Memorandum submitted by the Natural History
Museum
INTRODUCTION
The Natural History Museum is one of the world's
great museums
In a world where human societies are changing
rapidly, there are intense economic and social pressures on the
natural environment that is essential for our survival. The rate
of change is rapid and potentially unsustainable and the need
for understanding, knowledge and effective action is pressing.
The Natural History Museum has always been closely aligned with
humanity's practical, economic and cultural interests in the environment,
but at no other time has the need for the Museum been so great.
The Natural History Museum is one of the world's
greatest resources for reference, research and information on
the natural environment, guardians of a 70 million specimen collection
of living species, fossils and minerals, a powerhouse of scientific
research, an institute for inspiration and creativity that annually
welcomes over 13 million scientists and visitors.
The Natural History Museum is an iconic British
institution and a core part of our nation's heritage.
This submission will address the following issues:
A. What the Department of Culture, Media
and Sport should identify as priorities in the forthcoming Heritage
White Paper;
B. Access to heritage and the position of
heritage as a cultural asset in the community;
C. Funding, with particular reference to
the adequacy of the budget for English heritage and for museums
and galleries, the impact of the London 2012 Olympics on Lottery
funding for heritage projects, and forthcoming decisions on the
sharing of funds from Lottery sources between good causes;
D. Whether there is an adequate supply of
professionals with conservation skills; the priority placed by
planning authorities on conservation; and means of making conservation
expertise more accessible to planning officers, councillors and
the general public.
(A) What the Department of Culture, Media
and Sport should identify as priorities in the forthcoming Heritage
White Paper
1. The NHM believes that a priority of the forthcoming
Heritage White Paper should be the redefinition of heritage within
a wider context. Conceptions of heritage have traditionally had
a leaning towards the arts. There is a need for a broader definition
that incorporates the heritage to be found in the natural world
and links in with our scientific heritage. This is logical given
the grown in both number and recognition of World Heritage Sites
such as the fossil-rich Jurassic Coast in Dorset and East Devon.
2. As a scientific museum, the NHM has always
broadly agreed with the UNESCO definitions of heritage embodied
in the international treaty on the Protection of the World Cultural
and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972:
UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of
the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972).
I. Definition of the Cultural and Natural Heritage
Article 1
For the purposes of this Convention, the following
shall be considered as "cultural heritage":
monuments: architectural works, works
of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of
an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations
of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the
point of view of history, art or science;
groups of buildings: groups of separate
or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, their
homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of outstanding
universal value from the point of view of history, art or science;
sites: works of man or the combined works
of nature and man, and areas including archaeological sites which
are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic,
ethnological or anthropological point of view.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Convention, the following
shall be considered as "natural heritage":
natural features consisting of physical
and biological formations or groups of such formations, which
are of outstanding universal value from the aesthetic or scientific
point of view;
geological and physiographical formations
and precisely delineated areas which constitute the habitat
of threatened species of animals and plants of outstanding universal
value from the point of view of science or conservation;
natural sites or precisely delineated
natural areas of outstanding universal value from the point of
view of science, conservation or natural beauty.
3. This definition allows for the relationship
between natural heritage and cultural heritage to be made in the
museum context. The definition in Article 1 of the Convention
allows for much of the NHM's collections to be classified as cultural
heritage under the "monument" section, as our collections
represent a combination of features which are of outstanding universal
value from the point of view of science, and in some cases from
the point of view of both history and art as well. The unique
and comprehensive natural history collections of the NHM constitute
cultural heritage through providing a context for the world's
natural heritage.
(B) Access to heritage and the position of
heritage as a cultural asset in the community
4. The NHM sits within the Queen's Gate Conservation
Area and forms a key part of the South Kensington "cultural
quarter" together with the Science Museum and the Victoria
and Albert Museum. Recognised as a world leader in natural science
research, the NHM is also one of the nation's most enduring and
popular cultural attractions. As guardians of the nation's natural
history collections and in delivering a learning, outreach and
access agenda on behalf of government, the NHM is a key cultural
asset in the community.
5. The NHM's Buildings as part of the nation's
heritage
The Natural History Museum is recognised as
a heritage building of outstanding architectural and historic
interest and is a Grade I Listed Building. Opened in 1881, the
main Waterhouse Building of the NHM is one of London's most memorable
and dramatic public buildings and an internationally recognised
example of Victorian design. Today the Waterhouse Building stands
on its site at South Kensington as the treasured centrepiece alongside
the Grade II Listed former Geology Museum (Earth Galleries building)
and amongst administrative and scientific buildings built between
1932 and 2001. The Museum also runs the Walter Rothschild Zoological
Museum, Tring, another Victorian Grade II Listed Building of architectural
and historic importance.
6. The NHM's Collections as part of the nation's
heritage
In addition to the broader definition of heritage
discussed above in (A), many items held by the NHM are part of
the nation's heritage as, iconic, historically significant collections
in their own right, for example, the collections of Charles Darwin,
Sir Hans Sloane, Joseph Banks and Alfred Russel Wallace.
(C) Funding, with particular reference to
the adequacy of the budget for English heritage and for museums
and galleries, the impact of the London 2012 Olympics on Lottery
funding for heritage projects, and forthcoming decisions on the
sharing of funds from Lottery sources between good causes
7. It should be recognised that large grants
from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), together with substantial
private donations, are now the only means for major institutions
such as the NHM to create new infrastructure. The HLF has proved
to be a successful funding source—the list of achievements
is long and includes Tate Modern and the NHM's own Darwin Centre
project. Given the likely impact of the 2012 Olympics on the HLF,
there is a strong need for preservation of government grant-in-aid
in real terms. There is also an ongoing tension for resources
between the desire for new infrastructure and the, often desperate,
need to replace and refurbish existing infrastructure. Unlike
new infrastructure, there is no source of external funding for
ongoing replacement and refurbishment of core infrastructure—the
funds must come from existing resources which are mostly unable
to stretch to the task.
8. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS) has gone some way in recent spending reviews towards making
"ring-fenced" allocations towards capital expenditure.
However, sums of £2-3 million per annum are insufficient
to preserve core infrastructure and the amounts allocated are
dwarfed by depreciation figures. In 2004-05 the NHM's depreciation
stood at £8.8 million. In March 2005, the fixed asset base
was valued at £388 million, of which approximately £380
million directly relates to the built estate including plant,
machinery and capitalised permanent exhibitions. Salaries remain
the largest proportion of the NHM's annual spend. Hence, the NHM
has substantial fixed costs that also incorporate expectations
of pay-award increases.
9. If grant-in-aid were not preserved in real
terms, that is taking account of inflationary pressure, the consequences
would be a cut in programmes/services and/or a further squeezing
of the amounts allocated to the preservation of core infrastructure.
10. The NHM is focused on maximising self-generated
income, but clearly this can only go so far. The Museum's financial
regime is restricted to a large extent by government accounting
rules and regulations. The NHM cannot borrow funds for investment
and cannot become overdrawn on its bank accounts. The Museum is
not permitted to build up any significant reserves of funds such
as would be required for investment in major projects. The recently
introduced "End Year Flexibility" (EYF) is useful in
principle, but the constraints in 2005-06 have not given encouragement
that this is a practical working mechanism for managing financial
affairs. There is a general level of confusion of the interaction
between reserves, EYF and resource accounting and a misunderstanding
of the associated risks regarding valuations. The NHM remains
committed to the benefits of access returned from free admission.
However, it is essential that grant-in-aid funding is maintained,
especially as secondary spend from the greater number of visitors,
spending on average less time in the Museum, is not as was foreseen
when the policy was introduced and below cost inflation settlements
erode the financial compensation.
11. Investing in the NHM's historic core estate
The NHM's buildings of varying age and composition
are an ongoing challenge in terms of maintenance and repair. The
Waterhouse Building itself is over 120 years old and now in a
period where renewal is needed to keep the buildings functioning
for the next 100 years. Heavy maintenance and facilities upgrades
are necessary across the estate and this will represent significant
financial commitment. The estate currently faces a build-up of
outstanding maintenance as a result of many years of chronic under-investment.
This is now having a serious impact on NHM operations at both
South Kensington and Tring. A review of the principal outstanding
maintenance items reveals the need for a £20 milion investment
to keep our buildings properly maintained and in operational order.
A master plan for the estate is currently being developed, setting
a vision for development of the estate over the next 20 years.
This suggests that if the NHM is to address its accommodation
needs and preserve the Grade 1 listed site whilst adapting the
buildings to meet contemporary and future demands, then investment
in the region of £250 million would be required over a 20-year
period.
12. Specific issues include:
— Maintenance of the ageing building
fabric, particularly maintenance and conservation of the terracotta
façade and mosaic flooring;
— Maintenance and repairs to stained
glass windows;
— Maintenance of the historic roofs,
specifically the western infill galleries and the central hall;
— Replacement of obsolescent plant
to achieve acceptable environmental conditions within the historic
building and to important scientific and collections storage areas;
— Improvements to the electrical infrastructure
and lighting, particularly within public areas;
— Improvements to the gardens to improve
visitor access and enable use as an exhibition space;
— Remodeling of the front entrance
steps to achieve level access and meet access requirements;
— Poor quality buildings at the north
end of the site nearing the end of their useful life and in need
of demolition and replacement.
(D) Whether there is an adequate supply of
professionals with conservation skills; the priority placed by
planning authorities on conservation; and means of making conservation
expertise more accessible to planning officers, councillors and
the general public
13. Conservations skills within the natural
sciences (palaeontology, zoology, botany, mineralogy and entomology)
are in extremely short supply within the UK, particularly when
compared with other specialist areas of conservation such as the
arts or archaeology. The skills, ethics and principles that are
applied by the NHM's conservation staff are identical to those
applied by conservators in other recognised fields in the arts
and archaeology.
14. Review of Conservation Skills across the
NHM
The NHM conservation staff have developed a
unique range of skills which allows for conservation and preservation
work on the Museum's collections. These skills represent a valuable
resource to the institution and more broadly represents the majority
of expertise in the field in the UK. Staff have retained the traditional
bench conservation skills from mainstream conservation and have
developed a new range of ethical skills to deal with the differing
roles of modern natural history collections. The skills developed
ensure the preservation of specimens for use by the Museum's broad
user base. In particular they have been developed to ensure that
specimen-based research can be advanced.
15. The NHM employs the equivalent of six conservators
who advise mainly earth science staff on issues relating to the
conservation of their collections. The conservation staff also
provide advice and contract support for life science collections.
In comparison, the British Library has approximately 60 conservators.
The skills of the Museum's conservation staff include preservation
of the biological and geological environment, building management,
materials and material science, conservation chemistry and conservation
of natural history art, ethnographic and anthropological collections.
Most of the conservation staff have developed these specimen based
collection care skills through hands-on experience while working
in the NHM rather than through academic training. Additional skills
have been gained through attendance at, and adaptation of, specialist
preventive conservation training. Most of the core skills can
be considered to be "craft based".
16. Craft-based skills form the majority of
skill sets that collection management and technical staff use
in basic collection care and specimen preparation (stabilisation).
However, it should be noted that at the NHM
fewer than 2% of collection management staff have core conservation
skills and fewer than 1% of collection management staff have a
qualification (or equivalent) in conservation. Approximately 30%
of science department collection management time is occupied with
basic preventive conservation (re-storage, environmental monitoring).
17. Craft (technical) skills used to preserve
and prepare materials include:
— Skin, Osteological preparation and
Taxidermy.
— Fluid preservation techniques.
In other specialist areas of conservation (such
as the arts or archaeology) these skill sets would be expected
to be part of the overall skill set required by conservation staff.
However, in the natural sciences they are seen as separate skill
groups to conservation and are therefore craft-based rather than
scientifically-based.
18. The extent of the backlog of material requiring
preparation for entry into the collections of the NHM, is evidence
of the lack of support (both personnel and skills) in conservation.
The lack of available skills means that there are not enough conservation
skilled (trained) staff to adequately ensure that suitable conservation
advice is available to support the collections' preservation needs.
19. Outside the NHM there are very few skilled
conservation staff available in natural history in the UK, or
even further abroad in North America. There are only six other
skilled conservation staff employed in the UK who specialise in
natural history conservation.
20. Training
The NHM Conservation Unit collaborates with
the Royal College of Arts (RCA) in the organisation of the two-year
Master of Arts course jointly organised by the RCA and the Victoria
and Albert Museum. The course produces one NHM graduate every
two years. Based around a core conservation course, the NHM provides
project-based training that meets a syllabus developed by the
Head of Conservation. The student is provided with projects from
all the NHM science departments as well as the NHM's Library and
Information Services. Sadly, at present there are very few posts
(either permanent or contract) where these trained conservators
can gain employment. Thus, there is a vicious and negative cycle
of too few trained natural science conservators and too few jobs
for the trained conservators who are available. Specifically designated
funding for natural history conservation posts could be one means
of alleviating the lack of conservators in the natural history
field.
20 January 2006
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