The annual Wuxi Forum on Chinese Cultural Heritage put forward a "Wuxi proposal" on Wednesday to promote the sustainable development of world heritage sites as one of the commemorative events at the 40th anniversary of UNESCO's Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and National Heritage.

Promulgated in 1972, the convention now has 188 member countries and 936 world heritage sites. Since joining the convention in 1985, China has listed 41 heritage sites — 29 cultural heritage sites, eight natural heritage sites, and four mixed heritage sites — the third-largest total in the world.

"The sustainable development of world heritage sites must reflect their contribution to the sustainable development of the human race," said Tong Mingkang, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The Wuxi Proposal gives credit to the progress China has made in world heritage protection and stresses the significance of public awareness, interdisciplinary cooperation, government effort, and especially the involvement of the local community.

To better "reflect the world's cultural and natural diversity of outstanding universal value", the World Heritage Committee in 2007 added "Communities" to "Credibility, Conservation, Capacity-building, and Communication", upgrading its global strategic objectives from "4C's" to "5C's".

"The local community is a very important component of world heritage sites. Local residents should be among the beneficiaries," said Mounir Bouchenaki, special advisor to the director-general of the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.

He used several world heritage campaigns he followed in Yemen, Peru, Italy, and Vietnam as examples to explain the specific impact the local community has made in each case and how it benefited from its contribution.

"World heritage is not only good at protecting the past and tradition, but also at encouraging and promoting innovation and development," said Guo Zhan, vice-chairman of the International Council on Monuments and Sites and secretary-general of ICO-MOS China.

Bouchenaki added that many historical buildings can no longer be used the way they used to be, so that reuse is an important strategy for local policymakers.

"The transformation of Shanghai's industrial heritage into an artistic zone set an excellent example," he said.