Paper peer-reviewed by Prof. Oleh Zhernokleyev
Digital photogrammetry combined with laser scanning is currently the generally accept-ed method of collecting 3D-representations of the environment. These technologies are widely used to create high-quality 3D models of cultural and natural heritage objects.
The article shows the results of laser scanning, aimed at creating a network of tourist sites as the basis of thematic routes and packages that combine the historical, cultural and natural heritage of the cross-border area.
Introduction
In the second half of the 20th century, the world community faced the problem of ensur-ing the protection of cultural and natural objects, which were increasensur-ingly threatened by deliberate or involuntary activities during peacetime. In fact, it dates back to 1959 when the temple of Ramses II Abu Simbel had to be rescued. It was the first major UNESCO campaign that required international cooperation. Later on the campaigns to protect the monuments of Florence and Venice, affected by the flood in 1966, and a campaign to save the Athenian Acropolis took place. This was the beginning of the phase when uni-versal international legal standards for the protection of cultural values in the peaceful period were developed began. During this phase, the UNESCO Convention on Protection of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage152 was adopted in 1972 paving the way for the development of a system for the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Her-itage. This system was supplemented by the adoption of the Convention on Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in 2001, and the Convention on Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003. In a globalized world, new regulations were issued that reflect the protection of the heritage at the present stage, namely: Charter on Pres-ervation of the Digital Heritage of 2003, Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, 2005. Undoubtedly, the list of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which today has 1031 objects, is a key element of this system. Poland and Ukraine offered to add to the UNESCO World Heritage 16 wooden churches, some of which were built almost 500 years ago and are situated in the Polish and Ukrainian Carpathians. Two churches in Zakarpattya region have a status of UNESCO object – the Church of St. Archangel Michael in the village of Uzhok and the Church of the Ascension of Christ in Yasinya village. During the years of Ukraine’s independence, about 13 church-es burned down or were disassembled. About a dozen of churchchurch-es disappear without a trace because of poor care every year. Out of 117 Transcarpathian wooden temples, only
20 have preserved their original appearance. The architecture of others was destroyed by time or by inefficient restoration.
At present, in our opinion, we can say that the World Heritage system has received ad-ditional impetus due to development of international tourism. It should be noted that international tourism has a steady upward trend in spite of economic tremors, instability of currencies, natural disasters, epidemics, and threats of terrorist acts.
In accordance with the Convention on Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, “Each State Party to this Convention recognizes that the duty of ensuring the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future genera-tions of the cultural and natural heritage situated on its territory,”153 Thus, the populariza-tion of the world cultural and natural heritage objects gradually leads them to become an integral part of the tourism industry, bringing a considerable income to the country where they are situated. Modern Europe develops an economy where the service sec-tor prevails, and tourism holds one of the leading positions in its structure. Tourists are a source of income that local communities do not need to create.
Thus, at the present stage talking about the cultural heritage, we speak not only about its preservation, which means the identification of cultural monuments, their restoration, protection, but also, if possible, modernization and ensuring access to the object. These recommendations are extremely relevant for the cross-border areas of Ukraine and Po-land, which are rich in the items of world cultural and natural heritage. However, the problem of preserving historic landmarks is still of prime importance.
At the moment, the priorities for tourism development have been identified, which would ensure, on one hand, making best use of the opportunities provided by tourism, and on the other hand, the preservation of outstanding historical and cultural heritage:
• cooperate in the field of transnational approaches that are key to strengthening the tourist brand of the heritage and offering tourist products;
153 Ibidem.
• exchange experience and knowledge to create coordinated management struc-tures on sustainable tourism, heritage conservation, education, research and interpretation;
• develop appropriate standards and protocols for solving the main problems of the heritage items, such as borders and buffer zones, selection of the item, burial of archeological deposits, etc.;
• implement monitoring systems at the local, national and transnational levels to measure changes, impact of activities and change of the objects’ value;
• provide high-quality, consistent and meaningful information about the heritage during the entire trip of the tourist, form expectations of tourists and do what-ever is necessary to ensure they have the best impressions;
• allocate funds for preserving the intangible cultural heritage – traditional crafts, gastronomy, customs, music and other forms of cultural self-expression, in order to improve the visitor’s impressions and promote intercultural understanding and exchange. This can be achieved through the creation of community centers for capacity building, organization of cultural festivals as well marketing and ad-vertising campaigns;
• use technologies and innovations such as three-dimensional digital scanning, simulation, storage and archiving. With these methods, a public archive can be created that allows people to get acquainted with the world cultural heritage.
These technologies can also contribute to the effective management of heritage items today and their preservation for the future.
Monumental historic objects are inherently very fragile and prone to destruction under the merciless impact of nature and time. Earthquakes, floods, climate change, and other elements can significantly destroy and even erase thousands of years of history from the face of the earth in a moment. Thus, preserving the cultural heritage for future genera-tions is one of our main tasks of today.
One of the most effective methods for preservation of cultural and natural heritage is 3D modeling based on photogrammetric shooting and laser scanning data, which are being increasinglyused in various sectors. Information about the object can be obtained from the air, using photogrammetric survey, and from the ground with the help of laser scanning technology.