Conservation and conflict in the central Asian silk roads

The aim of this paper is to give a description of recent trends in heritage management and conservation in central Asia after its independence from the USSR. Five countries, which became independent from the USSR in 1991, are considered: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. This relatively little-known region provides scope for analysing diverse approaches to philosophical and ethical conservation issues. Three conflicting case studies are described: the Bibi Khanum Mosque (Samarkand, Uzbekistan), the Aisha Bibi Mausoleum (Taraz, Kazakhstan), and the Burana Minaret (Kyrgyzstan).

Several projects in the area were carried out by UNESCO with the financial support of the Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of World Cultural Heritage. The final section of this paper is asynthesis of the pioneering role of UNESCO in implementing conservation projects, assisting the central Asian countries, and in enhancing the national capacities.