World heritage sustainable development policy & local implementation: Site management issues using a case study of Sri Ksetra at Pyu ancient cities in Myanmar

In November 2015, State Parties to the World Heritage Convention approved a resolution adopting a policy integrating sustainable development into World Heritage conservation (WH Policy). A central component of the WH Policy was an expectation for participatory models of management involving local communities in site management. This paper uses a case study of Sri Ksetra in Pyu Ancient Cities, Myanmar's first entry onto the World Heritage list, to identify how management practices toward local communities can frustrate the implementation of WH Policy goals. The paper argues that the implementation of WH Policy involves not only the contents of policy statements but also the actions of site management practices, such that efforts to promote sustainable development via community participation require consideration of both the articulation of appropriate management systems in formal policy documents as well as the practice of appropriate conduct by those systems.