Human Adaptation to Coastal Evolution: Late Quaternary evidence from Southeast Asia (SUNDASIA)
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Natural and Built Environment
Abstract
Human Adaptation to Coastal Evolution:
Late Quaternary evidence from Southeast Asia (SUNDASIA)
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Changing sea-levels have had a significant impact on human evolution and history in Southeast Asia, and continue to affect the lives of people living there today. Under glacial conditions the continent of Asia extended into the Southern Hemisphere, but up to 75% of that additional landmass ('Sundaland') becomes submerged during interglacials, making this the world's largest single area of land lost cyclically to the sea. The 3.5-year SUNDASIA project, which has already attracted £300,000 worth of corporate backing towards its projected c. £1m cost, explores how prehistoric foraging communities adapted to cycles of coastal inundation in Southeast Asia and how understanding of those processes can inform on modern responses to climate-induced rising seas. Until now, no archaeological record was sufficiently detailed for these linked topics to be researched comprehensively at a landscape scale in this region. The Tràng An limestone massif on the southwest margin of the Red River delta, Vietnam, is the first area in the region to provide such a record and as a result has recently (2014) achieved World Heritage status. The current project synthesizes archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from the last three marine transgressions: those occurring between 59,000 and c. 1500 years ago. Through its work in Tràng An SUNDASIA will demonstrate the impact that changing sea-levels had on early socio-economic systems in the region. This is a body of data that is also highly relevant today: more than 23% of the world's population currently reside on the coast or low-lying islands. These communities face the urgent threat of climate-driven sea-level rise which is particularly acute in Southeast Asia where sea-levels are rising at a rate three times the global average. Although scientists and policy-makers are now incorporating long-term palaeo-climate records into predictive models of climate change, almost no attention has been paid to considering how people coped with these changes in the past. Incorporating adaptive measures that permit a diverse repertoire of responses to climate-change is seen as key to the accuracy and practicality of these models, yet these measures remain poorly understood. Sea-level change and environmental diversity have been powerful drivers behind culture-economic systems for tens of millennia in Southeast Asia; its archaeological record and particularly that from Tràng An offer enormous potential to help bridge this knowledge gap.
Late Quaternary evidence from Southeast Asia (SUNDASIA)
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Changing sea-levels have had a significant impact on human evolution and history in Southeast Asia, and continue to affect the lives of people living there today. Under glacial conditions the continent of Asia extended into the Southern Hemisphere, but up to 75% of that additional landmass ('Sundaland') becomes submerged during interglacials, making this the world's largest single area of land lost cyclically to the sea. The 3.5-year SUNDASIA project, which has already attracted £300,000 worth of corporate backing towards its projected c. £1m cost, explores how prehistoric foraging communities adapted to cycles of coastal inundation in Southeast Asia and how understanding of those processes can inform on modern responses to climate-induced rising seas. Until now, no archaeological record was sufficiently detailed for these linked topics to be researched comprehensively at a landscape scale in this region. The Tràng An limestone massif on the southwest margin of the Red River delta, Vietnam, is the first area in the region to provide such a record and as a result has recently (2014) achieved World Heritage status. The current project synthesizes archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from the last three marine transgressions: those occurring between 59,000 and c. 1500 years ago. Through its work in Tràng An SUNDASIA will demonstrate the impact that changing sea-levels had on early socio-economic systems in the region. This is a body of data that is also highly relevant today: more than 23% of the world's population currently reside on the coast or low-lying islands. These communities face the urgent threat of climate-driven sea-level rise which is particularly acute in Southeast Asia where sea-levels are rising at a rate three times the global average. Although scientists and policy-makers are now incorporating long-term palaeo-climate records into predictive models of climate change, almost no attention has been paid to considering how people coped with these changes in the past. Incorporating adaptive measures that permit a diverse repertoire of responses to climate-change is seen as key to the accuracy and practicality of these models, yet these measures remain poorly understood. Sea-level change and environmental diversity have been powerful drivers behind culture-economic systems for tens of millennia in Southeast Asia; its archaeological record and particularly that from Tràng An offer enormous potential to help bridge this knowledge gap.
Planned Impact
The following are local and international non-academic beneficiaries from the SUNDASIA programme (also see PtI):
1. Tràng An Management Board (TAMB)
The TAMB is both a direct facilitator (see CfS) and direct beneficiary of the proposed project. Requests made of the State Party by the World Heritage Committee following inscription in 2014 mean that research within Tràng An of the type proposed for SUNDASIA is an important part of the TAMB's commitments during the property's post-inscription phase (see http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/6099/).
2. Visiting public to Tràng An (domestic & international)
Tràng An received just over one million visitors in 2011 (Tràng An Nomination Document 2013: 142). This is expected to double by 2020. Most current visitors are domestic tourists (and pilgrims) though numbers of foreigners are increasing. Tràng An already features strongly on international travel websites, e.g. Tripadvisor. Visitors will benefit through greater access to information about the evolution of this landscape, the history of its inhabitants and the relationship between the two.
3. Local Vietnamese people
Local people make up a large part of the staff within the Tràng An Landscape Complex. This group will benefit directly from SUNDASIA through employment in the management and monitoring of cultural heritage sites, and conveying information as guides for visitors. Involvement in this burgeoning heritage economy will help cultivate greater personal identification with the local and national values embodied by Tràng An.
4. Corporate and governmental stake-holders
Long-term (since 2007) collaborators in the archaeological investigation of Tràng An have been the Xuan Truong Enterprise (a prominent local corporation), national and local government. These stake-holders will benefit from increased media exposure and revenue as a result of interest generated by the project and its link to the World Heritage status of the property. The collaborative dynamic between research, government, tourism and industry that is backbone of work in Tràng An also represents a model-approach to opening heritage-based economies in Southeast Asia.
5. International organisations & policy-advisers
Expert advisory panels of climate scientists and economists (e.g. IPCC) are turning increasingly to deep-time climate proxies in their predictive models. As yet such models (e.g. IAMs) have a limited conception of adaptive processes and do not consider how early human groups responded to cycles of extreme climate change (CfS). In this respect, several international organisations and initiatives will benefit from the data generated by SUNDASIA about sea-level change and human responses to it (see PtI):
5.1 Past Global Changes (PAGES) (http://www.pages-igbp.org/): international scientific network coordinating and promoting research into past global change and informing strategies for sustainability.
5.2 Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (http://www.rgs.org/HomePage.htm): one of the world's leading learned and professional bodies for promoting geography to different audiences (including policy-makers).
5.3 International Committee on New Integrated Climate Change Assessment Scenarios (part of IPCC) (http://www2.cgd.ucar.edu/research/iconics): develops new socioeconomic scenarios on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
5.4 International Committee on Cultural Landscapes (http://ip51.icomos.org/landscapes/ also see http://whc.unesco.org/en/culturallandscape#1): examines interaction between humans and environment.
5.5 Human Evolution: Adaptions, Dispersals & Social Developments (HEADS) (http://whc.unesco.org/en/heads/): highlights value of human origins to World heritage
5.6 International Geoscience Programme (IGP) 588, 'Preparing for coastal change' (http://www.coastal-change.org/): uses past coastal change to assess future impacts.
1. Tràng An Management Board (TAMB)
The TAMB is both a direct facilitator (see CfS) and direct beneficiary of the proposed project. Requests made of the State Party by the World Heritage Committee following inscription in 2014 mean that research within Tràng An of the type proposed for SUNDASIA is an important part of the TAMB's commitments during the property's post-inscription phase (see http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/6099/).
2. Visiting public to Tràng An (domestic & international)
Tràng An received just over one million visitors in 2011 (Tràng An Nomination Document 2013: 142). This is expected to double by 2020. Most current visitors are domestic tourists (and pilgrims) though numbers of foreigners are increasing. Tràng An already features strongly on international travel websites, e.g. Tripadvisor. Visitors will benefit through greater access to information about the evolution of this landscape, the history of its inhabitants and the relationship between the two.
3. Local Vietnamese people
Local people make up a large part of the staff within the Tràng An Landscape Complex. This group will benefit directly from SUNDASIA through employment in the management and monitoring of cultural heritage sites, and conveying information as guides for visitors. Involvement in this burgeoning heritage economy will help cultivate greater personal identification with the local and national values embodied by Tràng An.
4. Corporate and governmental stake-holders
Long-term (since 2007) collaborators in the archaeological investigation of Tràng An have been the Xuan Truong Enterprise (a prominent local corporation), national and local government. These stake-holders will benefit from increased media exposure and revenue as a result of interest generated by the project and its link to the World Heritage status of the property. The collaborative dynamic between research, government, tourism and industry that is backbone of work in Tràng An also represents a model-approach to opening heritage-based economies in Southeast Asia.
5. International organisations & policy-advisers
Expert advisory panels of climate scientists and economists (e.g. IPCC) are turning increasingly to deep-time climate proxies in their predictive models. As yet such models (e.g. IAMs) have a limited conception of adaptive processes and do not consider how early human groups responded to cycles of extreme climate change (CfS). In this respect, several international organisations and initiatives will benefit from the data generated by SUNDASIA about sea-level change and human responses to it (see PtI):
5.1 Past Global Changes (PAGES) (http://www.pages-igbp.org/): international scientific network coordinating and promoting research into past global change and informing strategies for sustainability.
5.2 Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (http://www.rgs.org/HomePage.htm): one of the world's leading learned and professional bodies for promoting geography to different audiences (including policy-makers).
5.3 International Committee on New Integrated Climate Change Assessment Scenarios (part of IPCC) (http://www2.cgd.ucar.edu/research/iconics): develops new socioeconomic scenarios on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
5.4 International Committee on Cultural Landscapes (http://ip51.icomos.org/landscapes/ also see http://whc.unesco.org/en/culturallandscape#1): examines interaction between humans and environment.
5.5 Human Evolution: Adaptions, Dispersals & Social Developments (HEADS) (http://whc.unesco.org/en/heads/): highlights value of human origins to World heritage
5.6 International Geoscience Programme (IGP) 588, 'Preparing for coastal change' (http://www.coastal-change.org/): uses past coastal change to assess future impacts.
Organisations
- Queen's University Belfast (Lead Research Organisation)
- Guy's Hospital (Collaboration)
- Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND) (Collaboration)
- RN-DS Partnership (Collaboration)
- Trinity College Dublin (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) (Collaboration)
- Tràng An Management Board (Project Partner)
Publications
Kahlert T
(2021)
Mid-Holocene coastline reconstruction from geomorphological sea level indicators in the Tràng An World Heritage Site, Northern Vietnam
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Nadler, T.
(2020)
Delacour's langur (Trachypithecus delacouri) reintroduction program: A preliminary report on the trial release into the Trang An UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam
in Vietnamese Journal of Primatology
O'Donnell S
(2020)
Holocene development and human use of mangroves and limestone forest at an ancient hong lagoon in the Tràng An karst, Ninh Binh, Vietnam
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Rabett R
(2017)
Tropical limestone forest resilience and late Pleistocene foraging during MIS-2 in the Tràng An massif, Vietnam
in Quaternary International
Rabett R
(2021)
Human Adaptation to Coastal Evolution: Late Quaternary evidence from Southeast Asia (SUNDASIA) - A report on the third year of the project
in Vietnam Archaeology
Rabett RJ
(2018)
The success of failed Homo sapiens dispersals out of Africa and into Asia.
in Nature ecology & evolution
Rabett RJ
(2023)
Prehistoric pathways to Anthropocene adaptation: Evidence from the Red River Delta, Vietnam.
in PloS one
Rabett, R.
(2019)
Human adaptation to coastal evolution: Late Quaternary evidence from Southeast Asia (SUNDASIA) - A report on the second year of the project
in Vietnam Archaeology
Rabett, R.J.
(2019)
Human Adaptation to Coastal Evolution: Late Quaternary evidence from Southeast Asia (SUNDASIA) - A report on the second year of the project
in Vietnam Archaeology
| Description | Dec. 2017: Human remains were recently uncovered at two cave sites (Thung Binh 1 and Hang Moi). These followed the discovery higher in the sequence at Thung Binh 1 of fragmentary remains (teeth and extremities) in September 2017, associated with a probable burial jar and of likely early Bronze Age antiquity. The new discoveries made in December are highly significant, as both appear to be largely complete skeletons. The individual from Thung Binh 1 has been dated by association (in the first instance) to 11,949-12,249 cal. BP and lay within a Pleistocene midden at this site, which from dates obtained elsewhere in the cave, records occupation back to at least 17.5 cal. KBP. During the December field season, the skull of this individual was lifted in two sediment blocks and put into a cold store facility in Vietnam, as were the post-cranial elements that could be retrieved in the time available. The second individual appears to lie in a grave cut and is probably of early Neolithic age. Only its skull and upper body area of the grave cut were exposed during the last days of the excavation season. Due to time constraints this individual was covered-over once again and will be fully excavated later in 2018. Jan. 2018: A small specialist team returned to Tràng An for a week of post-excavation work to undertake high-precision excavation and partial reconstruction of the skull from the Thung Binh 1 individual. Although fragmented, bone preservation was found to be exceptional. Both petrous bones from the skull were recovered, one of them completely intact. This basal part of the skull provides the best chance for preserving endogenous aDNA. To explore the possibility of recovering genetic material from the intact petrous bone and an intact tooth from the presumed Bronze Age burial at Thung Binh 1, the PI has set up a collaborative partnership with the University of Cambridge, Evolutionary Ecology Group; a team who have experience both in extracting DNA from the petrous bone and in retrieving aDNA from tropical regions (e.g. they were the first group to sequence an ancient African genome). This work is planned to begin in March 2018 with the written consent of the project's Vietnamese collaborators. An urgent funding request is being submitted to the National Geographic Society to help meet the costs of this unexpected opportunity, as collectively the remains of these three individuals represent a unique chance to study regional genetic changes in population structure within the same tropical landscape, across an 8000-year span - a global rarity and an exceptional point of reference in reconstructing the complex early population dynamics of Southeast Asia. |
| Exploitation Route | There is currently a blanket moratorium on information relating to these latest human remains discovered in Tràng An - including no coverage on the project website or across social media for reasons of confidentiality. The expectation, if even some degree of DNA survival is confirmed, there will be a formal publication and press announcement to the Vietnamese media late in 2018 or early 2019. |
| Sectors | Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| URL | https://sundasia.com/ |
| Description | Generated interested through news media and contribution to the trial reintroduction of a Critically Endangered primate. The PI and team members sought actively to raise the profile of this research publicly, within the sphere of World Heritage, and through mass interest scholarly publication outlets such as the Royal Society Open Science and PLoS One. The PI has contributed information on archaeological finds and other aspects of SUNDASIA project work (e.g., drone digital terrain mapping, palynological studies, local staff training, and biodiversity initiative - see Publications - working papers) to a formal State of Conservation Report for Tràng An, and is a named contributor on the 'Management Plan for the Trang An Landscape Complex in the period 2021-2025 (Vision to 2045)'. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Trang An Management Board, and has engaged with the provincial leadership on matter of sustainability and future heritage and research agendas. |
| Sector | Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Ninh Binh Provincial Party presentation |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Description | REACTIVE MONITORING MISSION undertaken by the World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN to the Trang An World Heritage site |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| URL | https://whc.unesco.org/document/183365 |
| Description | The Management Plan for the Trang An Landscape Complex in the period 2021-2025, vision to 2045 |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Department for the Economy (DfE) - Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF) Awards, 2020/21 Round |
| Amount | £29,743 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2020 |
| End | 07/2021 |
| Description | No funding scheme; funds were supplied by an in-country (Vietnamese) collaborator and part-funder of the SUNDASIA Project: Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise - UN SDG 17.17 |
| Amount | $10,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | Viet Nam |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 11/2019 |
| Description | Portrayals of Prehistoric Trang An |
| Amount | £79,370 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/V004891/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2021 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | UKRI Covid-19 Grant Extension Allocation Fund |
| Amount | £197,357 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | N/A |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2020 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | UKRI GCRF Global Impact Accelerator Awards (GIAA) 2018/19 |
| Amount | £11,900 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | Research Development Reference: GCRF-GIAA18-19/Rabett |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Department | Global Challenges Research Fund |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2018 |
| End | 03/2019 |
| Title | Digital Terrain Model |
| Description | A high resolution terrain model of a 2 x 8 km corridor through the core zone of the Trang An World Heritage property was created as part of the SUNDASIA project using a small UAV drone and supplemented by LiDAR data (partial coverage of the Trang An property) obtained by the PI. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Provision of this model (which is being used by SUNDASIA as the base map into which all data collection points are being tied) has the clear benefit of providing a snapshot of landscape conditions (including development and infrastructure) during the period of the project, and thus an accessible point of comparsion in the management of the Trang An World Heritage property. NB: the model is not published, but is currently accessible to key project members and collaborators. A version of the digital terrain map will be used to illustrate to the visiting public how the Trang An landscape has changed through time, including periods of prehistory when it was flooded during periods of sea-level rise (likening this landscape to modern-day Ha Long Bay). ODA- compliance with UN SDG targets 11.4 and 13.3. |
| Title | Digital site models |
| Description | Photogrammetric models have been created of two archaeological sites within the Trang An World Heritage property. This work has been undertaken because both sites yielded significant prehistoric human skeletal remains, and such detail of the site, its stratigraphy and the excavation was deemed to be an important digital archive resource. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The planned impact of these models is that they will be incorporated into visual displays within the Trang An Visitor Centre that will permit the visiting public to access site information in a semi-immersive and interactive way. These models will be integrated into a version of the digital terrain map also created by the project which will illustrate how the Trang An landscape has changed through time, including periods of prehistory when it was flooded. (See Digital Terrain Model for ODA compliance.) |
| Title | Web publication of SUNDASIA GIS data |
| Description | SUNDASIA is using ArcGIS as the GIS publishing framework, with data being hosted through Queen's University Belfast and stored on ArcGIS servers. Currently accessible by invitation only, but roll-out to stakeholders and collaborators is planned in the first isntance. These are the first steps to achieving SUNDASIA's aim to create a central data depository and archive project data. Additional data layers will be added as they are being finalised. A new iteration of the Trang An web GIS database, which is still in development and being refined, was circulated to senior collaborators on 20th February 2020. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Ideally, at the end of the process, any data created that falls into the boundaries of the Trang An World Heritage property will reside in this web GIS, providing full access to the sum of that information to anyone with access credentials, thus facilitating future research activities, but also management activities such as monitoring landuse or as an aid to developing infrastructure. ODA-compliance: UN SDG targets: 12.2 and 12.b |
| Description | Post-2020 local community-based management contributions in the ecotourism sector: An interdisciplinary assessment of World Heritage Sites in Vietnam and Sri Lanka |
| Organisation | Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND) |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The principal objective of this project is to document and analyse (qualitatively & quantitatively) local community participation in ecotourism. The comprehensive questionnaire-based approach considers how ecotourism ventures have impacted upon local communities in the immediate vicinity of two comparable World Heritage sites: Trang An, Vietnam and Sinharaja, Sri Lanka. Analysis includes examination of the institutions that are used for forest "commons" governance and assesses the relative impact of a status quo model versus instigating an adapted local engagement model post-coronavirus to promote sustainable development and conservation in the ecotourism sector generally and in World Heritage properties in particular. The project incorporates attention to cultural and conservation perspectives informed through the longer term perspective of Archaeology and Palaeoecology combined with the highly-integrated focus of contemporary Environmental and Development Economics. The Vietnamese component of the research builds directly on existing partnerships with the Trang An Management Board developed through the SUNDASIA project, and is intended to complement the efforts of that project through specific examination of local involvement and opinion in ecotourism activities. The project application was prepared by Rabett and Morrimoto (see next section) in consultation with named project partners and employs two research assistants on a part-time basis at Queen's University Belfast and SOAS, University of London. Primary statistical and qualitative analysis will be carried out by the UK research assistants at Queen's University Belfast and SOAS under the guidance of Morimoto and Rabett. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The principal UK partner is Dr Risa Morimoto (SOAS) Department of Economics. Dr Morimoto has extensive experience in the field of Environmental and Development Economics and a long-standing research partnership with colleagues in Sri Lanka, in particular Nobel winner: Prof Mohan Munasinghe, director of the Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND), Colombo. MIND contributed to the formulation of the 100+ questionnaire and managed on-site interviews with respondents, and will be directly involved in the data analysis, including through the online component of the survey via SurveyMonkey, and shall co-author project outputs. In Vietnam, the Trang An Management Board Deputy Director (Mr Pham Sinh Khanh) is leading a small team including two officers from the Board. They have contributed to the preparation of the Trang An survey questionnaire and are conducting the on-site interviews. They will have access to and contribute to analysis of the both the paper and online components of the survey and shall co-author project outcomes. UNESCO offices in Hanoi and Colombo are supporting the project and we anticipate round-table discussion of the results with these bodies. |
| Impact | Outcomes are pending. They are expected to include a body of data from c.200 local respondents across communities adjacent to the two World Heritage sites that can be incorporated into management planning and local engagement policy. Results will be shared with the respective UNESCO offices in each country and we anticipate that outcomes will also be conveyed to the World Heritage Committee. At least one paper will be prepared for publication in e.g. the Journal of Ecotourism, Sustainability Science or in the Annals of Tourism Research. Tràng An and Sinharaja are both located in countries identified in the 'Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories band (DAC List of ODA Recipients 2020). This study responds to the Sustainable Economies and Societies Global Challenge Area, and directly to targets listed under five UN Sustainability Goals (SDGs) - relating to tourism, local community support, and global heritage: 8.9, 11.4, 12b, 13b and 15c. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Post-2020 local community-based management contributions in the ecotourism sector: An interdisciplinary assessment of World Heritage Sites in Vietnam and Sri Lanka |
| Organisation | School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The principal objective of this project is to document and analyse (qualitatively & quantitatively) local community participation in ecotourism. The comprehensive questionnaire-based approach considers how ecotourism ventures have impacted upon local communities in the immediate vicinity of two comparable World Heritage sites: Trang An, Vietnam and Sinharaja, Sri Lanka. Analysis includes examination of the institutions that are used for forest "commons" governance and assesses the relative impact of a status quo model versus instigating an adapted local engagement model post-coronavirus to promote sustainable development and conservation in the ecotourism sector generally and in World Heritage properties in particular. The project incorporates attention to cultural and conservation perspectives informed through the longer term perspective of Archaeology and Palaeoecology combined with the highly-integrated focus of contemporary Environmental and Development Economics. The Vietnamese component of the research builds directly on existing partnerships with the Trang An Management Board developed through the SUNDASIA project, and is intended to complement the efforts of that project through specific examination of local involvement and opinion in ecotourism activities. The project application was prepared by Rabett and Morrimoto (see next section) in consultation with named project partners and employs two research assistants on a part-time basis at Queen's University Belfast and SOAS, University of London. Primary statistical and qualitative analysis will be carried out by the UK research assistants at Queen's University Belfast and SOAS under the guidance of Morimoto and Rabett. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The principal UK partner is Dr Risa Morimoto (SOAS) Department of Economics. Dr Morimoto has extensive experience in the field of Environmental and Development Economics and a long-standing research partnership with colleagues in Sri Lanka, in particular Nobel winner: Prof Mohan Munasinghe, director of the Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND), Colombo. MIND contributed to the formulation of the 100+ questionnaire and managed on-site interviews with respondents, and will be directly involved in the data analysis, including through the online component of the survey via SurveyMonkey, and shall co-author project outputs. In Vietnam, the Trang An Management Board Deputy Director (Mr Pham Sinh Khanh) is leading a small team including two officers from the Board. They have contributed to the preparation of the Trang An survey questionnaire and are conducting the on-site interviews. They will have access to and contribute to analysis of the both the paper and online components of the survey and shall co-author project outcomes. UNESCO offices in Hanoi and Colombo are supporting the project and we anticipate round-table discussion of the results with these bodies. |
| Impact | Outcomes are pending. They are expected to include a body of data from c.200 local respondents across communities adjacent to the two World Heritage sites that can be incorporated into management planning and local engagement policy. Results will be shared with the respective UNESCO offices in each country and we anticipate that outcomes will also be conveyed to the World Heritage Committee. At least one paper will be prepared for publication in e.g. the Journal of Ecotourism, Sustainability Science or in the Annals of Tourism Research. Tràng An and Sinharaja are both located in countries identified in the 'Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories band (DAC List of ODA Recipients 2020). This study responds to the Sustainable Economies and Societies Global Challenge Area, and directly to targets listed under five UN Sustainability Goals (SDGs) - relating to tourism, local community support, and global heritage: 8.9, 11.4, 12b, 13b and 15c. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Reconstruction of prehistoric human remains from Thung Binh 1 cave, Trang An World Heritage property |
| Organisation | Guy's Hospital |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | The principal contribution of the SUNDASIA team to this project is the recovery (through archaeological excavation) and dating of the human skeletal remains on which this reconstructive effort is being made. SUNDASIA also provide the archaeological evidence to characterise the local conditions during the period when this individual lived, 12-13,000 years ago. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As noted in the 2018 Researchfish entry, bone preservation in this instance permitted the recovery of a small amount of endogenous DNA from the skull of this individual. Working with the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin and the Evolutionary Ecology Group (Department of Zoology), University of Cambridge it was determined that DNA preservation was insufficient for full genomic reconstruction, but the recovery of some endogenous genetic material from this individual should help us learn more about the population he came from. Sequencing work at the Smurfit Institute is due to be completed around the middle of 2019. Update (21.02.20): Despite exhaustive efforts the level of endogenous DNA was ultimately deemed too small to be confidently separated from the small levels of inevitable contamination present in the sample. Recovery work was halted in Feb. 2020. This work has taken a further turn with the involvement of the RN-DS Partnership (UK anatomical artists) and the Academic Centre of Reconstructive Science at Guy's Hospital, London. Working with both of these partners, a 3D printed model of the Thung Binh 1 skull has been prepared by the team at Guy's Hospital and has now been delivered (Feb. 2019) to RN-DS Partnership for facial reconstruction work to commence. This reconstruction work is progressing to completion. Update (21.02.20):The final wax model is complete and awaiting the go-ahead from Vietnamese collaborators for it to be cast in bronze resin. Update (26.02.21): Final bronze resin museum models (two were ultimately produced) were delivered by the RN-DS Partnership and shipped to the Trang An Management Board in late 2020 for forthcoming exhibition installation. Update (21.02.20): Funding for this work is coming in part from the Impact budget allocation of the AHRC component of the SUNDASIA Project but primarily from money supplied by the SUNDASIA project's co-funder: the Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise. The resultant bust of the Thung Binh 1 individual will form the centre-piece of an exhibition in Trang An that the PI is currently helping to prepare. |
| Impact | There are no current outcomes. The principal outcome will be the reconstructed face itself. It is anticipated that the SUNDASIA and partners in this project will prepare one or more papers for publication based on this work and the archaeological context from which these human remains were excavated. Vietnam is on the DAC List of ODA recipients (Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories). This project has bearing on UN SDG target 8.9 - sustainable tourism that promotes local culture, and target 11.4 - strengthen efforts to protect and safe guard cultural (and natural) heritage. The involvement of the Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise in part-funding this project also bears on target 9.5 - to enhance scientific research through private as well as public development spending. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Reconstruction of prehistoric human remains from Thung Binh 1 cave, Trang An World Heritage property |
| Organisation | RN-DS Partnership |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The principal contribution of the SUNDASIA team to this project is the recovery (through archaeological excavation) and dating of the human skeletal remains on which this reconstructive effort is being made. SUNDASIA also provide the archaeological evidence to characterise the local conditions during the period when this individual lived, 12-13,000 years ago. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As noted in the 2018 Researchfish entry, bone preservation in this instance permitted the recovery of a small amount of endogenous DNA from the skull of this individual. Working with the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin and the Evolutionary Ecology Group (Department of Zoology), University of Cambridge it was determined that DNA preservation was insufficient for full genomic reconstruction, but the recovery of some endogenous genetic material from this individual should help us learn more about the population he came from. Sequencing work at the Smurfit Institute is due to be completed around the middle of 2019. Update (21.02.20): Despite exhaustive efforts the level of endogenous DNA was ultimately deemed too small to be confidently separated from the small levels of inevitable contamination present in the sample. Recovery work was halted in Feb. 2020. This work has taken a further turn with the involvement of the RN-DS Partnership (UK anatomical artists) and the Academic Centre of Reconstructive Science at Guy's Hospital, London. Working with both of these partners, a 3D printed model of the Thung Binh 1 skull has been prepared by the team at Guy's Hospital and has now been delivered (Feb. 2019) to RN-DS Partnership for facial reconstruction work to commence. This reconstruction work is progressing to completion. Update (21.02.20):The final wax model is complete and awaiting the go-ahead from Vietnamese collaborators for it to be cast in bronze resin. Update (26.02.21): Final bronze resin museum models (two were ultimately produced) were delivered by the RN-DS Partnership and shipped to the Trang An Management Board in late 2020 for forthcoming exhibition installation. Update (21.02.20): Funding for this work is coming in part from the Impact budget allocation of the AHRC component of the SUNDASIA Project but primarily from money supplied by the SUNDASIA project's co-funder: the Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise. The resultant bust of the Thung Binh 1 individual will form the centre-piece of an exhibition in Trang An that the PI is currently helping to prepare. |
| Impact | There are no current outcomes. The principal outcome will be the reconstructed face itself. It is anticipated that the SUNDASIA and partners in this project will prepare one or more papers for publication based on this work and the archaeological context from which these human remains were excavated. Vietnam is on the DAC List of ODA recipients (Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories). This project has bearing on UN SDG target 8.9 - sustainable tourism that promotes local culture, and target 11.4 - strengthen efforts to protect and safe guard cultural (and natural) heritage. The involvement of the Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise in part-funding this project also bears on target 9.5 - to enhance scientific research through private as well as public development spending. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Reconstruction of prehistoric human remains from Thung Binh 1 cave, Trang An World Heritage property |
| Organisation | Trinity College Dublin |
| Department | Smurfit Institute of Genetics |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The principal contribution of the SUNDASIA team to this project is the recovery (through archaeological excavation) and dating of the human skeletal remains on which this reconstructive effort is being made. SUNDASIA also provide the archaeological evidence to characterise the local conditions during the period when this individual lived, 12-13,000 years ago. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As noted in the 2018 Researchfish entry, bone preservation in this instance permitted the recovery of a small amount of endogenous DNA from the skull of this individual. Working with the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin and the Evolutionary Ecology Group (Department of Zoology), University of Cambridge it was determined that DNA preservation was insufficient for full genomic reconstruction, but the recovery of some endogenous genetic material from this individual should help us learn more about the population he came from. Sequencing work at the Smurfit Institute is due to be completed around the middle of 2019. Update (21.02.20): Despite exhaustive efforts the level of endogenous DNA was ultimately deemed too small to be confidently separated from the small levels of inevitable contamination present in the sample. Recovery work was halted in Feb. 2020. This work has taken a further turn with the involvement of the RN-DS Partnership (UK anatomical artists) and the Academic Centre of Reconstructive Science at Guy's Hospital, London. Working with both of these partners, a 3D printed model of the Thung Binh 1 skull has been prepared by the team at Guy's Hospital and has now been delivered (Feb. 2019) to RN-DS Partnership for facial reconstruction work to commence. This reconstruction work is progressing to completion. Update (21.02.20):The final wax model is complete and awaiting the go-ahead from Vietnamese collaborators for it to be cast in bronze resin. Update (26.02.21): Final bronze resin museum models (two were ultimately produced) were delivered by the RN-DS Partnership and shipped to the Trang An Management Board in late 2020 for forthcoming exhibition installation. Update (21.02.20): Funding for this work is coming in part from the Impact budget allocation of the AHRC component of the SUNDASIA Project but primarily from money supplied by the SUNDASIA project's co-funder: the Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise. The resultant bust of the Thung Binh 1 individual will form the centre-piece of an exhibition in Trang An that the PI is currently helping to prepare. |
| Impact | There are no current outcomes. The principal outcome will be the reconstructed face itself. It is anticipated that the SUNDASIA and partners in this project will prepare one or more papers for publication based on this work and the archaeological context from which these human remains were excavated. Vietnam is on the DAC List of ODA recipients (Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories). This project has bearing on UN SDG target 8.9 - sustainable tourism that promotes local culture, and target 11.4 - strengthen efforts to protect and safe guard cultural (and natural) heritage. The involvement of the Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise in part-funding this project also bears on target 9.5 - to enhance scientific research through private as well as public development spending. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Reconstruction of prehistoric human remains from Thung Binh 1 cave, Trang An World Heritage property |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Department of Zoology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The principal contribution of the SUNDASIA team to this project is the recovery (through archaeological excavation) and dating of the human skeletal remains on which this reconstructive effort is being made. SUNDASIA also provide the archaeological evidence to characterise the local conditions during the period when this individual lived, 12-13,000 years ago. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As noted in the 2018 Researchfish entry, bone preservation in this instance permitted the recovery of a small amount of endogenous DNA from the skull of this individual. Working with the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin and the Evolutionary Ecology Group (Department of Zoology), University of Cambridge it was determined that DNA preservation was insufficient for full genomic reconstruction, but the recovery of some endogenous genetic material from this individual should help us learn more about the population he came from. Sequencing work at the Smurfit Institute is due to be completed around the middle of 2019. Update (21.02.20): Despite exhaustive efforts the level of endogenous DNA was ultimately deemed too small to be confidently separated from the small levels of inevitable contamination present in the sample. Recovery work was halted in Feb. 2020. This work has taken a further turn with the involvement of the RN-DS Partnership (UK anatomical artists) and the Academic Centre of Reconstructive Science at Guy's Hospital, London. Working with both of these partners, a 3D printed model of the Thung Binh 1 skull has been prepared by the team at Guy's Hospital and has now been delivered (Feb. 2019) to RN-DS Partnership for facial reconstruction work to commence. This reconstruction work is progressing to completion. Update (21.02.20):The final wax model is complete and awaiting the go-ahead from Vietnamese collaborators for it to be cast in bronze resin. Update (26.02.21): Final bronze resin museum models (two were ultimately produced) were delivered by the RN-DS Partnership and shipped to the Trang An Management Board in late 2020 for forthcoming exhibition installation. Update (21.02.20): Funding for this work is coming in part from the Impact budget allocation of the AHRC component of the SUNDASIA Project but primarily from money supplied by the SUNDASIA project's co-funder: the Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise. The resultant bust of the Thung Binh 1 individual will form the centre-piece of an exhibition in Trang An that the PI is currently helping to prepare. |
| Impact | There are no current outcomes. The principal outcome will be the reconstructed face itself. It is anticipated that the SUNDASIA and partners in this project will prepare one or more papers for publication based on this work and the archaeological context from which these human remains were excavated. Vietnam is on the DAC List of ODA recipients (Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories). This project has bearing on UN SDG target 8.9 - sustainable tourism that promotes local culture, and target 11.4 - strengthen efforts to protect and safe guard cultural (and natural) heritage. The involvement of the Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise in part-funding this project also bears on target 9.5 - to enhance scientific research through private as well as public development spending. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Interviews for national TV in Vietnam |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The SUNDASIA PI has been approached on several occasions to give TV interviews to Vietnamese television (VTV1 and VTV2) about the project and its contribution to the cultural heritage of the Trang An World Heritage site. Post-doctoral members of the team have also given interviews along similar lines in the context of their particular research specialisms. The object of the interviews is to convey the outcomes of this research to the general public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019 |
| Description | Newpaper interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As PI I responded to the broad question put by local (Ninh Binh City) newspaper: 'What kind of solutions can be used to protect archaeological site in Trang An and the use of archaeological site in tourism so that Ninh Binh can develop sustainable tourism?' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | PRAXIS: Arts and Humanities for Global Challenges |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Participation in the PRAXIS: Arts and Humanities for Global Challenges project (led by University of Leeds), which aims are to consolidate learning across research projects funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) with the aim of both amplifying their impact and policy relevance, plus highlighting the contribution that Arts and Humanities research is making to Sustainable Development challenges. SUNDASIA provided one of the 23 'Spotlight' case studies that appear in the principal publication: 'Heritage for Global Challenges' A report highlighting the role of Heritage in addressing sustainable development challenges was released on 10 Feb. 2020 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://changingthestory.leeds.ac.uk/praxis/ |
| Description | Past Matters: Climate Emergency and Action |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The PI was invited to participate in this online event (relaying info from the SUNDASIA project that relates to habitat rehabilitation, ecological resilience and landscape evolution). The event was organised by the Heritage Hub at Queen's University Belfast and was one of a series of similar events in the 'Culture X Climate' virtual forum for arts, culture and heritage-based climate action. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.culturexclimate.org/event-list/9r7efbi5hiz38eyy6q295c7p2wzpii-cr5dp-9mnn7 |
| Description | Press release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Queen's in conservation partnership to protect critically endangered monkeys A Queen's University Belfast academic is part of a collaboration which has enabled the trial re-introduction of a critically endangered species of monkey at a World Heritage Site in northern Vietnam. Dr Ryan Rabett, a senior lecturer in Human Paleoecology at Queen's, and his team on the SUNDASIA project contributed resources and expertise to help bring about the release of three captive-born Delacour's langurs (Trachypithecus delacouri) inside the Tràng An World Heritage Site. Queen's University, Bournemouth University and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences partnered with local NGOs, businesses and government on the project, which has immediate and wider implications for biodiversity in the region. An IUCN Red List species, the Delacour's langur is endemic to Vietnam. The current population of less than 300 individuals is spread thinly between three to four isolated enclaves in the northwest of the country and in all but one of these areas (the Van Long Nature Reserve) numbers are falling. << Photo here of langurs ranging in Van Long [photo credit: Christopher M. Stimpson] >> In 2015, Tilo Nadler, a primate expert and founder of the Endangered Primate Rescue Center (EPRC) in the Cuc Phong National Park, Ninh Binh, identified Tràng An as the only viable location capable of providing suitable habitat and security to establish an urgently needed new sub-population. Ahead of the trial release, the SUNDASIA project carried out vegetation surveys of the chosen island site to ensure there would be enough food for the primates and, working with Nadler and the Tràng An Management Board, helped to organise conservation training for staff and an accompanying public exhibition. Following standard practice at the EPRC, the male and two females selected for the transfer were prepared into the release over a period of months before the August release date. << Photo here of the three animals that have been released [photo credit: Tilo Nadler] >> Three months on from the transferin, early indications are that the animals are adapting well to their new surroundings. They have also already become a popular highlight for visitors, who can view them from a distance, to ensure the animals don't feel threatened. A real mark of success will be if one or both females become pregnant during the trial period. The project has wider implications though, as Dr Rabett explains: "While the aim is, first and foremost, to help secure the future of this species, the initiative also has importance for tropical limestone forest biodiversity more generally. "SUNDASIA's principal research in Tràng An suggests that the forests here have remained broadly stable for at least the last 20,000 years, despite changes in climate and transformation of the wider landscape - for example, by coastal flooding that peaked around 5000 years ago. "Long-term habitat resilience means that this and similar settings may be well-placed to survive the effects of modern climate change. The problem, as our evidence shows, is that they are currently in a depleted, and therefore potentially vulnerable, state; and human action is the likely cause. "Identifying and where possible redressing that impact is an area where archaeology and palaeoecology can play a really significant role in local conservation and contribute to large-scale programmes, such as the new UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. "The langur reintroduction in Tràng An marks a step in that direction and we hope a positive example of what can be achieved when collaboration extends across the traditional boundaries between scientific disciplines." Link to paper here The re-introduction initiative has involved numerous local and international partners. These include: Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee, Ninh Binh Department of Tourism, Ninh Binh Forest Protection Department, Tràng An Management Board, Vietnam Primate Conservation Program, Endangered Primate Rescue Centre (EPRC), Cuc Phuong National Park, the IUCN Primate Specialist Group, Van Long Nature Reserve Management Board, Four Paws Bear Sanctuary, Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise, and the SUNDASIA research project (PI at Queen's, with CI's at Bournemouth University and the Vietnam Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.qub.ac.uk/News/Allnews/Queensinconservationpartnershiptoprotectcriticallyendangeredmonke... |
| Description | Smithsonian Institution Press release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | "Check out the SUNDASIA Project, focused in the Tràng An World Heritage Site, Vietnam, which is exploring how prehistoric communities interacted with complex tropical environments at the end of the last Ice Age. They recently contributed funds and expertise to help in the trial re-introduction of a critically endangered primate species (Delacour's Langur) to Tràng An, which highlights the value of combining paleoenvironmental and archaeological research into modern conservation efforts. Learn more about the project here: https://sundasia.com/biodiversity/" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/smithsonian.humanorigins/posts/10158780168906788 |