Stakeholder Workshop on Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR)

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) for Community & Environment through a Stakeholders Workshop with UNESCO in Jan 2002 for Capacity building of Heritage & Tourism for Sustainable Development & Management.

Methodology

1. Holistic Approach: There are several preconditions to developing potentially successful models in sustainable development.  One of these includes relevant local approaches: in the context of DHR, non-western models will be critical to ensure that the local values are embedded in the developmental processes.  Another will be a holistic approach to natural and cultural environments and to movable and immovable heritage resources, including tangible and intangible elements. These are diagrammatically represented below. 

   Holistic Representation of Cultural and Heritage Resources

   Reproduced from Amareswar Galla, ‘Authenticity: rethinking heritage diversity in a pluralistic framework’, Nara Convention on Authenticity in Relation to the World Heritage Convention.  World Heritage Bureau, UNESCO, Paris, 1995, pp. 315–322.  

2. Preparing an appropriate model: Collection of Information of earlier studies and practices in preserved heritage Railway operation from the   Festiniog Railway in Wales, UK, Puffing Billy in Victoria, Australia and Semmering Railway in Austria.  

3. Benefit from an association: Bring together the people, employees, stakeholders, professionals, institutions, agencies, industry & government to undertake capacity building for sustainable development.

4. Interpretation: Assess, appraise and evaluate heritage and resources for development and presentation.

5. Stakeholders Workshop: Interaction with CEO’s, Stakeholders, Management & Employees in all resource areas. Also, sensitise all concerned to the current and potential threats and to the possible opportunities.

6. Stakeholders Workshop: Interaction with CEO’s, Stakeholders, Management & Employees in all resource areas. Also, sensitise all concerned to the current and potential threats and to the possible opportunities.

   Principal Technical Advisor, Chairman, Convenor & Resource Persons

   Resource Information: -

   1. Layout of the Section, bridges, level crossings, waterways/drains, landslide prone area, Pagla Jhora area & buffer zones

   2. Stations – Darjeeling, Ghum, Sonada, Kurseong, Tindharia, Sukna, Siliguri

   3. Locomotives & other Artifacts (Including Archives)

   4. Tindharia Workshops

   5. Offices, other maintenance facilities

   6.  Hillsides, valleys. Topography, plantations, settlements

   7. Cultural & Community Links, Stakeholders/Heritage bodies for Sustainable development

    

   Form Categories: -

   1. CEO’s – Government, Public, Private, Donors

   2. Stakeholders & Stakeholder Community Leaders–In the World Heritage Area and beyond.

   3. Management – Railways & Civil Services

   4. Staff – Employees and other workers

    

   Form Groups in Architecture, Material, Natural & Intangible: -

   1. Architectural – Stations, Buildings, Offices, Houses & Misc Constructions

   2. Artifacts – Locomotives, Other Artifacts, Archives

   3. Natural – Layout, Buffer Zones, Track, Bridges, Land Management, Afforestation, Water Course

   4. Management & Hill side strengthening, Encroachments, Signage, Hoardings

   5. Intangibles – Arts, Crafts, Folklore  

   Interactive sessions & field visits of participants to associate people of the World Heritage area, Group Presentations  

7. Reports:  The workshop will possible be followed up with the formation of a suitable project team of professionals & Employees in order to develop appropriate themes and organize a donors conference in late 2002.  

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