15-final-text-kunming-montreal-gbf-221222">biodiversity pact</a>, which included pledging to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. </p>
<p>We have to ensure our remaining kelp forests are covered. At present, very few kelp forests have any measure of protection. They’re often forgotten or excluded from marine management plans.</p>
<p>But they are vital. Australia’s Great Southern Reef, for instance, is the <a href="https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-environment/whos-heard-great-southern-reef#:%7E:text=The%20Great%20Southern%20Reef%20is,to%20Kalbarri%20in%20Western%20Australia.">kelp counterpart</a> to the far better known Great Barrier Reef. Where the coral peters out in northern New South Wales, the kelp starts, spanning thousands of kilometres across Australia and stopping only in Kalbarri, Western Australia. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-southern-reef-is-in-more-trouble-than-the-great-barrier-reef-201235">The Great Southern Reef is in more trouble than the Great Barrier Reef</a>
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<p>Some countries are tackling this at a national level. South Korea <a href="https://kelpforestalliance.com/restoration-projects/korea-fisheries-resources-agency-fira-south-korea">has pledged</a> to restore an additional 30,000 hectares of kelp forest by 2030. We now need other countries to follow suit.</p>
<p>Yet, there are many ways to help kelp. In Tasmania, for instance, the government subsidised a <a href="https://fishing.tas.gov.au/community/long-spined-sea-urchin-management/long-spined-sea-urchin-strategy">sea urchin fishery</a>. Why? Because as climate change brings warmer waters, kelp-munching, long-spined sea urchins have migrated from the mainland and now number in the millions. Recreational divers have also been asked to help by removing urchins they spot. </p>
<h2>Is it possible?</h2>
<p>Stopping environmental collapse can seem like an impossible task. But take heart. Remember – we’ve already overcome other seemingly unachievable conservation challenges.</p>
<p>We once used whale oil to fuel our lamps, soap up in the bath and even make sandwiches. But our demand for this oily product soon outstripped supply. Whalers with harpoons drove them almost to extinction. Once considered inexhaustible, humpbacks were hunted down to <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/encyclopedia-of-marine-mammals/wursig/978-0-12-804327-1">just 5%</a> of their previous population size. </p>
<p>This ecological tragedy gave way to one of our <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-big-comeback-its-time-to-declare-victory-for-australian-humpback-whale-conservation-44970">greatest conservation successes</a>. After getting together, coordinating and acting, we banned whaling. The humpback population has soared to <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/13006/50362794#population">over 135,000</a>.</p>
<p>In this case, simply stopping what we were doing allowed the whales to rebound from near extinction. But we’re not so lucky with our kelp forests.</p>
<p>We have tried cleaning up water pollution, removing pest species and even stopping local harvests. But in many cases, stopping the original cause of decline hasn’t been enough to entice these ecosystems to return. This sobering fact means it’s time to put on our wetsuits and get to work actively restoring undersea forests.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1628306174272770050"}"></div></p>
<p>So what can you do? </p>
<p>Do you run a business? Stopping pollution from flowing into rivers is one way to help kelp, as well as avoiding development in sensitive coastal areas. </p>
<p>Even better, some businesses are moving towards being nature positive. That is, their work regenerates nature rather than depletes it. Think of the people in Moreton Bay fisheries active in <a href="https://ozfish.org.au/projects/moreton-bay-shellfish-reef-restoration/">restoring local oyster reefs</a>. </p>
<p>Tech companies can help by monitoring marine forest health. Kelp farmers can provide seed stock and baby kelp for restoration. Tourism operators can promote kelp forests and their creatures – think of the <a href="https://www.whyalla.com/cuttlefish">growing fame</a> of the giant cuttlefish breeding season in Whyalla. </p>
<p>And if you’re a keen community member? You can help by volunteering your time with citizen science projects like the <a href="https://reeflifesurvey.com/">Reef Life Survey</a>, forming community groups to steward and protect your patch of the ocean or contributing to existing restoration projects like Sydney’s <a href="http://www.operationcrayweed.com/">Operation Crayweed</a>.</p>
<p>We can no longer rely on the oceans to heal themselves. We’ll need help from all levels of society to make it happen.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-selective-breeding-of-super-kelp-save-our-cold-water-reefs-from-hotter-seas-170271">Can selective breeding of 'super kelp' save our cold water reefs from hotter seas?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aaron Eger is the Founder and Program Director of the Kelp Forest Alliance, a research driven not-for-profit organization. The Kelp Forest Alliance is supported by the Nature Conservancy, The Banner Foundation, the Van Dyson Foundation, and UNSW Sydney.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adriana Vergés is one of the lead scientists of Operation Crayweed, a kelp restoration project that has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the NSW Fishing Trust, the NSW Environmental Trust, Sustainable Surf and Patagonia as well as private philanthropists. She is one of the Directors of the Kelp Forest Alliance, a newly established not-for-profit organisation. The Kelp Forest Alliance is supported by The Nature Conservancy, the Banner Foundation, the Van Dyson Foundation and UNSW Sydney.</span></em></p>
When we stopped whaling, the whales recovered. But our vital kelp forests won’t return without our help
Aaron Eger, Postdoctoral research fellow, UNSW Sydney
Adriana Vergés, Professor in marine ecology, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/168583
2021-10-12T14:53:32Z
2021-10-12T14:53:32Z
Mass tree planting: how to do it right
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423288/original/file-20210927-3349-hy43vu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ethiopians take part in a national mass tree-planting drive.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around the world, there are huge tree-planting initiatives happening. Their aim is to restore forest landscapes, as having more trees provides livelihood benefits, enhances biodiversity by providing a habitat for other organisms and otherwise protects the environment. Some initiatives seek to sequester carbon with the aim of mitigating climate change. </p>
<p>In Africa, for example, the purpose of the <a href="https://www.greatgreenwall.org/">Great Green Wall</a> initiative, which began in 2007, is to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land by 2030. The initiative depends both on the direct planting of trees (and other vegetation) and on assisting their natural regeneration. </p>
<p>At the global level, the target of the <a href="https://www.bonnchallenge.org/">Bonn Challenge</a> is to bring 350 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes into restoration through the same means by the same date.</p>
<p>A common problem though is that restoration projects have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa094">limited success</a> in reaching their desired outcomes. For example, the trees planted often do not survive because they have been poorly chosen. Those that do are limited in their compositional range and therefore don’t much support the presence of other plants and animals, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12717">as noted</a> in an assessment of the “Grain-for-Green” tree planting programme in China.</p>
<p>There are many reasons for the failure of massive tree-planting schemes. The one that we, as applied researchers in agroforestry, have sought to address is the insufficient attention given to the trees that need to be planted in terms of what should be grown where. This is of both the species that will be planted and the particular source of the seed that is used for any particular species. In addition, more attention is needed in terms of how the required tree seed and seedlings will be obtained, and delivered, to the planting sites. </p>
<p>The current situation is that non-native tree species end up being planted. These can, in popular terms, cause <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2020/05/trees-dont-stop-climate-change.html">“ecological havoc”</a> or, in other words, have unintended consequences that degrade the environment even further, sometimes rapidly. These unsuitable trees are usually used because the actual planters of the trees don’t have the knowledge on what would be better to plant, or simply don’t have access to the needed tree seeds. </p>
<p>The topic was taken up recently in a <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.371.6530.666">Science Feature</a> by science journalist Rachel Cernansky. In her interviews with us and our colleagues, we explained the importance of doing “tree seed sourcing” –- a term we use to embrace the sourcing of both tree seed and seedlings –- better. Otherwise, the planters suffer initially and the broader restoration initiative loses out too in the end. </p>
<p>There are a number of ways to address this problem and improve outcomes. They all involve work to improve the availability of tree seed sources, networking and building the capacity of the different actors who are involved in seed supply, and sharing information on how to improve the current situation. Below, we share some of our insights. </p>
<h2>Doing it right</h2>
<p>Key to the success of mass tree-planting initiatives are having enough of the right seeds.</p>
<p>For instance, we at World Agroforestry (ICRAF) work with country partners – such as the Ethiopian Environment and Forest Research Institute and the Burkina Faso National Tree Seed Centre – to improve the current situation by putting in place “tree seed systems”. These are meant to ensure that the needed high-quality tree seed is collected from high quality sources, multiplied through seed orchards and nurseries, and made available to growers.</p>
<p>An African example is an <a href="https://www.worldagroforestry.org/project/provision-adequate-tree-seed-portfolio-ethiopia">initiative</a> in Ethiopia known as the Provision of Adequate Tree Seed Portfolios project (PATSPO). This is supporting the country’s ambitious restoration target of 15 million hectares by 2030. The aim is to restore degraded lands and support livelihoods. </p>
<p>We are growing “breeding seedling orchards” of mostly indigenous timber and other native trees that will meet restoration needs with locally adapted seed. So far, 26 orchards have been established and more are to follow. Building on these, networks of public and private sector delivery partners are being enhanced and their capacity built, to improve the tree seed system infrastructure. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dpr.12233">Our earlier analysis indicates</a> that small- and medium-scale entrepreneurial suppliers of tree seed and seedlings have a particularly important role to play in linking with smallholder tree planters in ways that are cost-efficient for both the supplier and the planter. And so they need support through training and the right policies. </p>
<p>There’s an <a href="https://www.worldagroforestry.org/publication/quality-seed-tree-plantingsupporting-more-effective-agroforestry-and-forest-landscape">additional benefit</a> in sourcing from these local suppliers as it supports rural business development.</p>
<p>Cases such as the Ethiopian one can be scaled for impact regionally and inter-continentally. </p>
<h2>Sharing knowledge</h2>
<p>Measures such as those outlined above help to deal with the thorny issue of tree seed availability, but knowledge availability is also a problem. </p>
<p>We therefore develop open access online decision support tools, such as the <a href="https://worldagroforestry.org/tree-knowledge">Global Tree Knowledge Platform</a>. Released earlier this year, this helps project managers and growers to determine what trees to plant where for what purpose. The tools we have developed include training materials, databases, maps and smartphone apps. These resources cover hundreds of tree species.</p>
<p>We recently also created <a href="https://tree.worldagroforestry.org/">The Resources for Tree Planting Platform</a>, an assembly of practical knowledge on how to go about sourcing good quality tree seeds, from their initial collection, through their multiplication, to their distribution and appropriate use. </p>
<p>The purpose of this platform is to encourage more effective tree planting that is especially focused on small-scale tropical growers. The platform provides over 200 individual resources and we encourage tree planters, tree project planners, and tree researchers, to explore and make use of them.</p>
<p>The importance of getting tree seed sourcing right can’t be overemphasised. Natural climate solutions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1710465114">could provide</a> over one-third of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed between now and 2030 to keep planetary warming below 2°C, and at the same time <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2019.10.017">provide for</a> benefits to economies, for biodiversity and for human health. These benefits however rely on restoration being done successfully – and at the centre of this are the effective tree seed systems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168583/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Dawson receives funding from the CGIAR, bilateral and multilateral donors.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lars Gradual receives funding from CGIAR, bilateral and multilateral donors.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ramni Jamnadass receives funding from the CGIAR and multiple bilateral and multilateral donors. </span></em></p>
Paying attention to tree seed to enhance forest landscape restoration: new resources for Africa are available.
Ian Dawson, Associate Fellow, Tree Productivity and Diversity, Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF)
Lars Gradual, Co-Leader, Tree Productivity & Diversity, Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF)
Ramni Jamnadass, Co-Leader, Tree Productivity & Diversity, Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF)
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/133942
2020-03-22T08:49:44Z
2020-03-22T08:49:44Z
The story of a remarkable Hindu temple in Pretoria’s inner city
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321545/original/file-20200319-22632-6u67py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1076%2C815&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alain Proust/Hidden Pretoria</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Apart from Pretoria’s legacy of grand <a href="https://theconversation.com/between-care-and-neglect-pretorias-grand-architectural-legacy-128635">institutional buildings</a>, South Africa’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Pretoria">capital city</a> and historical seat of the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">apartheid</a> government, also contains some unique architectural masterpieces that have been built and cared for by various religious communities. These buildings reflect the stories, traditions and resilience of diverse community groups. Also made visible are the precarious conditions that have threatened the conservation of these special places over time. And the continuous efforts of community groups to preserve their buildings and their cultural identities. A number of these sites have recently been documented by architect Johan Swart and photographer Alain Proust in a publication called <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/hidden-pretoria/9781432304652">Hidden Pretoria</a>. This is an edited extract from the book.</em></p>
<p>Among a variety of remarkable religious buildings in Pretoria’s inner city are the likes of the iconic <a href="https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/bldgframes.php?bldgid=73">Gereformeerde Kerk Pretoria</a> (or Paul Kruger Church), built by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/South-African-Republic">republican</a> founding fathers of the city in the late 1800s, still utilised today by a small <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dutch-Reformed-Church">Dutch Reformed</a> congregation for Sunday services. The busy <a href="https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/bldgframes.php?bldgid=10108">Queen Street Mosque</a>, on the other hand, is hidden among the densely packed high-rise buildings of a city block. Abandoned in the inner city is also the <a href="https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/bldgframes.php?bldgid=581">Old Synagogue</a>, the early home of Pretoria’s Jewish community that was later appropriated by the apartheid state to house the treason trial of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused. Perhaps the most remarkable of the religious sites, though, is the Mariamman Temple, the home of Pretoria’s <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/gandhi-tamils-and-satyagraha-south-africa-es-reddy">Tamil League</a> and located in the historical and turbulent suburb of <a href="http://www.aglimpseintomarabastad.co.za/index.html">Marabastad</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321544/original/file-20200319-22602-11olw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321544/original/file-20200319-22602-11olw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321544/original/file-20200319-22602-11olw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321544/original/file-20200319-22602-11olw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321544/original/file-20200319-22602-11olw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321544/original/file-20200319-22602-11olw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321544/original/file-20200319-22602-11olw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321544/original/file-20200319-22602-11olw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View from within the maha mandapan (pavilion), where spiritual gatherings take place. An altar is visible in the foreground.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alain Proust/Hidden Pretoria</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Mariamman Temple</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/bldgframes.php?bldgid=1238">The Mariamman Temple</a> is a small complex of buildings constructed from 1928 onwards within the fine urban grain of the Asiatic Bazaar. This is a historical part of Marabastad that managed to survive apartheid-era clearances in the area. A visible landmark is the <a href="https://www.templepurohit.com/significance-symbolism-temple-gopuram/">gopuram</a> or entrance portal on 6th Street, considered the most impressive of its kind in South Africa. Especially since its renovation in the early 1990s and the subsequent reintroduction of colour and detail by the Tamil community.</p>
<p>Groups from India arrived in the Natal Colony on South Africa’s east coast as <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/indian-indentured-labour-natal-1860-1911">indentured labourers</a> as early as the 1860s, and settled in the Pretoria region in central South Africa from the 1880s onwards.</p>
<p>After its establishment in the early 1890s, the Asiatic Bazaar became home to most of Pretoria’s Indian communities. The Tamil-speaking Hindu community founded the Pretoria Tamil League here in the early 20th century. They developed the temple complex as the heart of their community life and still act as custodians.</p>
<p>Marabastad developed in parallel to the ‘white’ inner city as a mixed-race precinct. But, as with other ‘non-white’ suburbs it fell victim to demolitions and <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/forced-removals-south-africa">forced removals</a> of the apartheid-era government in their enforcement of racial segration as dictated by legislation such as the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/list-laws-land-dispossession-and-segregation">Slum Clearance Act of 1934</a> and the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/group-areas-act-1950">Group Areas Act</a> of 1950.</p>
<p>Over time, the residents of Marabastad were moved to areas designated for various groups which apartheid defined by race and colour. These included <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/pretoria-segregated-city">Atteridgeville, Eersterust and Laudium</a>. The Asiatic Bazaar, however, was left intact as a non-residential trading area. Historical landmarks such as the Mariamman Temple, Ismaili Mosque and the Orient Cinema have survived to the present.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321601/original/file-20200319-22606-9ms87m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321601/original/file-20200319-22606-9ms87m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321601/original/file-20200319-22606-9ms87m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321601/original/file-20200319-22606-9ms87m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321601/original/file-20200319-22606-9ms87m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321601/original/file-20200319-22606-9ms87m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321601/original/file-20200319-22606-9ms87m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321601/original/file-20200319-22606-9ms87m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Detail of the intricate gopuram or entrance portal, with decorative elements made from precast concrete or bought from ceramics catalogues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alain Proust/Hidden Pretoria</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Harmony with the cosmos</h2>
<p>Replacing an earlier structure of wood and iron, the first phase of the current temple was planned around 1928 and constructed in phases. First the sacred elements were erected, the cella (inner area) and arda mandapam (pavilion) which were built according to strict proportional systems. Then the maha (large) mandapam was added to accommodate spiritual gatherings. Lastly, the gopuram was completed in 1938 as the main architectural feature. </p>
<p>The temple was dedicated to <a href="https://www.vedicvaani.com/blog/post/mariamman-goddess.html">the goddess Mariamman</a>. It was built in the south Indian <a href="http://glimpsesofhistory.com/temple-architecture-dravidian-style/">Dravida Style</a> known for its large tiered gopurams (entrance portals) and the close integration of temples and their urban surroundings. Research has shown that the designers, P Govender and G Krishnan, followed strict design norms derived from guidelines or precedent. The building can be seen as a textbook example, achieving its intended mathematical harmony with the cosmos.</p>
<h2>Restoration</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321598/original/file-20200319-22590-1s8vzay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321598/original/file-20200319-22590-1s8vzay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321598/original/file-20200319-22590-1s8vzay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321598/original/file-20200319-22590-1s8vzay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321598/original/file-20200319-22590-1s8vzay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321598/original/file-20200319-22590-1s8vzay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321598/original/file-20200319-22590-1s8vzay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321598/original/file-20200319-22590-1s8vzay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The imposing gopuram (entrance portal), its stepped tiers covered in decorative elements, is seen here amid the urban decay of the Marabastad area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alain Proust/Hidden Pretoria</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Tamil community built a new temple when they were relocated to Laudium. But the Mariamman Temple remained in use, even as parts of the building fell into disrepair. In the early 1990s, an academically researched restoration was executed by architects Schalk le Roux and Nico Botes. They worked in close partnership with the Tamil community who actively contributed to the research and design processes. </p>
<p>A new navakaragam was added while the gopuram structure was repaired and its external tiers returned to their colourful appearance. This prompted the community to commission new murtis (figurative sculptures) which were made by artisans from India and installed over time, a clear sign of continued care and ownership.</p>
<p>Marabastad has declined over the decades and the area seems to be stuck in a development impasse. But, within this context, the Mariamman Temple can be seen as a remarkable success story.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321605/original/file-20200319-22627-lfd8rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321605/original/file-20200319-22627-lfd8rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321605/original/file-20200319-22627-lfd8rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=624&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321605/original/file-20200319-22627-lfd8rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=624&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321605/original/file-20200319-22627-lfd8rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=624&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321605/original/file-20200319-22627-lfd8rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=784&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321605/original/file-20200319-22627-lfd8rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=784&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321605/original/file-20200319-22627-lfd8rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=784&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hidden Pretoria/Penguin Random House</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The complex is evidence of the close interaction between architecture and social practices, and the restoration project has shown that architectural conservation is most sustainably done in partnership with communities. </p>
<p>Marabastad is a significant historical area in desperate need of more projects that will contribute to its renewal as a living neighbourhood.</p>
<p><em>You can order a copy of Hidden Pretoria <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/hidden-pretoria/9781432304652">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133942/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johan Swart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Built by Tamil immigrants almost 100 years ago, the temple has survived apartheid and urban decay to remain at the heart of its community.
Johan Swart, Lecturer, University of Pretoria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/115658
2019-04-18T21:24:30Z
2019-04-18T21:24:30Z
Notre Dame: a history of medieval cathedrals and fire
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269810/original/file-20190417-139084-1qv3hhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/629155787?src=cMxgZKJKo7zjSSQtp5wCGw-1-11&size=medium_jpg">Zabotnova Inna/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many great churches and cathedrals have suffered catastrophic fires over their long histories and medieval chronicles are full of stories of devastation and ruin as a result – but they also tell of how the buildings were reconstructed and made better than ever.</p>
<p>The devastating fire that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2019/apr/17/notre-dame-cathedral-before-and-after-the-devastating-fire-video">destroyed the roofs and spire of Notre Dame</a> in Paris demonstrated the vulnerabilities of medieval cathedrals and great churches, but also revealed the skills of their master masons. The lead-covered wooden roof structure burned so fast because the fire was able to take hold under the lead and increase in intensity before it was visible from the outside, and it then spread easily to all the other sections of the roof. </p>
<p>Notre Dame was saved from total destruction because the medieval builders gave it a stone vault over all the main spaces, and also on the tops of the aisles which meant that the burning timbers and molten lead couldn’t break through easily.</p>
<p>But French churches and cathedrals are more at risk than ones in Britain because they don’t usually have a stone tower in the centre to act as a firebreak – this is what saved York Minster in 1984 when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Minster#1984_fire">the transept roof caught fire</a> but the tower stopped it spreading further. </p>
<p>Turning to Britain, medieval chronicles provide fascinating reading for historians as we can find eyewitness accounts of the unfolding disasters when fires occurred in the past. At Croyland Abbey in Lincolnshire, the monk who found the fire in the 12th century rushed to the cloister to wake the sleeping monks in their dormitory, but was burned by the red-hot lead falling from the roof and had to be taken to the infirmary for treatment. </p>
<p>Swift action by the other monks saved the building, and the next abbot restored it to its former glory, although the loss of precious manuscripts and documents, <a href="https://archive.org/details/ecclesiasticalhi03orde/page/208">“caused them much sorrow”</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269981/original/file-20190418-28100-oubjgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269981/original/file-20190418-28100-oubjgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269981/original/file-20190418-28100-oubjgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269981/original/file-20190418-28100-oubjgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269981/original/file-20190418-28100-oubjgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269981/original/file-20190418-28100-oubjgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269981/original/file-20190418-28100-oubjgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269981/original/file-20190418-28100-oubjgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Master masons were highly skilled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/carving-stone-traditional-way-craftsmanship-detail-1252443733?src=bBszJ1fCtwqFToODac3Vtw-1-91">Sergio Foto/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The canons of the great priory church of Gisborough in north-east England were very unlucky: the masons had just completed a very splendid, and expensive, rebuilding project when they had to start all over again. On May 16, 1289, so the chronicles tell us, a plumber – in medieval times, someone who worked with lead – and his two assistants went up onto the roof to make a few final repairs to the leads. Unfortunately, the plumber left a fire pan on the roof beams when he went down for his lunch, leaving his assistants to put out the fire. This they failed to do, and the whole roof went up in flames, followed by the building and all its contents. </p>
<p>Traces of the fire can still be found at the west end of the church, which is virtually all that they were able to save, and a new building arose from the ashes over the next hundred years. Plumbers had to be very careful, they were the only ones who needed to have fires burning close to where they were working, and at Ely Cathedral you can still see where a plumber used the hollow between two arches high up on the back of the west front as a makeshift chimney for his fire. Fortunately, nothing dreadful happened there.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269975/original/file-20190418-28116-1twiiwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269975/original/file-20190418-28116-1twiiwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269975/original/file-20190418-28116-1twiiwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269975/original/file-20190418-28116-1twiiwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269975/original/file-20190418-28116-1twiiwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269975/original/file-20190418-28116-1twiiwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269975/original/file-20190418-28116-1twiiwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lincoln cathedral.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/medieval-cathedral-lincoln-grand-gothic-building-1116839306?src=5Voty0c5EFo_Enet63Obgg-1-4">Lebendigger/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At Lincoln cathedral, we can see where the fire in the west front <a href="https://lincolncathedral.com/history-conservation/timeline/">in the 12th century</a> damaged the staircases because these acted as chimneys and spread the fire quickly up into the rest of the building. The building’s limestone turned pink in the extreme heat and it’s clear that the masons had to take down the more damaged parts of the west front to repair the stonework that had been closer to the fire and had cracked. One fascinating detail remains: the masons had to check how deeply the fire damage had penetrated the stone and the marks they cut into the stone are still there.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269979/original/file-20190418-28106-1xbt6gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269979/original/file-20190418-28106-1xbt6gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269979/original/file-20190418-28106-1xbt6gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269979/original/file-20190418-28106-1xbt6gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269979/original/file-20190418-28106-1xbt6gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269979/original/file-20190418-28106-1xbt6gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269979/original/file-20190418-28106-1xbt6gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269979/original/file-20190418-28106-1xbt6gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Detail of one of the Becket Miracle Windows in Canterbury Cathedral, 1180-1220, marking the shrine to St Thomas Becket.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/canterbury-uk-april-11-detail-one-100588843?src=SaUE12C-21xBaBSO5hCzYg-1-2">Platslee/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Canterbury Cathedral was struggling to cope with all the pilgrims drawn to the shrine of the murdered Thomas Becket and a fire of 1174 gave the monks the chance to build a fine new building to house his shrine. </p>
<p>The eyewitness account has details of the heroic monks rushing into the building to save all its treasures, and it’s <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/30/canterbury-cathedral-fire-12th-century-arson-committed-monks/">even been suggested</a> that this fire wasn’t an accident and was started by the monks themselves as it brought so many benefits in its wake. The master mason gave them a superb new building in the Gothic style and with all the funds pouring in, the monks were able to move back into their church within five years of the fire, although completing the building work took a little longer.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269976/original/file-20190418-28103-1hrabgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269976/original/file-20190418-28103-1hrabgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269976/original/file-20190418-28103-1hrabgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269976/original/file-20190418-28103-1hrabgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269976/original/file-20190418-28103-1hrabgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269976/original/file-20190418-28103-1hrabgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269976/original/file-20190418-28103-1hrabgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">St Paul’s Cathedral. Originally a medieval church, rebuilt after the Great Fire of London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/st-pauls-598755587?src=OZoDesjbcBkCjXrEV5DY1g-1-22">George M Hiles/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For Sir Christopher Wren, the Great Fire of London in 1666 gave him the opportunity he’d been waiting for: to give London the cathedral it needed for the modern age. The medieval cathedral had been falling into disrepair for years and various attempts to patch it up had left it weakened and muddled in appearance. Wandering among the ruins after the fire, Wren was handed a piece of stone from a tomb monument with the word “Resurgam” – I will rise again – carved on it, and this encouraged him to press on with his plans for a whole new building. It took 50 years, but it gave us the St Paul’s Cathedral that we know today.</p>
<p>Coventry also rose from the ashes of despair after the firebombing of November 1940 in World War II. The cathedral had been built as one of <a href="http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/wpsite/our-history/">the city’s great medieval churches</a> and became the city’s cathedral in 1918. It was a fine late-medieval building with a huge timber roof, and this was no match for the fire bombs that rained down on it during Coventry’s blitz.</p>
<p>Burning timbers fell straight down into the building and caused a huge bonfire that cracked the slender stone work supports and brought them crashing down. By morning, the building was a devastated shell. Basil Spence, the architect of the new Coventry Cathedral in the 1950s, sensitively integrated the ruins into the design of his new building where they stand as a memorial to the events of the 1940s.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269978/original/file-20190418-28087-1qotzp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269978/original/file-20190418-28087-1qotzp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269978/original/file-20190418-28087-1qotzp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269978/original/file-20190418-28087-1qotzp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269978/original/file-20190418-28087-1qotzp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269978/original/file-20190418-28087-1qotzp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269978/original/file-20190418-28087-1qotzp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Illustration of York Minster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/york-minster-vintage-engraved-illustration-colorful-402210895?src=2aZXODWqHwsgED-148zojg-1-57">Morphart Creation/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The 20th century has seen a few serious fires. York Minster’s huge 1984 fire was believed to have been caused by either lightning, or an electrical fault. York has been very unlucky over the years, it’s had a succession of fires and without stone vaults over the building, the minster has been very vulnerable. After the last restoration, York had the inspired idea of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/2005/10/05/minster_fire_rebecca_feature.shtml">asking school students to design</a> some of the carvings on the new transept vault.</p>
<p>The threat of fire in historic buildings is a constant one, and the people who look after the buildings, on a day-to-day basis, or in response to disaster, are unsung heroes who deserve gratitude and support. Notre Dame, Paris will be restored and made glorious once again – fires have always been a risk, and restorations have always been a part of church history.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115658/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Alexander has received funding from: Regional government of Galicia, Spain, to cover expenses for working on a historical survey of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, 2008-13, also from the European Research Council for project, Petrifying Wealth, 2015-19.</span></em></p>
Medieval churches have often suffered fires. A look at those in Britain shows that Notre Dame can be rebuilt.
Jenny Alexander, Associate Professor, University of Warwick
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/71451
2017-01-23T09:07:10Z
2017-01-23T09:07:10Z
Archaeologist: the A303 is a crucial part of Stonehenge’s setting
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153660/original/image-20170120-5257-omr3r1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Pitt Rivers Museum (Accession Number 2012.79.21)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/">Stonehenge</a> has a traffic problem. The A303 has been the UK government’s preferred trunk road from London to the West Country since 1958 – but it runs within 165 metres of the 5,000-year-old monument. Narrowing to a single carriageway, it slows many a summertime car journey. The bottleneck brings noise and pollution, and presents a barrier to exploring the landscape on foot.</p>
<p>On January 12, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced plans for a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/12/stonehenge-a303-tunnel-chris-grayling-world-heritage-site">Stonehenge Bypass</a>, transforming the A303 into an “<a href="http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/a303a358-work-to-create-an-expressway-to-the-south-west/">Expressway to the South West</a>”. It involves building a dual carriageway and tunnel across the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/373">Stonehenge UNESCO World Heritage Site</a>. As Highways England launched a six-week <a href="https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/cip/a303-stonehenge/">public consultation</a> on the plan, the estimated cost of <a href="http://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/a303-stonehenge-amesbury-and-berwick-down/">£1.4 billion</a> was <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/statements/stonehenge-a303/">heralded by Historic England</a> as “the biggest single investment ever made by government in this country’s heritage”. </p>
<p>But the Stonehenge Bypass is absolutely not in the best interests of cultural heritage.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153658/original/image-20170120-5214-1p6sdft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153658/original/image-20170120-5214-1p6sdft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153658/original/image-20170120-5214-1p6sdft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153658/original/image-20170120-5214-1p6sdft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153658/original/image-20170120-5214-1p6sdft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153658/original/image-20170120-5214-1p6sdft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153658/original/image-20170120-5214-1p6sdft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153658/original/image-20170120-5214-1p6sdft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of Stonehenge World Heritage Site with route of the proposed bypass and tunnel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Highways England</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Two old ideas</h2>
<p>The Stonehenge tunnel is, in fact, an old idea. Proposed in the 1989 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roads_for_Prosperity">Roads for Prosperity</a> government White Paper, which launched the last major programme of roadbuilding in England, over the subsequent three decades arguments over a variety of schemes have multiplied, at an estimated cost of <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=l9mjU90hoBUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=parker+pearson+stonehenge&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAuYvR8svRAhUFDcAKHRsCBZ0Q6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=%C2%A330%20million&f=false">£30m</a> in consultants’ and lawyers’ fees. </p>
<p>This time around, the project is billed as in the best interests of cultural heritage. The existing road “<a href="https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/cip/a303-stonehenge/supporting_documents/S160531%20A303%20Stonehenge%20case%20for%20scheme%20DEC_print.pdf">spoils the setting of Stonehenge</a>”, suggests Highways England. A new road would “improve our understanding and enjoyment of the Stonehenge monument,” chimes the joint National Trust and Historic England <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/statements/stonehenge-a303/">statement</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"821441557857439744"}"></div></p>
<p>Another old idea is being revived hand-in-hand with the tunnel – heritage restoration. The focus is the stones, not their landscape. Stonehenge is reimagined as a Stone Age exhibit untouched by modernity. The A303 would be grassed over at the stones while a new road twice as wide is cut across the World Heritage Site, but tunnelled within the paying visitors’ view. The aesthetics of this “Stonehenge Restored” are determinedly Georgian. A stately monument within rolling lawns from which shuttles run along a new coaching-road between Bath and London. That carriageway hidden from the monument, so customers can stroll an “authentic” landscape of the past, never glimpsing the present.</p>
<h2>A living monument</h2>
<p>Why bury a road? The bypass plans turn back the clock to the kind of temporal connoisseurship widely dismissed since John Ruskin <a href="https://archive.org/stream/lampsofarchseven00ruskrich#page/194/mode/2up">argued in 1849 that</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Neither by the public, nor by those who have the care of public monuments, is the true meaning of restoration understood. It means the most total destruction … a destruction accompanied with false description of the thing destroyed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In Ruskin’s alternate vision of a “living monument”, the qualities of age-value and patina emerge through layers built up and eroded through human life and the passage of time. In the 1870s, this became the logic of William Morris’s “Anti-Scrape” movement – the world’s first heritage campaign. Ruskin and Morris understood that erasing later features to restore traces of some imagined original period leads not just to Georgian follies, but to downright misrepresentation.</p>
<p>The 21st-century “scraping” of Stonehenge would conjure the illusion of an unchanging Neolithic relic. But the monument has been a centre of gravity attracting human activity throug five millennia. The mosaic of henges, cursuses, round barrows, inhumations, settlements, enclosures, field systems – and even buildings and roads – represents an ongoing sequence of movement, building, living, and deposition. It’s the prime example of what WG Hoskins famously described as <a href="http://www.le.ac.uk/ebulletin-archive/ebulletin/features/2000-2009/2007/07/nparticle.2007-07-09.html">the “palimpsest” of the English landscape</a>, a layered document repeatedly written over. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153253/original/image-20170118-26585-28yx4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153253/original/image-20170118-26585-28yx4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153253/original/image-20170118-26585-28yx4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153253/original/image-20170118-26585-28yx4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153253/original/image-20170118-26585-28yx4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153253/original/image-20170118-26585-28yx4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153253/original/image-20170118-26585-28yx4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153253/original/image-20170118-26585-28yx4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Approach to Stonehenge in 1930, from the east: A303 running to the left, A344 (closed 2013) to the right.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Archives</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This story encompasses the A303’s own history: laid out in the early 1800s as the “New Direct Road”, a coaching route from London to Exeter. It was less used from the 1840s with the railway boom, then became a major road from 1933, being defined as a trunk road by the Ministry of Transport in 1958. Stonehenge is not a site or an artefact, but an ever-changing landscape.</p>
<p>Driving west on the A303 today, we glimpse the monument. This modern view is endangered. Since the 1960s, archaeology’s <a href="http://rescue-archaeology.org.uk/">Rescue Movement</a> has defended our past against the threat of destruction from the present day. Today, it is Stonehenge’s modernity that is under threat from a narrow vision of the past.</p>
<p>Hiding the road from the stones would hide the stones from the public. Some <a href="http://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=423">1.3m people</a> will pass through the Stonehenge giftshop this year, but perhaps ten times that number will witness the monument from a passing vehicle. Those thrilling, often unexpected views may not be celebrated among the iconic experiences of global prehistory, but they are surely among the most democratic. Through these encounters, Stonehenge lives on as a public space. Year by year since the 1980s, public access to Stonehenge has been gradually restricted. This bypass would deal another blow to any chance of seeing the monument without paying the <a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/prices-and-opening-times">£15.50 entrance fee</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153341/original/image-20170118-26550-1d8a927.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153341/original/image-20170118-26550-1d8a927.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153341/original/image-20170118-26550-1d8a927.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153341/original/image-20170118-26550-1d8a927.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153341/original/image-20170118-26550-1d8a927.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153341/original/image-20170118-26550-1d8a927.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153341/original/image-20170118-26550-1d8a927.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Stonehenge under threat’: the iconic image of the 1970s Rescue movement. © Rescue, The British Archaeological Trust.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Save the A303!</h2>
<p>“Every age has the Stonehenge it deserves – or desires,” wrote visionary archaeologist <a href="https://jacquettahawkes.wordpress.com/">Jacquetta Hawkes</a> in 1967. What do we desire for Stonehenge today? </p>
<p>For some, the tunnel is <a href="https://mikepitts.wordpress.com/2015/10/29/tunnel-truths/">the best compromise</a>. New excavations would add to our understanding of the landscape (and bring jobs for archaeologists). Others call for <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-38666455">a longer tunnel</a>. And some dismiss the project as a destructive “<a href="http://time.com/4632738/uk-government-stonehenge-tunnel/">time-bomb</a>”. After all, with sliproads and dual carriageways, the project could result in <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfDanHicks/status/821673131672829953">a net increase in road surface</a> within the World Heritage Site.</p>
<p>One promising idea is to <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/01/the-stonehenge-tunnel-is-monumental-folly/">make the A303 one-way westbound</a>, building an alternative route for eastbound traffic away from the monument – cutting traffic at Stonehenge in half while saving millions. In preserving the A303, that solution reminds us of the ongoing lives of our ancient monuments in the modern world.</p>
<p>Stonehenge’s value lies not just in its prehistory, but also in its modernity. Today, the A303 is a crucial part of the monument’s setting. Yes, we must reduce the traffic. But why hide the stones from the world?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71451/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Hicks receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). He is an Elected Trustee of the Society of Antiquaries of London.</span></em></p>
Stonehenge has a traffic problem. But building a £1.4 billion tunnel is not the answer.
Dan Hicks, Associate Professor and Curator, Pitt Rivers Museum and School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/65191
2016-09-12T13:02:30Z
2016-09-12T13:02:30Z
Saving Westminster from ruin is a chance to rebuild British democracy
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137379/original/image-20160912-3766-1h3z86k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C289%2C3042%2C1915&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/78150631@N04/8033873917/">Gema Ruiz Puerto</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt201617/jtselect/jtpow/41/4102.htm">parliamentary committee</a> has recommended that British politicians move out of the Palace of Westminster en masse in order to allow major restoration works to go ahead. This will be a multi-billion pound job, but should be seen as much as an opportunity as a cost.</p>
<p>The committee’s decision to call for everyone to leave is not simply a politically brave proposal, it is also the correct one to make. The scale of disrepair that must now be addressed at Westminster is itself the result of the failure of previous governments to engage with the public about the cost of democracy. One administration after another avoided making the necessary investment to stop the building crumbling. The result is the current crisis and the need for such large and expensive repair work.</p>
<p>To talk of a “crisis” might be interpreted as simply part of the hyperbole that often surrounds contemporary politics. But in this case I would argue the term is completely justified.</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.restorationandrenewal.parliament.uk/options-appraisal-published.html">in-depth appraisal</a> of the situation published in 2015 warned that “the risk of catastrophic failure is increasing”. It concluded that “a major failure of the existing service infrastructure is inevitable”. Parliament, in short, is falling down.</p>
<p>It is therefore to the committee’s credit that it has listened to the evidence and rejected the temptation to delay for short-term political gain. It has had the foresight to recommend the “full decant” option for Westminster. All MPs and peers should leave to occupy other buildings while works take place. The committee suggested that the House of Commons move to a nearby building currently occupied by the Department of Health and that the House of Lords conduct its business from the QEII conference centre, also very close to the Palace of Westminster. This should maximise value of money and minimise disruption.</p>
<p>The restoration and renewal project is expected to take between five and eight years. It will cost around £3.5 billion. The “rolling decant” option, whereby works would be undertaken in specific areas while parliamentary life continued in the rest of the building, was predicted to cost twice this amount and take anywhere up to 25 to 40 years.</p>
<p>The timing of the restoration and renewal programme could hardly be worse. The economic context continues to be dominated by narratives of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/austerity-2893">austerity</a> and restraint. The political context is even worse, with the rise of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-populism-popular-a-psychologist-explains-61319">populist parties</a> and anti-political sentiment. Arguing that democracy comes at a price and therefore “selling” the idea of investing billions in the Palace of Westminster is a tough pitch to make.</p>
<p>This is exactly why previous generations of MPs and successive governments have shied away from the problem. The risk of a public backlash has been too daunting. But it’s also exactly why the current cohort of MPs and the government should plough ahead with the restoration. They should embrace the project as an opportunity to redefine how politics is “done” in the United Kingdom.</p>
<h2>Fixing up</h2>
<p>The state of the building means that doing nothing is no longer an option, and the real question is not one of simple economic cost but of social value. How can the renewal of the Palace of Westminster be used to close the gap between the governors and the governed?</p>
<p>This has little to do with self-interested politicians or feather-bedding ministers and everything to do with national pride and political confidence. It’s about protecting British heritage while also creating new democratic spaces. It’s about creating an atmosphere that is inclusive and welcoming and its about connecting with multiple publics in multiple ways.</p>
<p>That could mean creating new meeting places where the public and politicians can mix, making it easier to find your way around the building, offering more facilities to eat and drink, thinking about the use of light in order to create a less library-like ambience and – critically – thinking about how the public are welcomed into their parliament without feeling threatened, looked-down upon or like they are a distraction to the real work of the House.</p>
<p>Although security considerations are obviously important, the current use of machine guns, X-ray machines and concrete ram raid blocks are never going to offer a warm welcome. The contrast between the welcoming culture of the National Assembly of Wales and the Scottish Parliament is stark and should be noted as inspiration for the Westminster work.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137376/original/image-20160912-3768-srt05t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137376/original/image-20160912-3768-srt05t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137376/original/image-20160912-3768-srt05t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137376/original/image-20160912-3768-srt05t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137376/original/image-20160912-3768-srt05t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137376/original/image-20160912-3768-srt05t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137376/original/image-20160912-3768-srt05t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Welsh Assembly – come on in and take a seat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wojtekgurak/4067169239/in/photolist-7cpiHz-FrAXV-5ybhv7-pg7hrh-nexMob-85hWmA-4JfsYq-FrB5R-apYZjL-6WY1sj-6WY1pj-6L6wRx-dQ9Rt-o6try2-6WU1DB-mtrng-3SVHR-85f794-4PsDEE-6WY1v5-dQ9V9-p1Dkm7-o6tjj2-8mEcHZ-6wrqqb-8xzQDK-p1Dro7-FryT9-85ideq-dQ9U5-FryCJ-4PsDgu-Frz7b-9YDkYs-coecMA-FrAJK-FryH3-5RDvxi-dQ9SH-7ZBEvJ-8KLxY9-2adtNC-eLj8T1-9AcggV-6L6xe8-4S9vLz-e2DGfx-bNkqAV-bGtXLB-qEvRc9">Wojtek Gurak</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is also about accepting that anti-political sentiment is often misinterpreted. In my experience, very few people are anti-political. They would more accurately be labelled as “pro-a-different-way-of-doing-politics”.</p>
<p>Something has to change, otherwise political frustration might boil over. This is a chance to revitalise and redefine politics in the United Kingdom. This is the huge prize on offer to a parliament and government that is brave enough to seize the initiative. The price of democracy might be significant but in this case the long-term cost of not seizing the opportunity – the potential for dangerous levels of democratic disengagement – could be far greater.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65191/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Flinders received a small grant from the House of Commons Liaison Committee in 2015 to explore how select committees could promote public engagement in their activities.</span></em></p>
A parliamentary committee says all MPs and peers should clear out of the national parliament so that major repairs can take place. But it’s not just the building that needs attention.
Matthew Flinders, Founding Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics, University of Sheffield
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/58934
2016-05-09T02:25:45Z
2016-05-09T02:25:45Z
We all live downstream – it’s time to restore our freshwater ecosystems
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121449/original/image-20160506-5697-qxqam6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Moo-ve along: livestock are one of many threats to Australian freshwater ecosystems.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/splatt/786243084/">Mick Stanic/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Freshwater covers a tiny area of the planet’s surface, but is vital for our economies, environment and, of course, our survival. Yet freshwater is also among the most threatened ecosystems, where wildlife has declined faster than in the oceans or on land. </p>
<p>Faced with a barrage of human threats, how can we help our waterways? Our research, published in Biological Conservation, looks at the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716300763">cheapest, most effective ways to restore our rivers</a>. </p>
<p>After all, we all live downstream. </p>
<h2>Water is life</h2>
<p>According to the United Nations, <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002439/243938e.pdf">more than 40% of the global workforce</a> is heavily dependent on freshwater. There are strong links between water and jobs across all sectors of the economy – agriculture, fisheries and forestry, energy, manufacturing and transport. </p>
<p>All ecosystems are connected by water. As a result freshwater is worth trillions of dollars to our economy through various <a href="http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.312.aspx.pdf">ecosystem services</a>. These include power generation, food and medicine production, flood buffering and recreation and tourism. </p>
<p>People in the United States alone spend <a href="http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.358.aspx.pdf">US$24-37 billion each year</a> on tourism activities related to recreational fishing. Likewise, in Australia, <a href="http://healthywaterways.org/u/lib/mob/20151027110516_df3fbf5dad31044b9/2015-report-card_final_lowres.pdf">freshwater recreation</a> is worth billions of dollars to the economy. </p>
<h2>Freshwater biodiversity loss</h2>
<p>The role of healthy freshwater ecosystems in sustaining wildlife is less celebrated. </p>
<p>Freshwaters cover only about 0.5% of the earth’s surface, but are home to nearly 10% of all known species, including <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1899/08-171.1">a third of all vertebrates</a>. </p>
<p>Despite this abundance of biodiversity, freshwater ecosystems are <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v467/n7315/full/nature09440.html%3Fref%3Dnf?message-global=remove&ref=nf">among the most threatened on Earth</a>. According to the <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/">World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Index</a>, freshwater fish, birds, mammals and reptiles and amphibians have declined by a whopping three-quarters over the last 40 years. This is significantly more than the declines in ocean and land wildlife.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List</a> reveals that 35% of freshwater amphibians are threatened or extinct, 46% of mammals and 38% of turtles.</p>
<h2>Freshwater threats</h2>
<p>Of all the Earth’s ecosystems, freshwater ecosystems have been hit hardest by human activities. <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=434899&fileId=S1464793105006950">Key threats</a> include dams, farming and industry, water extraction, pollution, flow change, invasive species, over-harvesting of species, and climate change. </p>
<p>To make the management of freshwater ecosystems even more challenging, these threats often interact in ways that are difficult to predict. These complex and interacting threats are often ignored, leading to <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716300763">poor decisions and ultimately the loss of species</a>. </p>
<p>Habitat loss and degradation are primarily due to deforestation, farming activities and dams. When these activities occur in an upper-catchment area, sediment is carried into rivers and lakes, causing significant negative impacts on freshwater species. </p>
<p>Unsustainable water extraction – for irrigation, industry and urban consumption – is a major threat to freshwater species. Over-harvesting of freshwater species (particularly fish) is, in turn, a threat to these ecosystems. </p>
<p>Infrastructure development – including dams and levees – also modifies water flow. There are perhaps one million dams globally, <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1899/08-171.1">fragmenting rivers into isolated sections</a>. Freshwater species – including fish, molluscs and reptiles – often can’t adapt to these changes and are at increased risk of extinction.</p>
<p>Pollution is another significant threat to these habitats. Fertiliser runoff from farming and the dumping of industrial pollutants directly into rivers and lakes have resulted in areas so poisoned that they can no longer support their normal range of species. </p>
<p>Invasive species have played a major role in disrupting freshwater ecosystems. The European carp (<em>Cyprinus carpio</em>), for example, is a pest that out-competes native fish. It was first introduced to Australian waterways more than 100 years ago and has spread to every state and territory except the Northern Territory. The federal government has recently taken <a href="https://theconversation.com/carpageddon-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-release-of-carp-herpes-in-australia-58787">steps to control carp</a>, by way of plans to introduce a herpes virus.</p>
<p>Climate change presents another threat to freshwater habitats, particularly to those species that can’t migrate or compensate for higher temperatures. In Australia, extreme weather fluctuations and natural disasters such as floods and droughts are projected to become more common, placing freshwater biodiversity under further stress.</p>
<p>As threats intensify and interact in the coming decades, the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02593.x/full">risk to freshwater wildlife will increase</a>. Vulnerable freshwater ecosystems in Australia such as the Murray-Darling Basin will be particularly susceptible to further loss of species. </p>
<p>So how do we decide what actions to take to best protect and restore our freshwater ecosystems? </p>
<h2>Better bang for your buck</h2>
<p>We’ve looked at the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716300763">cheapest and most effective way to address threats, particularly climate change and land-use change</a>. Our research shows that the best way to help freshwater species is to restore rivers. This might include fencing out livestock, stabilising river banks, removing weeds, replanting native vegetation and expanding floodplain areas. </p>
<p>But this can be expensive. We can make it cheaper to protect freshwater wildlife by including farm and land management – such as rotating pasture, reducing erosion through smart burning practices, and better management of pesticides and nutrients. </p>
<p>While changing farm and land-use practices around rivers can improve water quality “cheaply”, these may have only a modest effect on biodiversity overall – especially if the land next to rivers is degraded. </p>
<p>We have seen such improvements in a few catchments throughout Australia <a href="http://healthywaterways.org/u/lib/mob/20151027110516_df3fbf5dad31044b9/2015-report-card_final_lowres.pdf">such as in Queensland</a>. Yet many other catchments nationally continue to deteriorate in water quality and biodiversity.</p>
<p>We therefore cannot just target best-practice farm management programs in the hope that our farmers will do what’s best for the land and biodiversity. We all need to share in the cost of restoring our freshwater ecosystems. </p>
<p>Landholders need incentives to protect streamside vegetation, including payments to replant vegetation, alongside better farm and land management. </p>
<p>We all stand to benefit from protecting biodiversity and repairing our waterways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58934/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chrystal Mantyka-Pringle received funding from the Australian Government's National Environmental Research Program, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, and the Canadian Water Network. Chrystal is affiliated with the University of Queensland, CSIRO and the University of Saskatchewan. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Rhodes receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian, Queensland and New South Wales Governments. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tara Martin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Freshwater covers only 0.5% of the Earth’s surface but is home to 10% of the world’s lifeforms.
Chrystal Mantyka-Pringle, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Saskatchewan
Jonathan Rhodes, Associate Professor, The University of Queensland
Tara Martin, Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/57014
2016-03-31T12:07:53Z
2016-03-31T12:07:53Z
Should we 3D print a new Palmyra?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116818/original/image-20160330-28455-8y1i9g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A depiction of the destruction.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Humam Alsalim and Rami Bakhos</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The destruction at the ancient city of Palmyra symbolises the suffering of the Syrian people at the hands of the terrorist group known as Islamic State (IS). Palmyra was a largely Roman city located at a desert oasis on a vital crossroad, and “one of the most important cultural centres of <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/23">the ancient world</a>”. Its remarkable preservation highlighted an intermingling of cultures that today, as then, came to stand for the tolerance and multiculturalism that pre-conflict Syria was renowned for -– tolerance that IS seeks to eradicate.</p>
<p>Early in the conflict, the area was heavily fortified. Roads and embankments were dug through the necropolises and the Roman walls, and the historic citadel defences were upgraded. Yet the terrorists occupied and desecrated the city from May 2015, systematically destroying monuments such as the Temple of Baalshamin, the Temple of Bel, seven tower tombs, a large Lion goddess statue and two Islamic shrines. They ransacked the museum, tortured and executing the former site director <a href="https://theconversation.com/khaled-al-asaad-the-martyr-of-palmyra-46787">Khaled al-Asaad</a> in search of treasure to sell. According to <a href="http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/unitar/downloads/chs/Palmyra.pdf">satellite imagery analysis</a> the site was heavily looted throughout it all.</p>
<p>Now the city has been recaptured, the first damage assessments <a href="http://www.heritageforpeace.org/syria-culture-and-heritage/damage-to-cultural-heritage/previous-damage-newsletters/damage-to-syrias-heritage-28-march-2016/#mctoc3">are underway</a>, and Syrian – and international – attention is already
turning to restoration. This work will be greatly aided by the Syrians who risked their lives to transport the contents of the Palmyra museum <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/art-design/2015/09/men-saving-syria-s-treasures-isis">to safety</a>. The last truck pulled out as IS arrived, with bullets whizzing past.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Manar Monumental Arch, destroyed by IS in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Judith McKenzie/Manar al-Athar April 13 2010</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even as they were displaced, Syrians have worked to keep a detailed memory of the city alive. Syrian artists created artworks <a href="http://www.studentshow.com/gallery/26282319/Cultural-Beheading">depicting the destruction</a>. In a Jordanian camp, refugees made miniature models of the city and other cultural sites, even measuring out the number and position of Palmyra’s columns <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/mar/02/art-helping-syrian-refugees-keep-culture-alive">from photographs</a>.</p>
<p>The international community is also playing its part. Groups like <a href="http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/unitar/downloads/chs/FINAL_Syria_WHS_23122014.pdf">UNOSAT, the UN’s satellite imagery analysts</a> have used satellite imagery to monitor the damage. On the ground, Syrian-founded NGOs <a href="http://apsa2011.com/apsanew/">like APSA</a> have linked <a href="http://www.asor-syrianheritage.org/">with universities</a> to <a href="http://www.asor-syrianheritage.org/special-reports/">assess the site</a>. Groups such as <a href="http://www.newpalmyra.org/">NewPalmyra</a> and <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/6b4q5z94">Palmyra 3D Model</a> are using the latest technology to create open-access 3D computer models from photographs.</p>
<p>Others have gone even further. The <a href="http://digitalarchaeology.org.uk/">Million Image Database Project</a> at the Oxford Institute for Digital Archaeology distributed cameras to volunteers across the Middle East to collect 3D photos of sites. As well as creating 3D models, they will recreate full-scale artefacts, sites, and architectural features using their own <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1617%2Fs11527-015-0571-0">cement-based 3D printing</a> techniques. This will start with a recreation of the arch from Palmyra’s Temple of Bel, due to be unveiled in London in April 2016. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Preserving the memory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNHCR/Christopher Herwig</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Ethics of restoration</h2>
<p>As well as being used for research, education and enjoyment, this technology could recreate (and perhaps ultimately restore) what IS has destroyed. 3D printing can be done in any colour of shapeable material, and can be as obvious – <a href="http://www.icomos.org/charters/venice_e.pdf">or as unobtrusive</a> – as desired. The group is also exploring using computer-guided tools to quickly carve their models into stone.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t be the first time such large-scale restoration has been undertaken. <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/30">Historic central Warsaw</a>, for example, was destroyed during World War II, and was almost completely reconstructed and is now a World Heritage site. Reconstruction is costly, but might be accomplished more quickly and cheaply using new digital techniques, showing the world that Syria values its cultural heritage.</p>
<p>But many argue that 3D printing fails to capture the authenticity of the original structures, amounting to little more than the <a href="http://cllbr.com/en/post/culture-and-the-risk-of-disneyfication/183/#.VvwFcRIrLUI">Disneyfication</a> of heritage. They also point out that the fighting is still ongoing: 370,000 Syrians are dead, millions are displaced, and perhaps 50%-70% of the nearby town has been destroyed. Given the pressing humanitarian needs, stabilisation alone should be the priority for now. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Temple of Baalshamin, destroyed by IS in August 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Judith McKenzie/Manar al-Athar. April 13 2010</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rebuilding also fails to redress the loss caused by the extensive looting of the site, focusing only on the dramatically destroyed monuments. Perhaps most importantly, its worth asking whether returning Palmyra exactly to its pre-conflict state denies a major chapter of its history? There needs to be a wide-ranging discussion on the priorities for the immediate future and the nature of any future reconstruction.</p>
<p>As has happened after <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/1350503315Z.00000000095">previous conflicts</a>, there may need to be a memorial as a testimony to those beheaded in the arena, or tied to columns that were detonated, or to the former site director executed in trying to protect this site that was so important to him. These stories, and many more, are a part of Palmyra’s, and Syria’s, history.</p>
<p>One thing is clear: while Palmyra may hold great significance to the world, the final decision should belong to those who have lived alongside it, cared for it, managed it, fought for it, and protected it for generations: the Syrian people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57014/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Cunliffe is affiliated with the University of Oxford's EAMENA Project, in addition to being a member the UK Committee of the Blue Shield. </span></em></p>
Work is already underway to repair the damage to the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, but we need to question if technology will take things too far.
Emma Cunliffe, Research associate, University of Oxford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.