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Jo Gillespie, BA (Hons), L.L.B.

PhD Candidate

Madsen Building (F09), Room 416
Phone: +61 2 9351 7179
Fax: +61 2 9351 3644
Email:

Supervisors
Dr Eleanor Bruce
Dr Timothy Stephens (Faculty of Law, University of Sydney)

Research

Working Title: Land, law and justice: World Heritage Obligations and Local Communities at Angkor Archaeological Park, Cambodia.

Drawing on her background in the legal profession Jo is pursuing research into the impact of a World Heritage classification on local communities at the World Heritage site at Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia. The focus of her research is to examine the phenomena of legal localization by investigating the impact of international heritage law, in particular the World Heritage Convention, on the local resident population at Angkor. Jo is tracing how the ideals of protection enunciated in the Convention transcend scales - how these international ideals are translated into the Cambodian domestic legal landscape. The implications of the resultant 'legally plural' landscape are considered in light of local 'ownership' rules. In this setting, this research also explores the ways in which disputes over 'ownership' are resolved. The analysis contributes to a growing literature on legal geography as it is representative of a socio-legal study concerned with the relationship between law and geography.

Jo is an APAI researcher on the multidisciplinary "Living with Heritage" project which seeks to integrate multi-disciplinary approaches to promote improved World Heritage governance in a developing country context.

Selected Publications / Conferences

  • (2007), In Review, "Protecting World Heritage: Regulating Ownership and Land Use at Angkor Archaeological Park, Cambodia."
  • (2007), Book Review: INNOVATIVE COMMUNITIES. PEOPLE-CENTRED APPROACHES TO ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION edited by Jerry Velasquez, Makiko Yashiro, Susan Yoshimura and Izumi Ono (United Nations University Press, Tokyo, New York, Paris, 2005,in Asia-Pacific Journal of Environmental Law, Vol.10, Issues 3 & 4.
  • Gillespie, J., (2006), Zoning and Owning: land use laws at Angkor, Cambodia. Paper presented at the "Angkor - Landscape, City and Temple" Conference, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, July 2006. (publication in preparation)
  • Gillespie, J., (2006), World heritage obligations & local communities: land, law & justice at Angkor. Presented at Research in Cambodia Seminar Series, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 24 November.
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