The course concluded with the presentation of a management plan by each group to a jury and to fellow participants, who did not hesitate to rigorously question the logic of proposed solutions and lobby for their own proposals. All the plans had key similar elements: all proposed practical, and sometimes very imaginative, solutions to management problems; and all demonstrated that the expertise necessary for the successful ongoing management of the sites was locally available among the participants themselves. Perhaps most important, all groups used the planning framework in a logical way, and they clearly demonstrated their understanding of the process and its benefits.
A number of conclusions with general application can be drawn from the experience of participants and teachers in this management experiment. First, the simplicity and logic of the process itself was self-evident by the end of the course. Its real contribution—and the reason it was so easily adaptable—was that it pulled together, strengthened, and added to present local planning principles and practices. It is a fundamental principle of site management that such a process be used as a discipline.
Second, its use and adaptation by the participants to local outlooks, philosophy, and management environment was crucial. The lecturers and the plan outline provided only the framework for the participants' input. They had the relevant background, information, and expertise to actually produce the finished plans. To be successful, a management plan cannot depend on complex Western technology or high-tech solutions. It must be designed by the key decision makers at a number of levels; it must be acceptable to the local community; and it must be able to be implemented in the local political, social, and technical environment.
It follows, therefore, that a “perfect” plan, which instantly identifies and solves all the major problems of the site, is unrealistic and unobtainable. Westerners often take, or are given, the role of “fixers,” usually by way of complex new methods and the input of major resources.
Yet management planning, to be successful, needs to move in small, discernible steps from the known to the new, from the present situation to incremental change for the better. Management-strategy development is iterative and gradual. Because of this, physical conservation measures need to be an integral part of management planning and will not succeed if they get too far ahead of this process in terms of available technical or logistical support and follow-through.
Effective management planning can identify basic, low-cost measures for conservation. The establishment of a viable, ongoing management framework and a management plan to achieve certain specified ends are, in fact, essential prerequisites to any significant decisions about physical conservation that involve intervention in the fabric.
World History
