Kathmandu, February 16:

The Kathmandu Symposium on ‘Protecting World Heritage Sites and their Historic Urban Environment from Earthquakes’ began here today.

The symposium aims at developing sustainable measures for earthquake safety and mitigating earthquake damages to heritage sites.

Tatsuo Mizuno, Japanese ambassador to Nepal, said world cultural heritage sites in urban areas were becoming increasingly vulnerable to earthquakes.

He stressed on the need to preserve the traditional values and renovate cultural heritage by local people. He added that cultural heritage should also be preserved from natural weathering. He also highlighted the earthquake risks in Kathmandu and Kyoto. “If we do not take immediate measures to protect the cultural heritage from impending earthquakes, then we may face irreplaceable loss of our cultural resources,” he warned.

Baburam Bhattarai, Dean of Institute of Engineering, Tribhuwan University, claimed that earthquake could cause maximum damage to life and property in Kathmandu valley.

He stated that artistic and valuable monuments built by ancestors were deteriorating due to rapid population growth. He also said the monuments of Kathmandu were in greater risk than those in other places.

IB Shrestha from the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction said earthquake damages could be minimised by following building codes and creating awareness.

He said the outcome of the conference would help to provide guidelines at the policy-making level and bring together different sectors to mitigate earthquake damages.

Kosh Prasad Acharya, director general of Department of Archaeology, said the outcome of the conference would benefit the world heritage sites in Kathmandu. Rohit Jigyasu, programme coordinator and representative from Ritsumeikan University, said the conference would help to develop techniques and mechanism for addressing the real situation.