Analysis On The Conflict Of Interest In The Protection Of A World Heritage Site

The interest adjustment on the related interest group may be involved, and the conflict of interest may be produced in the protection and development process of the world heritage site. In the protection of the site, how to avoid or minimize the risks to the heritage site due to man-made or other factors that are imposed on the site by the conflicts among the various stakeholders is a key issue. How to clarify the origin, type and social risk on the conflicts of the heritage site, and how to build the resolution mode and strategy for such conflicts in the heritage site are major theoretical and practical problems to be solved in the current protection of the heritage site.This paper investigates and details the West Lake world cultural heritage site and summarizes the origin, types and consequences of the conflict of interests relating to the protection of this world heritage site. We start from the conflict of interests that occurs in the process of the major two kinds of space transformation. The first of these is the public space privatization of Hangzhou West Lake where areas in the world natural and cultural heritage site become private space (for example public service facility privatization in the scenic spot in which the public space becomes the operating space of a high-end club). The second of these deals with the reverse case where previously private space becomes public (for example the village within the scenic spot being developed into the public travel space for tourism). The paper explores the system mode on the protection of world heritage site, builds the social risk evaluation system and analysis modes of the conflict of interests for the protection of world heritage site. It then proposes the resolution mode and strategy of each of the conflict of interests for the protection of world heritage site.Based on game theory, the game mode between Hangzhou West Lake high-grade operating place and West Lake heritage site protection expenditure is built into the public space privatization process in the development process of West Lake high-end operating site. Using the example of the economic data in the report of the Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area Management Committee in 2013, the paper finds that whilst the influence of tourists’ sightseeing effects is limited under the conditions of the existing high-grade operating places and that the management department could obtain some economic benefits from such high-grade operating places, is was considered that such an income was insufficient to meet the expenditure requirements for the ongoing protection of the heritage site. Therefore, in the future, the West Lake scenic area is permitted to further develop high-grade operating places under reasonable regulation and governmental control and to increase the areas utilized for such high-grade operating places. The strategy would include increasing the high-trade operating place rental charge to increase the income of unit area within such high-grade operating places and improve the revenue efficiency ratio per unit area. This would and provide increased funding for the protection of heritage site. However, how to properly deal with the relationship between operating benefit and tourist benefit remains a key question. How to best find the balance point is an area worthy of intensive research.Based on the social risk evaluation, the analytic hierarchy process is used to evaluate the social risk in the private space publicity process in the development of West Lake heritage site village.18 elemental layers in each of the 7 villages of Meijiawu, Wengjiashan, Manjuelong, Jiuxi, Fancun, Yangmeiling and Longjing are analyzed. The statistical results can show that the risk value in Meijiawu (1.3530) is the largest, and that in Longjing (0.9345) is the smallest. There is certain correlation with the development degree of the villages in heritage site. On one hand, the government and management department require the economic development and need to improve the development degree. On the other hand, the factors of insufficient infrastructure guarantee, insufficient policy support and conceptual differentiation brought by the influence of external factors also exists. This may cause more certain degree of conflict of interest between the government management departments and the indigenous people of the heritage sites. This may lead to more social risks.Among 18 elements indexed, the village’s dissatisfaction relating to tea land and forest land protection, land approval policy and the, destruction of the natural environment are high when compared with the importance of the overall goals of risk evaluation. Therefore, the prevention and governance of these sensitive problems will directly influence the stability and development of the West Lake natural and world cultural heritage site.Starting from the stakeholders involved in such conflicts (mainly including the government, indigenous peoples, operators (enterprise) and the public (tourists)), the paper proposes a "three systems and four subjects" matrix to resolution the conflict of interests on the protection of the world heritage site via system design (mandatory system, selective system and steering system). It analyzes the toolbox selection on the resolution mode of the conflict of interests, formulates the basic steps and basic strategies to resolution the conflict correctly and proposes the "interests community" mode for the protection of world heritage site. Finally, the paper discusses the collaborative governance on the conflict of interest in West Lake heritage site with two examples of West Lake high-grade operating places (clubs) and West Lake heritage site village developments (indigenous people).