This Heritage Management and Development Plan, supported by extensive fieldwork and off-site drawn documentation, was undertaken

to provide integrated conservat ion and development strategies and Master Plan for Harat al-Yemen, Izki. The pro ject was undertaken with funding and logistical support from the Ministry of Her itage and Culture (MHC), Oman, to develop such planned strategies for four oasis settlements in the ad-Dakhiliyah and ad-Dhahirah regions of Oman, including Har at al-Aqr in Bahla, Sulayf in Ibri, and Fanja. It aims to maximise tangible impact from sustained high-quality research in the field of Omani vernacular settlement study undertaken at Nottingham Trent Univer sity.This is part of a longer term aim to debate, collaborate, contribute and in fluence heritage, architecture and urban design policy in Oman at the levels of the government, public and private sectors, charitable organisations and the loc al stakeholder communities, with additional benefits becoming available to the U K and international learned bodies, heritage institutions, industries and commun ities. The work has been undertaken at the Centre for the study of Architecture and Cul tural Heritage in India, Arabia and the Maghreb (ArCHIAM), based at Nottingham T rent University, UK, which aims to provide an interdisciplinary research platfor m for historical and contemporary cultural developments across three interconnec ted global regions. The Centre consists of an international team of researchers from a variety of academic backgrounds in architecture, social history, architec tural technology, archaeology, conservation and digital documentation, among oth ers. In this sense one of the fundamental themes underlying the Centre s research aims is the multidisciplinary study of how human culture and social practices ar e expressed spatially, and how in turn space affects the cultural practices of g roups and communities. Ministry of Heritage and Culturehas recently established an inventory of over a thousand vernacular settlements of which 86 have been identified for immediate a ttention. HMPs are the first step in the process. The ArCHIAMprojects, beginning with a proposal for Harat as-Saybani in Birkat al-Mawz produced in 2011, will d eliver detailed models and guidelines relevant to Oman and the Middle East, as w ell as develop appropriate, cost-effective and expedient methods for producing H eritage Management Plans (HMPs). While HMPs are fundamental to the shaping of hi storic settlements by suggesting methods of management and conservation of histo ric fabric,this research group strongly believes that the success of such approa ches are only limited if not fully integrated with addressing developmental need s and

aspirations of future generations. By developing new models and methods, the pro jects aim to contribute extensively to sustainable modernisation in Oman and the Middle East. Findings are to be disseminated also to and via local institutions , stakeholder communities and international presence in Oman. The existing UNESCO HMP guidelines are focused on World Heritage Sites and are m ainly Eurocentric, making their approach inadequate for sites of regional and na tional significance in the Middle East facing significant pressures of developme nt. The project will reshape, refine and adapt UNESCO guidelines and methods for the key aspects of the HMP: a) detailed documentation, b) establishment of sign ificance, c) integrating development and heritage management, and, d) sustainabl e built environment development guidelines. The contribution will underpin and i nform future heritage management policy and budget allocation in the region. The project s eventual success will be measurable from its impact on heritage poli cy, processes and methods, change in socio-cultural attitude and greater awarene ss of issues related to integration of heritage with development.

Objectives and approaches The objective is to prepare an HMP for an Omani oasis settlement of importance, possessing significant characteristics, including a distinctive setting, to deve lop, a. HMP and appropriate HMP guidelines; b. develop models and guidelines using existing HMPs (Ba?la WHS and Nizwa) as comparators; c. sustainable built environment developmental guidelines; d. expedient and cost effective documentation methods and related best prac tice guidelines. This hasbeen undertaken by, a. conducting fieldwork documentation over two seasons; b. producing relevant drawn documentation (maps, plans, photographs, etc.); c. analysing data for establishing significance; d. producing a strategic HMPs as model and guideline; e. considering wider issues of design, culture and society for developing s ustainable building and developmental guidelines; f. using alternative, cost effective and expedient methods of documentation .